Attending The GEM Appeal Charity Ball in Manchester

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Published: Wednesday, 04 December 2024 10:07

Rachel Blackburn and Kerwin Blackburn from US2U Consulting were pleased to attend the GEM Appeal Ball in Manchester for the third consecutive year. This year it had an ABBA 'Thank You For The Music' theme.

Now 30 years old having been set up in 1994, The GEM Appeal is a charity that fundraises for genetic diseases, raising money for research for the Willink Unit based at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. The charity was established by Karen Johnson with the aim to fund research into the disorder that her two sons were suffering and later died from. Several millions of pounds have been raised by The GEM Appeal since.

Rachel Blackburn said, "It was great to catch up with some of the people who support the charity, including some of those from the entertainment world, whilst raising funds for further research which could benefit so many people."

Supporting the NSPCC at their Manchester Gala Christmas Lunch

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Published: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 22:28

Kerwin Blackburn from US2U Consulting was pleased to donate a piece of his art for the NSPCC at their Gala Christmas Lunch in Manchester on Friday 29 November. A framed print of his hand-drawn and hand-painted pop art portrait of Elvis Presley raised funds in the auction to enable 100 phonecalls to the Childline charity.

The event was hosted by TV presenter Danielle Nicholls. Kerwin said "It's great to be able to support the NSPCC again and raise money for a good cause, especially at an important time of year which a lot of children find particularly stressful and need the support of the Childline services."

The original painted is available available for sale on Kerwin's website here.

US2U Consulting CEO Rachel Blackburn also attended the event and is pictured with Danielle.

US2U Attends The Royal Variety Performance 2024

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Published: Monday, 02 December 2024 13:09

US2U Consulting are pleased to again be able to support the Royal Variety Performance, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, as part of our Sustainability strategy.

The Royal Variety Performance is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family and this year was attended by King Charles. It is a mix of family entertainment and includes comedy, music, dance and magic.

The Royal Variety Charity is dedicated to giving support to those who have professionally served the entertainment industry and find themselves sick, impoverished or elderly.

Rachel Blackburn, CEO of US2U Consulting, said "It was a spectacular evening and it was great to see acts perform in advance of the televised screening in December, whilst raising money for a well-respected charity at the same time. It was good to catch up with one of our clients who has now retired - Trish McCarron, former HR Director of Worldwide Fruit."

Rachel and Trish are pictured at the after party at the Natural History Museum with television presenter Lorraine Kelly CBE (right) and professional dancer Amy Dowden MBE (left), best know for her appearances on Strictly Come Dancing.

Kicking off UK International Trade Week 2024

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Published: Monday, 18 November 2024 12:22

US2U Consulting Founder and CEO, Rachel Blackburn, attended the International Trade Week 2024 launch event in London, sponsored by Santander. It was an opportunity to meet Minister Gareth Thomas MP, Minister for Services, Small Business and Exports and to hear him speak about the drive for business growth via the new UK industrial strategy "Invest 2035".

Rachel, pictured with Minister Thomas, said "As an Export Champion it is good to hear that the new government says it wants to support the export of services to boost SME exports and tear down any barriers to growth".

To discuss your business growth plans for 2025, please contact us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Exploring Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at the Leaders Summit in London

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Published: Monday, 11 November 2024 12:34

US2U Consulting's Rachel Blackburn was pleased to attend the ED&I Leaders Summit 2024 on 11 November in London. The amazing view of Tower Bridge set the scene for the inspirational afternoon of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategies from a range of speakers representing successful businesses including EY and BT. The event was chaired by Race Equity Campaigner Richard DeNetto and featured Columnist and TV presenter Sir Trevor Phillips.

Sir Trevor Phillips highlighted the importance of making the business case for ED&I rather than doing it because it's a shield against risk or a flag to wave to make your business look good. An example given was the casting of the popular Netflix series Bridgerton; whilst the cast was diverse, ultimately it was about making a drama series a commercial success.

Other topics included the importance of mentoring people from disadvantaged groups so that your demographic does not become your destiny and creating psychological safety so people can believe that they will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.

Rachel Blackburn, CEO and Founder of US2U Consulting said "ED&I runs as a theme through all our client projects whether explicit or implicit, so it was great to work with like-minded people and discuss some challenges and opportunities for 2025."

We would love to discuss your Equality, Diversity and Inclusion challenges - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for an exploratory conversation.

Strengthening the US-UK Relationship: US2U Consulting's Latest New York Visit

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Published: Wednesday, 06 November 2024 11:46

As part of the US2U Consulting United States business development strategy, Founder and CEO Rachel Blackburn and Consultant Kerwin Blackburn (pictured, main photo) recently spent a week in New York City. "It was great to see existing clients and contacts as well as meet new people to learn more about their businesses and explore opportunities together in the future" said Rachel.

Whilst Rachel and Kerwin were based in Manhattan, the trip included a visit to The Bronx. The New York visit was supported by BritishAmerican Business and included attending a UK Department of Business event for Women in Tech, a FinTech investor event, a cyber security event at the Hard Rock Hotel and an AI conference at Microsoft Head Office in Times Square.

It was interesting to learn about the great game of baseball from the legends Joe Torre and Carlos Pena at the Dell Technologies Forum (pictured below). There was also opportunity for a fun evening at the St. George's Society of New York pub quiz, appropriately held at The Churchill Tavern.

Kerwin Blackburn said "New York has always been a symbol of innovation, commerce and creativity, so it was great to be back on the ground there, connecting with familiar and new faces and understanding key trends and ambitions within the city and United States as we approach 2025."

Please take a look at our two-minute video which explains our Executive Coaching services for the U.S. market, below.

You can view & download our service sheet for the U.S. market here.

For more details about how we can assist your business success on either side of the pond, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for an exploratory conversation. Remember - we guarantee to make a positive difference.

Kicking Off the New York Jets Weekend

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Published: Friday, 11 October 2024 13:58

Rachel Blackburn was pleased to be able to join the New York Jets wine tasting event at the Jets Pub by London Bridge on Wednesday October 2 as part of the British AmericanBusiness Group, to continue to promote opportunities for transatlantic trade.

The New York Jets played against the Minnesota Vikings on the following Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As US2U Consulting is a business that delivers Executive Coaching Projects for clients, it was interesting to talk to some of the New York Jets people about business coaching and relating that to the sports coaching approach.

In both cases it's about enabling people to reach their full potential for the benefit of the team.

The first picture is Rachel with one of the New York Jets legends, Wayne Chrebet, who also signed a Jets hat explaining the significance of his number 80.

The second picture is of Rachel with Mike Nuciforo, Director, Corporate Partnerships and Business Development, New York Jets.

Flying High with Saxon Air

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Published: Friday, 11 October 2024 13:45

As part of our Sustainability Strategy, US2U Consulting were pleased to support the Saxon Air fundraising event supporting The Feed Norwich on Saturday 28 September 2024. Over £4500 was raised.

From its base at Norwich International Airport, Saxon Air provides integrated aviation services, flying clients worldwide with its versatile fleet of helicopters and business jets.

The Feed is an organisation that uses the power of food to empower communities in Norwich ensuring that each and every person has the support to eat well, live well and feel connected. By providing safe spaces at the heart of the community and a holistic programme of projects and 1:1 support they can reduce inequalities, raise aspirations and create a shared culture of strength and kindness.

Rachel Blackburn, pictured at the event, said "It was a fabulous evening and it was great to be able to raise some funds for a good cause which links to our company value of encouraging diversity".

Photo credit: Richard Jarmy

Rachel Blackburn attends DCD London Conference, 17 September 2024

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Published: Saturday, 21 September 2024 16:45

The global data center industry is undergoing rapid transformation and growth, driven by technological advancements and shifting market demands, so it was great that US2U Consulting CEO, Rachel Blackburn, could attend the DCD London conference to learn more so we can support clients across the supply chain.

Rachel attended the DCD in New York back in March 2024, so it was interesting to understand more of the European perspective, although most of the priorities and challenges appear to be global.

The key trends shaping the industry include: trying to make the data centers more environmentally friendly rather than being seen as huge radiators wasting energy; working more closely with communities to breakdown resistance of the construction of new data centers; building hyperscale data centers that can offer massive storage and computing power to handle the exponential growth of data from cloud computing; and AI and big data applications. Like so many sectors, the data center industry is concerned about skills shortages, supply chain shortages and diversity & inclusion.

Rachel said, "I met up with some industry contacts from the New York event and also connected with new people to discuss challenges and opportunities."

Rachel is pictured next to some vintage London buses that were used to take delegates to the Emirates Stadium for the drinks party which continued the networking at the home of Arsenal Football Club.

If you are part of the data center supply chain anywhere in the world, please get in touch with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Horsford CC Player Sponsorship - End of Season Roundup

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Published: Thursday, 19 September 2024 16:27

Supporting the community is one of our Sustainability Strategy Pillars. One of our 2024 initiatives has been the sponsorship of a player at Norfolk cricket team Horsford CC.

Following our news story at the beginning of summer when we announced US2U Consulting was sponsoring Will Bryan, we asked him to review his 2024 cricket season as the bats and balls are put away until 2025. Have a read of our interview below:

How was your season overall?

My season was OK overall - my personal performances were steady without being spectacular, however we had a great season as a club with our 1^st team achieving their highest ever finish in the East Anglian Premier League coming 3^rd, our 2^nd team getting promoted from Division 2 of the Norfolk Alliance, and our 3^rd and 4^th teams improving on previous years.

(Click the full story to read more)