Power 50 Publication - Flipbook - Page 8
Page 8
achievement. From when I first started
Sleek, we saw tremendous results - year
on year growth has been substantial for
Sleek, with year one turnover of £1.1 million,
year two of £3 million, year three of £6
million and year four £7.6 million - all from
organic, word of mouth growth.
Person who most inspired me:
Miles Hilton-Barber has been an
inspiration and someone that I have been
following for years. He was the first ever
blind pilot to undertake a 55-day,
21,000-kilometre microlight flight from
London to Sydney and made history by
relying on his co-pilot and the
revolutionary speech-output technology
on his navigation instruments. His passion,
drive and persistence has inspired and
motivated me throughout my journey so
far.
great moment for me.
Proudest professional achievement:
In 2021, I was recognised in C&IT
magazine's Agency A-List, which is an
exclusive selection of the top 35 under 35
agency-side event planners in the UK. I'm
so proud of this achievement as it's a
symbol of how hard I've worked to
succeed in my career.
you have determination and drive you
can succeed in most things. I am part of
Founders for Schools, an education
charity, which sets up events in schools to
inspire school children to start their own
businesses or think about their careers
more broadly. I really enjoy that.
People who most inspired me:
I'm hugely inspired by other female
leaders in the events industry like Fay
Sharpe OBE, Holly Moore and Anna Peters.
Whenever I meet these women, I always
find them incredibly supportive,
encouraging and wise. Having great
female role models like these helps me to
identify and understand my own goals as
a leader.
Lucy Francis
Director, Lemon Lane
Lizzy Eaton
Managing Director,
Oddity Events & Marketing
After graduating with a degree in Event
Management with Marketing in 2010, Lizzy
began her career at a medical association, delivering scientific conferences and
workshops. She worked as an event
operations specialist at Informa Group,
before moving to communications
consultancy, Portland Communications,
where she rose through the ranks to
become head of events & marketing,
working with brands such as Apple,
Google and McDonalds. “I left Portland in
2018 to start Oddity, which supports clients
including Asthma UK, Diageo, GoDaddy,
Heathrow and Visa. I’m proud to have led
my team to win Best Start-up Agency at
Conference News' Agency Awards, and
Outstanding Team of the Year, at the MIA
Awards, both in 2020.”
Most memorable moment:
I created a series of weekly online “lunch
and learns” for event professionals who
found themselves at a loose end during
the lockdown, which was watched by
people all over the world. At a networking
event, my lunch and learn series came up
in conversation. I was told my authenticity
and passion for the industry was inspiring,
and the series helped people through
lockdown by giving them something to
look forward to each week. That was a
Amanda
Edgcumbe
Founder & Director,
Powwow Events
Amanda started her career in the
professional and financial services
industries, including NatWest and
Barclays International, moving to Hong
Kong in 1985 to join McKinsey &
Company. “I loved organising events in
the Far East, including Singapore,
Malaysia, Taiwan, China, Thailand and
the USA, moving to London in 1991 where I
continued to arrange events throughout
EMEA. I managed the conference team
and the travel implant at McKinsey until
1998 when I left and started Powwow.”
Most memorable moment:
I was asked to be on a panel discussion
of female entrepreneurs at McKinsey on
International Women’s Day a few years
ago. I was honoured to be there as a
businesswoman at the place that had
taught me so much over the years.
Proudest professional achievement:
I have been asked to mentor young
people, to be on judging panels for event
graduates and talk to school children
about my business and life in events. I
think these are my proudest moments.
Inspiring the next generation:
I like to try to inspire the next generation,
especially as I left school at 16. I think if
Lucy started her events career working as
an event coordinator for a boutique
agency in Sydney. From there she moved
to cievents, working her way up from
event director to business leader, and
finally making the move to run the UK
operation of cievents. “Since 2020, myself,
and my amazing co-directors Jade
Howgrave-Graham and Rachel Capell
have been building Lemon Lane. It is
incredible to create and shape a business
to be exactly what we want it to be. To
take all our experience and passion and
funnel it into the exciting agency we have
become, is truly a dream come true.”
Most memorable moment:
Setting up Lemon Lane with my
co-founders has been my most
memorable moment. Within that there are
several mini moments – registering the
company, opening a business bank
account, winning our first client. It's been
an incredible journey.
Biggest challenge:
I am not alone in this, but losing my job in
2020, along with my partner losing his, and
with two children under four was a
terrifying time. There were times when I
couldn't see how we would get out of this
situation. But throughout my business
career I have been lucky to have leaders
who taught me that when times are
tough, then that is the time to look for
opportunity, to keep moving, to embrace
the positives.
Proudest professional achievement:
Bringing junior people onto my team and
nurturing them, supporting them, and
helping them to be much better at their
job than I will ever be is by far my
proudest achievement. There is no feeling
like seeing people be incredibly successful
and knowing that you played a small part
in that success.
