SIR DIGBY Jones, the former director-general of the CBI, will be the main speaker at the inaugural Young Directors' Conference organised by the Yorkshire region of the Institute of Directors (IoD) next month.

The event, which takes place at Hazlewood Castle, near Tadcaster, on Wednesday, May 23, will reflect the aim of the Young Directors' Forum - to support emerging leaders in developing their professional skills, and encouraging them to "aim high to hit high".

Sir Digby's theme will be: What Is The Future Of Entrepreneurs In The UK?

Two other major speakers at the conference will be Etta Cohen, the founder of Forward Ladies, a support network for women entrepreneurs, and Judith Donovan, a Yorkshire marketing guru, and a former finalist in the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year competition.

Interwoven with the speeches will be various workshops during the day, led by prominent Yorkshire business figures.

They include Tom Riordan, chief executive of Yorkshire Forward; Ann Pickering, general manager of customer service and retail for O2; Dr Andy Stanford-Clark, an inventor with IBM; and Richard Firminger, North European regional sales director for Yahoo! Search marketing, who will talk about presentation of online business deals.

The conference will be opened by Miles Templeman, the director general of the IoD, and tickets at £100 for members and £115 for non-members can be bought at www.iod.com/ydfconference.