QCA City Debate (2 hrs of CPD)

QCA City Debate (2 hrs of CPD)

Free

On Wednesday 25th March 2026, in conjunction with the ‘Boardroom City Debates’, Rathbones will be hosting the Quoted Companies Alliance (‘QCA’) City Debate. This event is sponsored by Board Intelligence and  Equitory.

This event is now fully booked. If you would like to join the waiting list, please email events@theqca.com.

THE DEBATE MOTION

“This House believes that boards need to do more to engage with investors”.

Background to the Debate:                                                                                                                                 

Boards and their senior leadership teams face growing expectations from their shareholder base and with increasing activism and the accelerating influence of digital technologies and use of AI they need to be on top of their game. How is the Board interacting with both institutional and retail investors? What does the future hold for Investor Relations Programmes? Is the Board leading or lagging in shaping its ‘Shareholder Agenda’? How does the Board maintain transparency and trust, whilst responding to an array of complex corporate governance challenges? The QCA City Debate will explore all sides of the issue, offer insights into current thinking – and help to reshape a more modern-world and forward-looking response. 

 

Event Details

Date: 25 March, 2026

Start time: 17:00 GMT

End time: 19:30 GMT

Venue: Rathbones, 30 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7QN

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CREATING THE BOARDROOM DYNAMIC

In adopting the debate format to explore this topical issue we are recognising there may be a close parallel between a debate and a boardroom. In each situation, there must be careful listening, respect for the opposing view and an atmosphere of constructive challenge to allow insights to fully develop. A good decision will hopefully result through the examination of alternative approaches.

THE CHAIRMAN and DEBATERS

The Debate will be Chaired by Barry Gamble, an experienced board advisor and NED. He has chaired a number of formal Board and NED debates exploring an issue challenging boardrooms. The two Debate teams – one team of two to propose and second the Motion; and one team of two to oppose the Motion – will be announced shortly.

FORMAT

The formal debate style really has its place particularly when tackling difficult and contentious topics. The debaters will be speaking without ‘PowerPoint’ presentations or props of an kind. They will be relying on words alone to persuade, win over and sway the Floor.

The Debate will be a lively, interactive session with an indicative vote on the Motion at each end of the formal debating process. In the past votes have moved and been swayed by both the debaters and participants from the Floor – we therefore encourage YOU to attend and to get involved and make a difference from the Floor. Spaces are limited, and since past formal debates have been very well attended, we would encourage early booking.

TIMINGS

17:00 – 17:15 – Arrivals & Registration
17:30 – 19:00 – The Debate
19:00 onwards – Drinks & Networking

PREVIOUS DEBATE FEEDBACK

“I really liked the format it was such a different experience”. 

“Excellent job – the Debaters were excellent in balancing their views and styles – I did not appreciate the way the ‘Floor’ would also have such an impact”. 

“I thought the Debate itself was so much better than the traditional Panel session that is rolled out – debating the Motion really brought things to life – and of course great chairing by Barry Gamble”. 

“10/10 for the Debate format – the choice of Debaters worked very well”. 

By registering for this event, you agree that your name, job title, and company name will be shared with the sponsors. No contact details will be shared. All information will be handled in accordance with UK GDPR.

Barry Gamble

The Chairman

Barry has extensive experience as a Board Director in the publicly quoted, private and charitable sectors. As Chairman of the ‘Boardroom City Debates’ he has chaired a number of formal debates.

He regularly writes about boardroom issues, including topical letters published in the Financial Times, and is a Yorkshire Post columnist and advisory board member to Board Agenda. He is a member of the Institute of Directors (‘IoD’) Commission for the Report: “NEDs reimagined” and the IoD Working Party for the Report: “The Post Office Scandal, a failure of governance”. He periodically contributes to the Board and NED development programmes at Henley Business School and Cranfield School of Management.

Alex Denny

Proposer

Alex Denny is Non-Executive Director of the Association of Investment Companies, Aurora UK Alpha PLC, and Margetts Fund Management. Formerly Managing Director, European Private Wealth at Pantheon and Head of Investment Companies at Fidelity International, he brings extensive experience in shareholder engagement, corporate governance and listed investment company strategy.

Virginia Bull

Seconder

Virginia Bull has over 20 years of PLC Advisory and Corporate Broking experience in the London capital markets advising some of the most exciting and successful AIM and Main Market companies on the London Stock Exchange. She is currently an Executive Director in the Investec Bank plc Corporate Broking team, focused on partnering with Tech and Media companies along their growth journey. In addition, Virginia is a Non-Executive Director of Octopus AIM VCT 2 plc.

Jon Prideaux

Opposer

Jon Prideaux became an entrepreneur in his mid-forties, after an early career at IBM and Visa. Following a few false starts, he led Boku, which created the standard for online payments using mobile phones, from a struggling startup to the public markets, stepping down in 2023 at a $500m market cap. Jon is now Chairman of the Global Growth Market, a new global stock market dedicated to growth companies, having been Non-Executive Director and Chairman at Judo Payments and at Shopcreator.

Dr Paulina Roszkowska

Seconder

Paulina is a Lecturer in Finance and Executive MBA Director at Bayes Business School, and a tenured Associate Professor at the Warsaw School of Economics. Her work spans corporate finance, fintech, capital markets and business ethics, backed by academic research, two books, and hands-on experience in investor relations, corporate finance and board roles. As well as leading a fintech data start-up she was in the 2022 ‘Women in Fintech Powerlist’ and also one of the 2018 ‘Best 40 Under 40 Professors’.

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