NYC angel and Scots hotelier join key speakers at entrepreneurial summit

Entrepreneurial Scotland (ES) has unveiled two further high-profile business leaders as key speakers at its annual conference next month.

Scots-born The Student Hotel founder and CEO Charlie MacGregor will speak the summit in April. Picture: Contributed

New York-based serial entrepreneur and investor David S. Rose and Scots-born The Student Hotel founder and chief executive Charlie MacGregor have been confirmed as the latest additions to ES Summit 2019, the business development organisation’s networking event at Gleneagles on 25 April.

Rose is also chief executive of financing platform Gust, which he launched to support start-ups on their funding journey. It is currently used by more than 750,000 entrepreneurs in 191 countries to connect with potential early-stage investors.

Meanwhile, MacGregor has grown The Student Hotel chain from its inaugural venue in Amsterdam to 12 hotels in five countries, with a further 25 sites now in planning or under construction.

ES Summit is also set to feature talks from Dundee-born Mike Soutar, co-founder of Shortlist Media and a regular on the BBC’s The Apprentice; Steven Gray, chief executive of Aberdeen-based subsea remotely operated vehicle provider ROVOP; and Stefani Grosse, chief executive of luxury sportswear brand Monreal London.

ES development director Emma Watson Mack said: “We aim to bring a wide range of voices to our summit – David and Charlie are both inspirational role models who embody this year’s theme of ‘global mindset’.

“They are international leaders who have disrupted their sectors, created new market opportunities and taken ground-breaking ideas to international success.”

MacGregor added: “Growing Scottish entrepreneurship across the globe is pivotal for Scotland’s success.”