Dale Parmenter, managing director, DRP Group
Alongside his work at DRP, Parmenter is currently chairman of assocation EVCOM and has overseen the merger between IVCA and Eventia. He has also managed one of the most successful periods in the agency’s history, creating 25 new jobs and delivering growth of 46% in 2013.
Dan Cowdrill, sales and marketing manager for venue portfolio, London Borough of Hackney
Cowdrill has headed up a team of five to deliver more than 150 events in two venues in the past year and seen business across the Hackney Venues collection increase by 60%. He has also set up a new networking group for venue managers in nine other local authorities.
Dan Schofield, head of operations, Manchester City FC; former head of event delivery, Tour de France Hub 2014
As head of event delivery for the Tour de France in Yorkshire, Schofield was responsible for identifying the delivery requirements and overseeing the procurement and management of a host of logistical suppliers for the event. He then headed to Manchester City FC where he is responsible for all match-day operations and stadium non-match-day activities.
Dan Stanton, director, Push UK
Stanton has overseen an increased turnover of 40% for Push, as well as doubling its number of employees. This year the agency has created two national Sony tours, and Stanton has been known to push the boundaries with the agency’s relationship with its client.
David Atkinson, managing partner, Space
As the founder of Space from 2003, Atkinson has worked in the past year with brands such as Nivea, Desperados and Birra Moretti. He also oversaw a creative expansion into the world of augmented reality with the creation of an experiential app for airline Lufthansa.
David Balfour, managing and creative partner, Lightblue WW
Balfour manages both the UK and UAE offices of Lightblue, directing client wins on a business and creative level such as Reebok, Adidas and Budweiser. The agency recently re-signed its Middle Eastern contract with Playstation, having conceptulised the region’s gaming expo, Games, for the past five years.
David Ball, founder/owner, Brand Fuel
Alongside his infamy for partaking in extreme endurance challenges such as the Augrabies Extreme Marathon, Ball has been involved in the leadership of the design and delivery of events for Google, Huawei and UEFA. He is also a non-executive director on the board of Brave New Talent, a platform for corporate community management.
Dave Withey, sales and marketing director, Arena Group UK & Europe
Withey has personally pioneered to improve sustainability standards across the group, resulting in a decrease in each individual worker’s carbon footprint by 50%. Events he has overseen this year include the company's contracts for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the Fifa World Cup in Brazil.
Dawn Cardy, experiential director, Mission
Cardy has overseen interactive experiences for a wide range of brands over the past year such as Cath Kidston, Belvedere and Nokia.
Duncan Mitchell, director, LOLA Staffing and TORO Crewing
Despite entering the industry with no experience, Mitchell has secured LOLA as the sole staffing supplier across the entire Shangri-La restaurant group and The Shard hotel. He also gets involved with start-ups through Junior Fund, and has just invested in two new events buinesses.
Edward Poland, co-founder, Hire Space
Poland originally launched Hire Space to help schools generate additional revenue through venue hire. The company has since processed more than £20m of enquiries for 1,200 London venues in the 18 months since its launch.
Emma Barrow, head of events, Somerset House
Barrow joined the team at Somerset House Trust in 2010 and rose to the role of head of events in late 2011. Since then she has secured a high-number of varied cultural events at the venue, including the prestigious London Fashion Week, which celebrated ten years at Somerset House this year.
Eric Janssen, chief revenue officer, Intellitix
A senior member of radio frequency identification technology start-up Intellitix, Janssen is responsible for its sales, corporate development, marketing, pricing and revenue management. The company has worked on events such as the Ryder Cup and Tomorrowland festival in 2014.
Fabien Riggall, founder/creative director, Future/Secret Cinema
Riggall set up Future Shorts back in 2013, which led to the launch of Future Cinema in 2005 and Secret Cinema in 2007. This year saw Riggall and his experiential team overcome adversity and a number of unexpected cancelled dates to produce its Back to the Future series to critical acclaim.
Fay Sharpe, managing director, Zibrant
Sharpe oversaw the launch of a new production company Zibrant Live at the beginning of 2014. In total, the new chapter has reached around 14,000 delegates, and picked up three accolades at the C&IT Awards in Septemeber, including the Grand Prix.
Fleur Chalmers, senior project manager, In 2 Events
Chalmers has risen from project manager to senior project manager in the last 12 months and now manages a team within In 2 Events. Throughout May and June she took on a series of roadshows for Kinexa IBM, managing 2,000 delegates across three European cities.
Gary Hutchinson, commercial director, Sunderland AFC
Hutchinson has overseen a number of large music acts perform at the Stadium of Light, with each concert boosting approximately £3.5m to the North-East economy. He works with more than 200 businesses in his role as chair of Sunderland’s Business Group and NECC.
George Sirius, chief executive, Eventsforce
Sirius analysed the business practices of event agencies to create Eventsforce, which helps corporate, association and agency clients streamline processes to maximize ROI. In 2014, he has led the expansion of his business in the US and has continued to work with Coventry University to develop its event management degree.
Georgina Coleman, head of corporate sales, Late Night London
Looking after the full Late Night London estate as head of corporate sales at Novus Leisure, Coleman aided the production of its highest value event to date in 2014 for Sainsbury’s, as well as working with the John Lewis Partnership. She also helped with her brand’s digital engagement, increasing its Facebook likes by 35,000 since January.
Grahame Muir, chief executive, Arena Group UK & Europe
Muir’s 2014 culminated in winning Supplier of the Year at the Event Awards after a year spent providing services to events such as the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup. He also worked to develop new health and safety initiatives within the Arena Group with the aim of improving industry-wide standards.
Greg Lawson, chief executive, Smart Group
Lawson continues to oversee the Smart Group’s portfolio, as well as acting as director for ESP UK, Battersea Evolution, Hawthorn Anagram Production Services and Harlequin Event Management. This year saw Smart Christmas Parties partner with Moss Bros and Girl Meets Dress for the festive season. Smart Hospitality was also hired as caterer at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester and Smart Live produced travel service events at the Ryder Cup.
Guy Horner, managing director, TBA
In Horner’s 15th year as MD and the agency’s 30th anniversary, TBA was recognised by The Guardian as one of the country’s top 40 fastest growing small businesses and won new business with Clarks, CBI and RWC.
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