| Speakers |
| Rosemary Bannister HT Training Rosemary brings 20 years experience within the service sector to her courses. Rosemary has trained both formally and informally at all levels within organisations and adapts her approach and the course content accordingly. She gains particular satisfaction from helping delegates apply the learning to make a real difference to their working practices. During her time in the hotel industry, Rosemary held a variety of sales and marketing roles, working in 3, 4 and 5 star markets. She worked at head office level and on property. She started to develop her skills as a trainer as she became increasingly responsible for the development of people at all levels within the organisations in which she worked. She established her own business in 2001 providing consultancy and training to a wide client base. She adapts her approach and the course content according to the people she is training and has worked closely with the HBAA since 2001 to help develop the Academy Programme. Rosemary trains in Service Excellence and many different sales related courses such as Selling Skills, Negotiation Techniques and Account Management. Rosemary is also a qualified executive/management coach, is a volunteer Springboard Ambassador and works as a Mentor for Woman 1st. | |
| Jonathan Bradshaw CEO The Meetology® Group Jon is passionate about human behaviour and founded the Meetology® Group in 2010 with the goal of using psychology and behavioural science to aid business interaction. He and his team of psychologists help businesses and organisation in a variety of industries gain competitive advantage by training, coaching and presenting to staff on the fascinating psychology behind human interaction. He has presented in over 30 countries including the US, the UAE, China and Australia and is an award winning columnist. Away from work Jon is a keen sportsman. He was a semi-professional footballer, ran his own personal training business, has climbed on Mt. Everest & Mt. Kilimanjaro as well as organised and completed a 3400mile/5500km European charity bike ride | |
| Leigh Cowlishaw Director of partnerships for Capita Travel and Events As director of partnerships for Capita Travel and Events, Leigh has responsibility for the strategic management and development of the agency’s relationships with core travel and meetings partners. This includes accommodation and venue providers, train operating companies, ground transportation, distribution and airlines. As a self-proclaimed champion of technology, innovation and sustainability, Leigh took on the role of committee lead for the recently re-launched TIS Committee of the HBAA. She was voted in as Vice Chair of the association earlier this year. Leigh joined Capita Travel and Events in 2013 as sourcing manager for key accounts before progressing to her current role in 2014. Her depth of industry experience spans meetings and events agency operations, European customer account management and hotel sales management. | |
| Patrick Delaney Managing Partner Sool Nua Patrick M. Delaney B.A (Mgmt.) With his business partner Pádraic Gilligan, Patrick Delaney is Managing Partner at SoolNua, a boutique consultancy firm working in the Meetings and Events industry. Previously, both Delaney and Gilligan worked for MCI, a global association, communications and event management company.
Patrick holds a BA degree in Hospitality Management from Dublin Institute of Technology. Patrick worked in hotels in Ireland, Canada as well Bord Failte’s Hotel Advisory Service. He worked for 11 years in the US, leading the sales and marketing efforts for the Irish Tourist Board. Patrick returned to Ireland in the early 90s and worked as Sales and Marketing Director for a five star luxury hotel brand and launched the very successful Adare Manor Festival.
Following this, he started Delaney Marketing Consultants in 1994 with Pádraic Gilligan. In 2002 Delaney Marketing acquired Ovation and re-branded as Ovation Group. In June 2007 Ovation was acquired by MCI Group and commenced a robust global expansion programme, which saw the establishment of Ovation offices at over 100 European, Asia, Latin American and Middle Eastern destinations under the Ovation Global DMC brand. Delaney was the first non-US international president of Site (Society of Incentive
and Travel Executives). He was the only Irish person to be recognised by Conference & Incentive Travel (UK) for inclusion in their Power 50 list; a directory of the most inspirational people in the UK and Ireland.
Patrick has been honoured with various awards at the meeting and events industry’s premier shows including the IMEX Academy Award in 2009 and the EIBTM 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award. He has spoken at a numerous of industry events, contributing to Site, The Global Meetings Shows EIBTM and IMEX, The Meetings Show in the UK and ICCA to name a few and continues to
give regular seminars and lectures across all five continents of the world. Delaney also serves on the advisory board for EIBTM and the Board of Directors for INCON Group. | |
| Nadine Dereza PS Programmes Award winning journalist, Nadine Dereza is a highly experienced business presenter, conference and live events facilitator, and co-author of Insider Secrets of Public Speaking. She has presented for CNN, BBC, Sky TV, SABC, Simply Money and Summit TV. Nadine chairs, moderates and facilitates conferences and live events for a diverse range of clients across many industries and sectors globally. She has a wealth of international experience and has worked in Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, Africa and North America. As London Markets Correspondent for the Financial Times and Summit TV, she was awarded ‘Financial Journalist of the Year’. Nadine was a Non-Executive Director of WorldSkills London, appointed for the duration of the three-year project with a clearly defined remit to promote best practice apprenticeships and vocational training throughout the world. She is also Media Director of PS Programmes, delivering coaching programmes which include presentation skills, media training and crisis media management training. Nadine is the facilitator for this year’s HBAA Annual Forum, and also worked with the association at their Kick Off Conference in January. | |
| Liz Devaney Key Account Manager - Extended Stay InterContinental Hotels Liz Devaney is the Key Account Manager, Extended Stay for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and is the current Chair of the HBAA Serviced Apartment Committee. Liz is currently responsible for the account management of apartment booking agents and relocation companies for all extended stay brands within IHG and assists current IHG preferred agency partners and corporate clients to incorporate serviced apartments within their travel programmes. Liz has been in the hospitality industry for over 13 years and assisted in successfully launching the Staybridge Suites brand into EMEA. Liz is passionate about the serviced apartment industry and strives to highlight the important role serviced apartments play in the growth and development of our industry. | |
| Graham Dodd Director of Development for Hilton UK & Ireland, European Divison Hilton Worldwide Graham is responsible for the development of Hilton Worldwide’s portfolio of brands from economy through to luxury, across the UK & Ireland and he also works within the wider Europe & Africa team. Prior to joining Hilton’s development team in September 2010, Graham spent nearly 20 years in the hotel, leisure and commercial property markets working for international real estate advisory firms such as Christie + Co, Knight Frank Hotels and Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. This coupled with his work at Hilton, has given him a detailed insight into the requirements of all stakeholders in the development, rebranding and operation of hotels both at home and internationally. Graham is an occasional golfer and a keen road cyclist having recently cycled in two stages from London to Geneva. | |
| Chris Elmitt MD Crystal Interactive. Chris is founder of the specialist facilitation company Crystal Interactive. Over the past 15 years, he has pioneered the blend of technology and facilitation to achieve high levels of audience engagement for groups addressing topics ranging from stem cell research to consultation on government policy. His client base includes numerous blue chip and large public sector organisations, he also facilitates business industry forums covering retail, manufacturing, travel and marketing.
Chris integrates dialogue, discussion and technology to get the most out of large group meetings. This approach ensures a wide range of inputs can be collated and summarised quickly before opening the floor to lively and productive debate.
Prior to running Crystal Interactive, Chris was a member of the global facilitation team at Ernst & Young. In this role, he facilitated some of the most high profile events the firm ran for its clients, often requiring him to engage deeply with the technical detail of a wide range of business situations. | |
| Trevor Elswood Chief Commercial Officer Capita Travel and Events Trevor’s role is based on shaping and executing business strategy alongside the senior leadership team to ensure that Capita Travel and Events remains unique and compelling. This includes a focus on customer and supply relationships and online channels and distribution that deliver the best results for customers. Trevor has over 20 years of experience in the hotel, meetings and travel sector. He joined hotel and meeting specialist, BSI, in 2000 as Head of Account Management and Supplier Relations, before being appointed managing director. After BSI's 2010 sale to Capita, Trevor has continued to develop a leading organisation, integrating and harnessing leading travel and events sector brands under Capita Travel and Events.
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| Ian Hawkins PS Programmes Ian Hawkins PS Programmes An award-winning public speaker, Ian Hawkins is a writer, broadcaster and co-author of Insider Secrets of Public Speaking. He speaks on leadership, storytelling for business, and pubic speaking, and has appeared on BBC Radio 2, BBC London and LBC. Having previously worked at the speaker agency JLA for several years, Ian is now a coach for PS Programmes, creating and delivering presentation skills and crisis media management training programmes. Clients include Kings Place, The Scout Association, Tesco, Enterprise Nation, Nicola Adams MBE, Jason Gardener MBE and Lloyds Banking Group. | |
| Katie Howard Head of Marketing - Commercial Compass Group UK & Ireland Katie has worked for Compass Group UK & Ireland since March 2011 in a number of Central Marketing roles, and has been Head of Marketing – Commercial since December 2013. Prior to joining Compass Katie worked for various FMCG companies gaining a wealth of experience in brand marketing. Katie’s in-depth knowledge of both FMCG and food service sectors provides her with strong market and consumer insights for implementing consumer-centric offers in Compass Group. Within Compass, Katie is responsible for devising and implementing B2C and B2B marketing strategies and yearly business plans across key programs including Health and Wellbeing, Sustainable Sourcing and Convenience Retail Marketing. Katie’s team is responsible for activity that runs across all Compass Group sectors, ensuring the messaging is appropriate for the end customer each and every time.
Recent key initiatives include: Know Your Food – our platform for health, wellbeing and sustainable sourcing; EATFAIR – Compass Group’s Fairtrade Foundation donating 5p to developing countries every time a product is purchased; and innovation in healthy snacking.
Katie lives in Berkshire and spends her spare time keeping fit, reading and travelling as much as possible.
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| Jacqui Kavanagh Director Trinity Event Solutions Trinity Event Solutions was founded by Jacqui Kavanagh in 2006 and now employs 30 people in venue finding, event management and to book group accommodation. She has many years of experience working in hotels and for agencies. A hotel manager by trade, she worked in Ireland and Germany before finally settling in the UK. Educated at the Dublin College of Catering, Jacqui went on to add to her professional qualifications at night by achieving a business studies degree followed by a certificate in marketing (CIM) whilst holding down a Director of Sales role in a hotel. In 2014, Jacqui was awarded Business Person of the Year for the Stamford and Rutland region and is also a previous winner of the Shine Awards, Business Owner of the Year. Trinity has achieved Investors in People Gold as well as numerous awards such as Promoting Excellence within the Industry from the HBAA and for their Contribution to the Community. Giving back has always been Jacqui's ethos and it is very much the culture of Trinity. She is currently Chair of the Hotel Booking Agents Association and she has sat on the board of MPI and is a member of IOD. She regularly speaks at industry events and has sat on several hotel groups’ advisory boards, the German Convention Bureau board and exhibition panels, such as the GIBTM Abu Dhabi exhibition. | |
| Nigel Keltz Assistant Director - Corporate Procurement Birmingham City Council Nigel Kletz Assistant Director - Corporate Procurement, Birmingham City Council Nigel Kletz joined Birmingham City Council in 2009 with responsibility for Commissioning, Procurement and Contract Management across the Council. In this role he has led delivery of value through implementing best practices, improving engagement with the local SME business community, internal customers and elected members. Nigel is also enabling the development and adoption of innovative delivery options to support new organisations emerging from the Council. As the Council lead for social value, he led the development and implementation of the nationally recognised Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility which includes the Birmingham Living Wage, across the supply chain with over 250 organisations as signatories. Last year he assumed responsibility for ICT, managing the Council's Joint Venture with Capita and heading the Council's ICT Improvement Programme to deliver savings of over £150m from ICT. Nigel chairs the National Advisory Group for Local Government Procurement and represent the West Midlands. The group through the Local Government Association, published the National Procurement Strategy for Local Government last year. Prior to joining Birmingham City Council he worked in the private sector: in the pharmaceutical sector for over 10 years and an early career spent in supply chain management and manufacturing in the automotive and electronics industries. | |
| Thomas Laden Marketing Manger - EMEA Revinate Thomas Landen is the head of marketing for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Revinate. Within his position he is responsible for building and maintaining relations with hoteliers in his region. Prior joining Revinate Thomas gained more than ten years of international marketing and sales experience in the hospitality industry and worked at landmark hotels like The Fairmont San Francisco and St. Andrews Bay in Scotland. He speaks regularly at conferences and different universities such as HSMAI, ITB and Hotelschool The Hague. Thomas serves as an advisory board member for the Academy of International Hospitality Research (AIHR) and TIO University and currently lives in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. | |
| Nina Lovatt HT Training Nina has been a freelance skills trainer since 2003 and specialises in sales and customer care workshops. Prior to setting up her own training consultancy in 2003 Nina held senior sales and marketing positions with Sarova Hotels, The Eton Group, Conde Nast Johansens and IBM. While studying for her Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing in 2002 Nina temped for a London based hotel booking agency and this experience means she is able to bring a unique perspective to her HBAA training workshops having viewed the booking and event process from three angles: • From the hotel and venue perspective
• From the agency perspective
• From the client perspective
Nina has recently created training programs for the following organisations: The Tourism Skills Network South West, Tourism South East, The National Trust, Flybe and for many independent HBAA members.
Nina is an accredited Welcome Host Trainer and licensed Insights Discovery® practitioner.
Nina currently runs HT Training with fellow HBAA trainer Rosemary Bannister.
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| Roger Martin-Fagg Roger Martin-Fagg BA Hons Roger began his career as an Economist with the New Zealand Treasury in 1972, then as Economist to the Air Transport and Travel Industry Industrial Training Board. In 1987 he joined Henley Management College to deliver bespoke strategic management programmes. This he did for 21 years covering all sectors with an emphasis on Financial Services, House builders and newly privatised Utilities, where he helped senior managers in their transition from a public corporation mind set to a shareholder driven enterprise. He worked with Powergen, National Power, British Gas, BAA, and NATS, for an extended period. He specialises in making economics and strategy accessible for non-economists and helping boards think through their Strategy and has worked in the USA, Middle East, Russia and SE Asia. For the past six years, Roger has worked as an Independent Behavioural Economist. He is visiting faculty at Warwick, Ashridge, Henley and Duke Business Schools and has a reputation for making the complex simple, producing accurate forecasts, and is one of a few Economists with a keen sense of humour. His book Making Sense of the Economy is in its fourth reprint, and he publishes a quarterly economic update which is read by 1200 Chief Executives. In his spare time he is a Veteran Oarsman at Marlow Rowing Club and plays keyboards in a Rock Band. | |
| Juliet Price HBAA Executive Director HBAA Juliet has been immersed in the hospitality industry since her first role in the accounts department of Reading Post House, back in the late 70’s. After various roles with Trusthouse Forte, she moved on to work in sales and marketing for De Vere Hotels which included two property openings, and then for Hotel de France, before crossing the line to work in the agency sector as an account director for an CWA Event Management.
She then took the role as head of operations as Hoteline, which ultimately became one of the first UK online agencies, Hotelzon.
Juliet first became involved with the HBAA in 2004 as a volunteer on the training committee, then taking the Training Chair and a place on the Executive Committee. She was elected Chairman of the Association in 2011, and since becoming self-employed, has won a three year contract for the role of HBAA Executive Director. | |
| Lisa Scholes Account Director – Global Hilton Worldwide Sales UK Lisa joined Hilton Worldwide in 2004, initially based on property before moving into Global Sales five years ago. Lisa has experience working in Global Sales in both the UK and also the Middle East. Currently Lisa’s role comprises of account management for six large global corporate accounts on behalf of Hilton Worldwide, managing both the global transient RFP and also the meetings business. In addition to this, Lisa is also leading a Dynamic Corporate Pricing project within Europe, which includes conducting training for the Sales teams across Europe and working to ensure Hilton Worldwide have the necessary tools in place to support this relatively new pricing model. | |
| Alison Searle Global Sourcing Manager - Travel British American Tobacco Alison is a seasoned veteran in the travel industry having devoted over 25 years to working in the hotel booking agency environment with a short 12 month diversity into the world of dispatch and chauffeur services. Throughout this time her primary activity has centered in the customer account management arena including consulting and hotel rate negotiations. In 2012, Alison changed direction and moved into procurement, working as Global Sourcing Manager - Hotels, Meetings & Events, for Agrega Ltd, for both British American Tobacco and Anheuser-Busch InBev, with responsibility for over £80m hotel and meeting spend across over 115 countries. More recently, transferring into BAT, Alison has taken on the Global Sourcing Management role for Travel, incorporating TMC, Hotel Booking Agency, Global Airlines, Hotels and Corporate Card. | |
| Adam Simpson Head of Group Sales at etc.venues Adam is passionate about innovation in the meetings and events industry. After graduating from Durham he worked for Thistle & Guoman in various sales and operational roles culminating as MICE Sales Manager for The Tower. At One Great George Street he developed agency sales for the venue before joining Zibrant as an Account Manager. He is now the Head of Group Sales at etc.venues and has been instrumental in developing the Conference and Exhibition product for the group. Adam has seen etc.venues double in size through new openings and has always paid attention to ensuring etc.venues is at the forefront of event technologies. | |
| Hayley Stokes Director of National Accounts Principal Hayley Hayley started her career in the hospitality industry working for a number of hotels in operational roles whilst studying at University. Following her graduation in 1999, Hayley joined Calder Conferences under the mentorship of Debbie Calder and managed the Conference & Events team specialising in the Public Sector arena. Following a short career break to travel; Hayley returned to the UK in July 2006 for a position with Principal Hotels as their Central Conference & Research Desk Manager and was quickly promoted to National Agency Sales Manager overseeing the group’s Hotel Booking Agency relationships. During her time with Principal Hotels; Hayley has seen the group quadruple in size through strategic acquisitions and in 2011 was promoted to Director of National Accounts. In 2014 Hayley was promoted to Sales Director for the City Division of 11 properties. | |
| Alistair Turner Campaign Director of Britain for Events Alistair Turner is Campaign Director of Britain for Events, the UK event industry’s most inclusive self promotional campaign. He is also communications counsel for the Business Visits and Events Partnership, Director at Large for the International Special Events Society, and former secretariat for the All party Parliamentary Group for Events, and its Inquiry into the International Competitiveness of the Events Industry in 2013. Alistair is a regular speaker and lecturer of both the events industry and the PR and marketing industry. | |
| Gareth Warnock Head of Hilton Worldwide Sales UK Hilton Worldwide Based in London, Warnock is responsible for a head count of 56, covering the sales influenced segments of Corporate, Leisure and MICE and sales influenced revenue target of $1BN. Warnock has worked in the industry since 1990, having trained at the distinguished Shannon College of Hotel Management and receiving an International Diploma in Hotel Management. Warnock then went onto complete a BA (Hons) in Marketing at The University of Glamorgan, Wales, where he graduated with a 2:1 degree. | |
| Andrew White Managing Director Triggerfish Communications Ltd Triggerfish has built a business based on recommendations. Working with a roster of some of the UK’s largest brands, the PR agency maximises clients’ awareness across the hospitality sector. Overseen by Andrew White, the company is made up of driven individuals who have a creative, media focused perspective on developing reputations and revenues in the sector. www.triggerfish.co.uk | |
| Alan Williams Founder & MD SERVICEBRAND GLOBAL Alan coaches service sector organisations, internationally and in the UK, to deliver inspiring service for competitive advantage. He is a published author and speaker whose projects have delivered measurable business impact across a balanced scorecard and been recognised with industry awards. With more than 20 years senior management experience in customer service based businesses, Alan has a track record of success in devising holistic SERVICEBRAND strategies and then using deep operational experience to turn the creative thinking into sustainable, practical reality. Alan has applied this approach as a consultant and an employed senior director, in operational and functional support roles and for global blue chip organisations as well as smaller entrepreneurial companies. He has enjoyed roles with InterContinental Hotels, Barclays Capital, The Brewery and Marriott Hanbury Manor, and was a global train the trainer for the Marriott International Spirit to Serve programme. Alan is a past president of the MIA and his co-authored book “THE 31 PRACTICES: release the power of your organisation’s VALUES every day” has received critical acclaim. | |
