Inspiring creatives announced for launch events as Humber Business Week champions sustainability, collaboration and culture

The Humber Business Week community will be urged to ask itself two questions when they welcome Dr Alan Raw as keynote speaker to the 2026 Biz Week north bank programme launch on Wednesday 22 April.

Alan will challenge his audience to consider what sort of future they want for the Humber region, and what role they can play in that future

Less than a week later on Tuesday 28 April the programme launch on the south bank will use the spectacular backdrop of Helios - a large-scale illuminated installation by internationally renowned artist Luke Jerram – to shine a spotlight on culture’s role in shaping growth, identity and ambition for organisations.

Pat Coyle, Chair of Humber Business Week, said: “The purpose of the programme launches is to reveal details of the events which are planned on both sides of the Humber and this year we’re fortunate to have speakers who can help us do that from the combined perspective of sustainability, collaboration and culture.”

Alan, who received an honorary doctorate last year from the University of Hull for Sustainability and Creative Practice, will return to the venue for the north bank event. A former BBC broadcaster and co-founder of BBC Introducing, Alan is also a published author, cultural catalyst, entrepreneur, and sustainability practitioner working at the intersection of creativity, business, and environmental systems. 

He revealed he plans to tap into the key Biz Week themes of sustainability, collaboration, and culture by presenting the Humber as a real-world example of industrial transformation and environmental change, and looking at how businesses, communities and institutions can work together to build resilient futures.

Rather than seeing climate and environmental change as abstract challenges, he will invite the audience to view them as opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and long-term thinking.

Alan said: “Humber Business Week is one of those rare moments when people from very different sectors come together in the same room. Those conversations matter because collaboration is how regions like ours turn challenges into opportunities.

“The Humber is a place that has always lived with change. This region is learning in real time how to adapt. My talk will be about sustainability, creative practice, and leadership, how the futures we build always begin as ideas, and how businesses and communities can work together to write a future they want to live in.”

The event will take place at the University of Hull Business School from 5pm until 7pm on Wednesday 22 April.

Billed as “The Business of Culture: Under the Sun”, the programme launch on the south bank will combine business insight, cultural perspective and live performance to demonstrate the role arts and culture play in driving economic growth, strengthening identity and connecting communities.

The event will be delivered in collaboration between Future Humber, The Culture House and Humber Business Week with the message that culture is not a “nice to have” – it’s a powerful contributor to how places grow, compete and tell their story. 

The partners will bring together leaders across business, culture and local government who will share insight into Grimsby’s growing cultural momentum, the impact of investment and funding, and the opportunity this creates for Humber. 

They promise an event which will position culture as a strategic sector, exploring its role in regeneration, inward investment, talent attraction and regional confidence. The event will take place on Tuesday 28 April between 5pm and 7pm.

Pat added: “The programme launch is also a key point in the countdown to Biz Week itself, which kicks off on Monday 1 June with a packed schedule of events at the MKM Stadium in Hull and continues with an array of speaker events, advice sessions, panel discussions and plenty of opportunities to interact and engage before the curtain comes down with The Business Day on Friday 5 June.

“The launch events are also an opportunity for people to set their Biz Week priorities, plan ahead to avoid clashes, and meet some of the people who will be organising, hosting and attending the sessions. New events are being added to the Humber Business Week website all the time and we’re urging anyone planning to host something to get it up online as soon as possible and join the programme launch line-up.”

To keep track of the latest additions to the Humber Business Week programme, register your own events and book your places visit https://humberbusinessweek.co.uk/

Picture details

Pic of Dr Alan Raw, keynote speaker at the Humber Business Week north bank programme launch at the University of Hull Business School.

Also a pic of Helios - a large-scale illuminated installation by internationally renowned artist Luke Jerram which will provide the backdrop for the Humber Business Week south bank programme launch in Grimsby Minster.