The private sector has been told to embrace technology but warned not to let it ruin creativity and innovation during the Bradford Chamber of Commerce's annual dinner.
President of the Chamber, Judith Donovan CBE, cited changes in the Chamber's constitution in order to modernise and the Bradford E-Commerce Project as examples of how to use skills and knowledge as innovation tools alongside IT in the 21st century.
She was speaking to more than 350 members and guests in the Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford.
The president also praised the foresight of the city's 2020 Vision but said the private sector needed to retain independence and speak with authority on issues affecting the business community when building partnerships with public bodies.
The dinner also heard David Jones, chief executive of Next plc acknowledge the growth of e-commerce in clothing retail but also stress the need to have quality and strength of product before developing innovative marketing and sales development strategies.
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