The MALG Virtual Connect was first held in March 2021 as a new annual interactive event, in addition to our face-to-face Autumn conference, which members and wider stakeholders could attend from the comfort of their own homes/offices across the UK.
It is designed to offer delegates the opportunity to ‘step back from the day job’ to discuss hot topics and network with others from across the whole debt landscape as part of our aim of ‘working together to improve the lives of people in debt’, particularly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
MALG Virtual Connect 2022 (sponsored by PRA Group and Lantern)
Thank you to all our speakers, attendees, sponsors, and team members for making it such a fantastic event full of the interactive discussion and lively debate MALG is known for. If you have not yet paid the invoice for your delegate tickets, please do so as soon as possible. Please also complete this brief survey. Delegate resources (which all registered attendees will receive a password to access) can be found here.
Date and time: Thursday 24 March 2022, 9am-3pm (during Debt Awareness Week)
Theme: ‘Where are we now?: Two years into the pandemic (and one year on from the first MALG Virtual Connect)’.
Programme:
09:00 – 09:10 Welcome and informal networking
09:10 – 09:30 Introduction to the MALG Virtual Connect
09:30 – 09:45 Update from Liz Barclay (Small Business Commissioner)
09:45 – 10:15 Keynote: Financial Education Initiative – John Pears (UK CEO, Lowell)
10:15 – 11:00 Financial Literacy Panel Discussion – John Pears (UK CEO, Lowell), Mick McAteer (Chair of Registry Trust and Financial Inclusion Centre), Joe Shalam (Policy Director, Centre for Social Justice), and Ben Perkins (Head of Operations, Plain Numbers)
11:00 – 11:15 Comfort Break / Networking Time
11:15 – 12:15 Breakout Sessions 1:
- 1a: Debt Collection in an Age of Inflation – Gareth McNab (Director Of External Affairs, Christians Against Poverty) and Peter Gent (Sales Director, Credit Resource Solutions Ltd)
- 1b: Enabling Better Debt Solutions Through Tech – Ryan Hayes and Lee Usher (COO and Creditor Services Director, Trustfolio Ltd)
12.15 – 12.30 ‘Breaking News’
12:30 – 13:30 Lunchtime and Networking Opportunities
13:30 – 14:30 Breakout Sessions 2:
- 2a: Debt Advice in an Age of Inflation – Peter Tutton (Head of Policy, StepChange), Paul Mason (CEO, Creditfix), and Sara Williams (Debt Camel)
- 2b: Impacts and Updates Following the Pandemic – Mel Chell and Laura Cronin (Director of Client Experience and Culture and Learning and Development Manager, Equivo) and Lauren Long and Vanesha Seetal (Ombudsman Leader and Policy & Communications Adviser, Financial Ombudsman Service)
14:30 – 15:00 Round-up Discussion, Summary and Close.
