Gillie Cannon

A fully trained personal assistant, Gillie is experienced in administration, public relations, business, office and staff management. She has been involved in the organisation of festivals, conferences and large charity events, requiring communication skills and interaction with the full range of the media.

In 1994 she launched Firm Friends which offered administrative and book keeping back-up to small businesses, together with PR. This company evolved into the Firm Friends Partnership in 2001. Her clients, both companies and individuals, have included: Euro Center Time Traveller Parks (Jersey) Ltd; Fyffe Elder Stephens - Royal Polo event organisers, corporate entertaining and marketing; The Great Event Company - festivals and special events; Managed Learning - Training & Enterprise Council co-ordinators (telephone research and course booking); Thomsons - property letting & management services; MB Productions - commercial film producers; Tolladine Estates - investment and property development company; Pope Waterfield - Chartered Surveyors/Commercial Property Consultants; Prospect Communications - PR & communications; N.R. Gardiner Associates - Independent Financial Advisor; Robin Hardy - film producer, director and writer; Christine Cohen Park - author and lecturer; Derek Nice - artistic director and designer; Francis Kinsman - futurist consultant, lecturer, writer, after dinner speaker; Ben Way, computer consultant and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 1999.

For the past 12 years Gillie has contributed her services to the City of Bath Bach Choir as its press officer. In the late 1970s and early 1980s she was the manager of the renowned Bevan Family Choir organising their London debut, tours to the Continent, concert dates in the UK, radio and television appearances, and recording sessions.

Rosie Vlasto

An international advertising executive with wide experience in the US and European market places, Rosie spent time in her early working life in Continental Europe acquiring fluency in French and German (both spoken and written) and a basic knowledge of Spanish. After two years in public relations in London, she moved into the field of international advertising, initially with The Times' European Department. In 1978 she transferred to New York to be Vice President Advertising, North America, for Times Newspapers of Great Britain Inc.

After being hired in New York as an international advertising consultant by USA TODAY, she returned to London in 1985 to set up and manage the newspaper's European advertising sales team. Two years later she moved to be International Advertising Manager of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, a position held for over three years. Returning to the consultancy field in 1990 she helped set up an international sales network around the world for The European newspaper and worked on several highly successful fashion and lifestyle supplements published in The European.

Since 1992 Rosie has continued to work as a consultant for The International Herald Tribune - international newspaper; The British-American Chamber of Commerce; The European - European newspaper; The Commonwealth Press Union - NGO representing newspapers, magazines and news organisations throughout the Commonwealth; Women in Journalism - a networking, campaigning and social organisation for women who work in the printed media; Pettifor Morrow Associates Limited - public relations; Leagas Delaney plc - advertising agency, in the fields of advertising sales, conference/event management, marketing, public relations and administration.