Details of the 2010 speaker and host will be confirmed in July when the event launches.

Fred MacAulay

Fred is one of Scotland's best loved comedians who began his comedy career at the age of 31 making a dramatic move from his former occupation - an accountant.

He has regularly performed at the Edinburgh Festival and toured with his own stand up show as well as appearing at the JUST FOR LAUGHS Festival in Montreal.

He has made many guest appearances on shows such as HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU and THEY THINK IT'S ALL OVER before co-hosting the hugely popular MCCOIST AND MACAULAY. In addition, Fred has been involved in more than ten series with the BBC in Scotland and the UK.

He has hosted BBC Radio Scotland's morning show since 1997 and is a regular panelist on the prestigious Radio 4 production THE NEWS QUIZ, also appearing on JUST A MINUTE and I'M SORRY I HAVEN"T A CLUE.

He is much in demand for after dinner entertainment and awards presentations throughout the UK and his work has also taken him to America, France, Hong Kong, Sweden, Iceland and Australia.

Married with three children, Fred's a keen skier and a golfer with a temporarily high handicap and is currently Rector of Dundee University.

Charan Gill

Charan Gill was the mastermind behind the hugely successful Scottish based Harlequin Restaurant Group, the largest Indian restaurant chain in the UK.

Over the years Charan has received many prestigious awards in recognition of his achievements, most recently an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Paisley for entrepreneurship. Other accolades include the Asian Entrepreneur of the Year Award in April 2004, the Scottish Licensed Trade News Industry Achievement Award in November 2003, the Glasgow Restaurateurs' Association Lifetime Achievement Award Oct 2002, Scotland on Sunday, Great Scot Award (Business Category) Sunday Mail 2001and the 'Spirit of Scotland' Businessman of the Year Award in Oct 1999.

During his illustrious career, Charan has also been on numerous public and private boards including the NHS Glasgow North Trust, Glasgow the Caring City Charity and Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow. He was also chairman of the Ethnic Minorities into Work strategic group set up by the Scottish Executive, and also chairman of the Glasgow Restaurateurs' Association, and is currently serving as vice chairman of the Entrepreneurial Exchange. Charan has been listed in the' Asian Who's Who' for the last 11 years, and this year he was also featured in the international 'Who's Who'.

Rather than being born with the silver spoon syndrome, on the contrary, Charan's childhood was tough. He arrived in Glasgow from the Punjab, India in 1963 at the age of 9 with little knowledge of English or indeed the western culture. Denied a university education, he started his career as a turner and fitter at Yarrow's Shipyards on the Clyde in 1969. By 1974, he was married with a young child, living in a room and kitchen on the south side of Glasgow. To supplement his meagre income in the shipyards, Charan worked as a waiter in his friend's restaurant, the Ashoka West End - and this is when his entrepreneurial flair began to flourish.

He had a vision. In 1984 when the opportunity arose to purchase the restaurant, Charan begged and borrowed to secure the deal. Through grim determination, (and at times desperation), he applied his innate ability to turn ideas into innovative concepts - and the Harlequin empire was born. Often revered as 'Scotland's Curry King' by the media, Charan has turned the Glaswegian passion for curry into a thriving empire of 17 restaurants across Scotland.

In 1998, Charan was awarded an MBE for his outstanding contribution to the Food and Catering industry. Having sold his Harlequin Empire in a multi-million pound deal in 2005, Charan is now concentrating on building links between Scottish and Indian companies wishing to grow in a global marketplace. He has achieved this by opening an office in Delhi, India, aptly named 'Scotland House'. In addition, his charitable endeavours over the years have helped to raise over £1 million for various charities at home and abroad.

In his 'spare' time, Charan is much in demand as an after dinner speaker at various national dinners, events and conferences across the UK. Charan is a winner of the Asian Entrepreneur of the Year award. He also Chair of the Ethnic Minorities into Work group, and Vice Chairman of Entrepreneurial Exchange. Television appearances include Channel 4's The Secret Millionaire