Power 50 Publication - Flipbook - Page 9
Page 9
Hayley Greaves
Global Vice President Operations,
Ashfield Event Experiences
Charlotte Gentry
Sue Gill
CEO & Founder,
Pure Communications Group
Founder & CEO, YES
(Your Event Solutions)
Charlotte started her career in PR and her
first role was for a small business in Cape
Town, working alongside a very strong
woman for clients including Spier Wine
Estate. She moved back to the UK and
after a stint in a PR company, left to set up
her own concierge business. “Sadly 9/11 hit
and my target audience weren't travelling
so I was approached by two different
people to work with them to set up other
companies. I chose to set up a sports
hospitality and event management
business with one guy but after three
years realised that our values weren't the
same, so left and set up Pure. I built a
brand, found an office, and had a fully
functioning business within two weeks.
At 16, Sue was PA to a team of architects
and project managers designing large
retail stores.
The executive assistant she worked for
took a role at ILG tour operators and asked
her to join in the sales support department. She then worked in independent
retail travel agencies setting up their
corporate and teletext divisions before
joining CMM as sales manager and
working her way up to joint MD alongside
the owner’s son. “My dream was to set up
my own incentive and events company
and I did this in 2001 from my back
bedroom with £500 savings, a car to get
around to see potential customers and
visit venues, and a laptop. 21 years later
YES is a global brand in over 90 countries.”
Most memorable moment:
Sir Martin Sorrell shaking my hand when
delivering his EMEA conference in Lake
Maggiore for WPP and being told by him
that it was the best one they had ever
done.
Biggest challenge:
The 2008/2009 recession, which was very
tough. We grew too quickly with not
enough substance to start with and so
when the crash happened, we couldn't
sustain it. I had people calling me and
saying you owe us this much money, and I
would simply say 'well I don't have it this
week, come back next week and we'll see'.
The pandemic hasn't been an easy ride
either.
Inspiring the next generation:
I love mentoring young people who are
looking to build their careers in the sector. I
am currently mentoring a young woman
through EVCOM, and really enjoying it. I
think more women should feel confident in
their ability and branch out to follow their
dreams of being their own boss.
Biggest challenge:
Knowing when to get out of a vertical
business that wasn’t helping YES’ core
standards. In 2015, we ventured into
experiential events at festivals - it was a
completely different business, and I came
to the realisation that it was not our
speciality or complementing YES. So, we
walked away from a very healthy income
stream to maintain our quality standards.
Proudest professional achievement:
Calling my mum to tell her that YES had
been acquired by Internova in January
2019. I was overwhelmed to share that
myself, my family and the amazing team
over the years had built a business that
was sellable and primed for growth.
People who most inspired me:
My girls have always championed me to
keep going even when they were small,
and it was hard to leave them to travel.
They never asked me for anything and
have always shown pride in what I do. This
has inspired me to make them proud
every day.
Hayley was part of only the second or third
year of intake for the Leeds University’s
Event Management degree programme.
Her first role was for a company that
predominantly worked in automotive,
where she ran lots of incentives, launches
and conferences. She then moved to
Banks Sadler and worked her way up to
account director. “When my son came
along, I needed to take a step back from
operational delivery and travel, so moved
to a smaller agency up north as director
of sales and marketing and then client
side to head up EMEA marketing communications and events at a medical device
company. I joined Ashfield as director of
operations before then being promoted to
my current role as global VP operations.”
Biggest challenge:
The guilt. I think, at some point in the
delivery suite with my first child, the
midwife injected me with a sizeable dose
of guilt, and for quite some time, I felt
terrible about being at work or travelling
rather than being with my son. On the
other hand, whenever I was home with my
son, I’d feel guilty about missing
something
important at work. I think my generation
of women have been told all too often
that we can have it all, but the reality is we
are only one human, and we might have
to miss the odd sports day because of a
client pitch or miss a crucial meeting
because we have a sick child. Thankfully,
once I’d come to that realisation, the guilt
began to lessen somewhat.
Proudest professional achievement:
Being voted onto the EVCOM board. I
spent some time on the board previously
and had to step down due to other
commitments, but I’m back again this
year and it’s such a privilege to represent
our industry alongside some truly fantastic
leaders.
People who most inspired me:
I think seeing my mum have a successful
career as a strong, independent woman
really motivated me to strive for the same.
In terms of industry inspiration, I have
watched Fay Sharpe from afar since the
beginning of my career and have been
inspired by her countless times.
