Dear Freemen,

I hope that your year has started well. I am glad to say that it has been quietly positive for me as I get to grips with my role as Master Entrepreneur, and this is a quick update on some of what I’ve been up to so far in 2025.

I was delighted that one of my first obligations this year was to interview Freemen interested in becoming Court Assistants. The Court is the governing body of the Company and has around twenty members. It is made up of the Master and Wardens, 5 Past Masters, and Court Assistants. Freemen are initially appointed as Court Assistants for 3 years and have usually been active in the Company with events and Committees. I have to say that the quality of the candidates was very high, and the Nominations Committee will be presenting its recommendations to the Court later this month.

One of the joys of being a Freeman is that the Company of Entrepreneurs provides lots of opportunities to volunteer and much of this happens through the Education and Outreach Committees. Please do let the Clerk, myself, or the relevant committee chair know if you want to help.

Both have got events happening in the next few weeks and we have been busy planning these. The first is The Raleigh Lecture on 25th February. It is an annual lecture for A level students and was started in 2018, the 400th anniversary of the death of Sir Walter Raleigh. The title this year is “Using Space Data to Predict Catastrophic Events – how does this help business and society?” Raleigh was a Freeman of the Drapers and a forbear of PM Peter Hewitt who set this up. There is an impressive list of speakers and a great opportunity to engage with students. Contact Ben Martin to see if there are any more moderators needed, and certainly book in to attend the whole thing (from 2.30pm) or just the evening session (from 5pm). The second event is Make an Impact on 3rd March. These are always very good evenings where some of the projects we have worked with present what they are doing. Freemen then discuss how they can help over a pizza and a beer. This year it is being held at SBREC by the Guildhall. Please do make sure you get this in your diary.

Another event, which I hope you will already have registered for is the Entrepreneurs Award for Social Innovation EASI Showcase on 5th February. This will be an inspiring evening and really show the value that we (both through the Trust and the Company) bring to supporting young businesses with a passion for social good.

Every year The City has the New Year Service where the Great and the Good meet in thanksgiving, and of course have a nice lunch. This was my first large City event where I met many of my peers for the first time. A highlight was to see the Jonathan Yeo portrait of the King at Drapers’ Hall after lunch. It really is magnificent and if you have the opportunity to go there do make sure you see it. My photograph really does not even begin to do it justice.

The City of London is famous as the international centre for finance and we have been asked to talk to groups of students about how it all works. The latest of these was the Carlson School of Management from Minneapolis. Ben Martin, Chair of Education, organised some of us to talk about our experience in this area. Another opportunity to work with some highly motivated and interested students.

We have also had our first Quarterly Zoom Update. More than 30 Freemen joined us to talk about what is going on and the Clerk talked about the importance of Education in the Livery movement. This followed an Extraordinary Court meeting to review and receive the 2024 Year End Accounts. I mention this, because this was the final requirement of the Magistracy & Livery Subcommittee of the Court of Aldermen for our application for progression to Livery. Assuming they pass muster, this will then take us to the General Purposes Committee of the Court of Aldermen, and finally to the Court of Aldermen itself for its determination. We are making progress, slowly but surely!

On a more positive note, Helen and I have been busy organising the Master’s Bristol Weekend from 16th to 18th May. We start on the Friday with a session with the University of Bristol Business School and some of the cutting edge work they are doing. Helen will be doing a tour of some culture spots at the same time. In the evening, we are having a wine and food tasting at Avery’s Wine Cellars. Saturday morning is starting with a tour of SS Great Britain and the Brunel museums. After lunch there will be a choice of a tour of the Clifton Suspension Bridge or a walk through the historic Bristol port and City. There will then be a dinner at The Marriott Bristol Royal Hotel. Sunday is a tour of Aerospace Bristol where we will find out about the start of flight and walk through one of the few surviving Concordes. I will be writing more very soon! In the meantime, please register here

On 27th January, I had the privilege of joining our Senior Warden (the Lord Mayor) as he was installed as Rector of City St Georges, University of London, and made an Honorary Doctor of Science. It was a joy to see so many young and talented people celebrating their graduations from the ! This time I managed to get a selfie – a skill I need to improve! Congratulations, DOCTOR Alastair King!

I’m grateful to City St George’s, University of London, for a rather more formal photo:

As ever, please do get in touch with any questions, and of course please do register as early as possible for events and opportunities. It is a huge help to our planning, and our partners in education and outreach really appreciate the voluntary work that you do to support them.