Richard Branson’s right-hand man is among the top speakers coming to the UK’s largest regional business-to-business show.

For more than 20 years, Will Whitehorn was at the Virgin founder’s side while the company stamped its mark on everything from aviation, banking and music, to trains, soft drinks and space travel.

The former brand director at Virgin Group and president of the Virgin Galactic will join other industry innovators at Kent 2020 Vision LIVE, offering tips on how to improve products, marketing and customer communications.

Held at the Kent Event Centre at the County Showground, Detling, visitors will also hear from Checkatrade.com founder and managing director Kevin Byrne. The line-up was announced at today's 2020 launch event at the Showground.

Mr Byrne - one of the county's leading entrepreneurs - will give an insight into how he created the ground-breaking online service for finding trustworthy tradespeople.

He built the company from scratch to a household name, which now employs more than 120 staff and has an annual turnover of more than £7.5m.

“We wanted this year’s theme to get our audience thinking about how they can do things differently in the future,” said Jane Ollis, chief executive of BSK-CiC, the organisation behind Kent 2020 Vision LIVE.

“By showing how innovation can build customer loyalty, create competitive edge and accelerate growth, we believe our visitors will leave the event feeling inspired to do great things when they get back to base, supporting our mission to equip the Kent business community for the challenges ahead.”

A key event in the country’s business calendar, Kent 2020 Vision LIVE attracts more than 300 exhibitors and over 3,000 attendees each year.

It is run as a collaboration between BSK-Direct and Kent County Council, with support from the KM Group and the Kent Event Centre.

For information and to register online, click here