SengS founder to kick-off series of events aimed at inspiring entrepreneurs

The founder and managing director of engineering services firm SengS has been named as the first in a series of keynote speakers designed to inspire the next generation of north-east entrepreneurs.

Organised by IT start-up firm The TechForce, the evening will chart Murray Kerr’s journey from leaving school aged 15 with no qualifications to selling his Ellon-based company to the Pryme Group in November 2016.

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In 2015, Murray Kerr won a hat-trick of prestigious business awards including the Young Professional Award at the SPE Offshore Achievement Awards, the Emerging Entrepreneur (Scotland) accolade at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, and the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year honour at the 2015 Elevator Awards.

Murray was also named Emerging Industry Leader at the 2016 Press & Journal Gold Awards, while SengS won Business Success Under Three Years at the 2014 Elevator Awards.

The first Meet the Entrepreneur event will be held at Barclays Bank, Union Plaza on Thursday, February 2 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. It is supported by main sponsor Barclays along with Elevator, Precise Communications and SBNN.

Murray Kerr said: “I’ve always been passionate about supporting young people, including school leavers, to achieve their goals so I’m genuinely excited about the chance to speak at this event and share any advice I can with other business people.

“In challenging times like these it’s vital that the business community in the north-east pulls together to encourage and inspire others to forge their own path and help create prosperity for our region.”

The TechForce plans to hold regular monthly events throughout 2017 with money raised from each one to benefit CLAN Cancer Support. Speakers including Jamie Hutcheon of Cocoa Ooze, Laura Mearns of Northwood Aberdeen and Allison Walker of Mint Accounting have been lined up over the coming months.

In 2016, six similar events were run featuring Mike Brown, founder and senior partner at Anderson Anderson & Brown and Ian Ord, business development director and owner at Fifth Ring, among others.

Jai Aenugu, managing director at The TechForce, said: “We’re thrilled to confirm Murray as the first speaker in our calendar of events for 2017. With all that he has achieved in business at a relatively young age, I couldn’t think of a better person to kick-off our exciting plans for the year ahead.

“In the spirit of giving back, we are delighted to confirm CLAN as our official charity partner for the entire year’s series of events. Hopefully we can play a small part in helping the team continue their valuable work in supporting people affected by cancer in the north-east.”

Tickets for the event are priced at £10 each, with 50% of the fee to benefit CLAN, and are available to buy from here.

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