Final speakers announced for BMF Young Merchant Conference


17 September 2021

The final two speakers, Sam McAlister and Nyasha Pitt at this year’s BMF Young Merchants Conference are both experts in communications but will focus on very different aspects of the art in their presentations.

Sam, a former barrister, turned to journalism after a successful career in criminal law. As interviews producer on BBC2’s flagship news programme, Newsnight, she used her negotiation skills to build trust and secure head-to-head pieces with World Leaders, Silicon Valley CEOs, Hollywood stars and, most famously, HRH Prince Andrew.  

Sam worked closely with the programme’s journalists to develop the right questions for these carefully planned features - questions that would not be met with rejection or hostility, whilst still being searching and relevant to the audience.  She examines the persuasion, compromise and empathy required to develop trust, understand who you are dealing with and what they’ll be prepared to agree to.

Nyasha is a creative, commercial communicator with more than two decades’ experience working both in-agency and in-house supporting diverse industries and sectors from Butlins to English Heritage, National Express to The London Taxi Company and Land Securities to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. 

Passionate about creativity, networking, personal development, diversity and inclusion, and volunteering, in 2019 Nyasha launched iDNetwork, a business network for Black professionals. She is a seasoned panellist, an energetic and engaging public speaker and an accredited Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner.

With the theme, “Building the Next Generation”, the BMF Young Merchant Conference is designed to encourage, inspire and enthuse.  Taking place at the NEC, Birmingham on 6 October 2021, the event is being held in connection with UK Construction week and will include a visit to the Build Show on site.  In addition to a full day’s business programme the BMF Young Merchant Conference features an evening social event at the Sky Loft within the Park Regis Hotel which enjoys unparalleled views over the City of Birmingham.

Registration for the BMF Young Merchant Conference is now open at www.bmf.org.uk/events  

The headline sponsor for the BMF Young Merchant Conference is Knauf Insulation.