Christine Esson
Founder, SBN "An excellent relationship manager, she has utilised her skills at corporate client/relationship management to become a high-profile connector."
About this speaker
In markets where there’s a clear market opportunity, Christine’s mission is to match it with Scottish capability. With an emphasis on pragmatic advice, and thirty years of experience in economic development, Christine is uniquely positioned to aid aspirant entrepreneurs.
An excellent relationship manager, she has utilised her skills at corporate client/relationship management to become a high-profile connector. Christine facilitates conversations and brings the right people together. In her role as co-founder of the Scottish Business network, she is nurturing a community in order to create sustainable market entry for aspiring entrepreneurs.
One of Christine’s roles is to facilitate entrepreneurial Scots receiving advice from experienced Scottish leaders through events, practical support packages and mentoring. She has not only created an environment where aspiring entrepreneurs can pitch to senior business leaders for specific support at events, but a platform for senior executives to nurture links with up-and-coming businesses. Fostering connections is an important part of any business, and dialogue post-event is actively encouraged.
Her role with the Scottish Business Network is also to manage the strategic intent and operations, as well as widening the membership in London. Based in capital, she believes that the city is a launch pad and incubator for entrepreneurialism and that once strategy and operations are perfected in London, businesses are ready to take their brand international.
As an economic development specialist, Christine’s lengthy career has involved eight years at Enterprise Ireland where she led the overseas team in the UK and sixteen years at Scottish Enterprise where she progressed to Senior Director. She has experience in both the government and private sector. Her expertise lies in strategic business planning and board level contribution and she has led and developed large teams, as well as focusing on global export and business growth strategies.
Christine’s reach even extends to fiction – she’s a character in Ian Rankin’s popular John Rebus novels. DC Christine Esson is a 20-something Audrey Hepburn lookalike, who assists Rebus in four novels with her tech expertise and dislikes tea and coffee. She is based on real-life Christine, who won the amazing opportunity to be immortalised in print in a charity auction.
