Bringing the association events community together to promote and encourage excellence, share, learn and collaborate.The Association of British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO) is a dedicated industry association representing professional conference organisers. Its mission is to develop and enhance the status of conference and event organisers and increase the recognition given to its members. Membership is open to professional conference organisers, suppliers, associates and destinations who clearly demonstrate the skills, knowledge and experience required to plan and organise major UK and international conferences.ABPCO is dedicated to helping individuals and organisations bring a strong sense of professionalism to their working practice by harnessing and sharing their collective skills, knowledge and experience in the meetings industry.

We provide bespoke consultancy, training and hands-on trouble shooting within the operational quality, sales, business development and key account management roles for hotels, training centres and guest accommodation businesses.'You can't build a reputation on what you say you're going to do' - Henry Ford.Our approach is built on the intrinsic link between a quality product, excellent service levels and successful sales generation. Our services enable hospitality businesses to define their quality strengths and 'good-fit' target markets and use them effectively when promoting their business. This helps the business to grow and retain its customer base by ensuring that the service levels fulfil the guest expectations.

Director and Assessor for the quality standard created by the sector professional body, the Institute of Hospitality, specifically for customer facing businesses. It is based on the European Foundation for Quality Management business excellence model, approved by the British Quality Foundation, supported by the British Hospitality Association and endorsed by Quality Scotland.We enable businesses to reach and exceed their full potential by following world class processes, customer service standards and employee engagement. Great service doesn’t happen by accident.

INSTITUTE OF HOSPITALITY EXECUTIVE COUNCIL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIESThe role of the Executive Council (EC) is the direction and strategic management of the affairs of the Institute within the powers conferred by the Articles of Association. Specifically, it is the policy forming body of the Institute of Hospitality and its role is to define policy and monitor its implementation.The Executive Council discharges its responsibilities -o directlyo by delegating authority to act on its behalf to the Chair of Council and tothe Chief Executive

G4S are the largest employer on the stock exchange. G4S managed services operate the Quality in Tourism assessment service for VisitEngland, which quality assesses 24,000+ properties throughout the UK from B&B’s to large hotel groups.This role involves a dynamic mix of pro-active selling, presenting and key account management across a spectrum of hospitality businesses from family owned groups such as Brend Hotels, to consortia such as Best Western and internationally recognised brands such as Radisson Edwardian. Over the 4 years the role has changed from a broad sales and quality awareness function to a specific focus on increasing business from specific market sectors. Key achievements include:  Increasing annual revenue results (retention, account growth and new business) by 100% from £400k annually to £800k during the height of the global recession. Defining our product offer and USP for target sectors and positioning our assessment offering in growing markets. Through high degrees of planning and organisation I built long-term relationships at the highest seniority levels within the accounts and have successfully balanced the needs of our clients against our organisational goals and those of VisitEngland. I have worked tirelessly to ensure that the portfolio of accounts have a highly interactive and personalised service. A comprehensive understanding of the assessment arena and careful balancing of resources with the administrative and assessment teams to ensure that our services fulfil the clients’ expectations.

Initial Style were the largest provider of dedicated training and conference venues in the UK. They are now known as DeVere venues http://www.devere.co.uk/about-us/venues This new role within the group was originally created to encourage greater synergy between the field sales and centre sales teams. I developed and implemented strategies to grow the business base and sales team from Northamptonshire to Edinburgh. My broad experience across the business in both sales and sales projects enabled me to focus, guide and advise the team to reach maximum results on minimal resources in challenging trading conditions. I achieved success in this role through the credibility I established over a number of years based on my personal results. Key achievements and roles included:  Managing and developing the group sales team based in the North to achieve the cluster venue targets of >£20mn. Through account management and new business development. Production, implementation and onward analysis of a sales strategy for the North West to launch Wychwood Park and further establish Cheadle House. Brand Manager for the ISC Trainers’ Club. A loyalty scheme providing on-site benefits and networking opportunities for its 3000 trainers. Development of a ‘Resource Library’ of sales information accessible to all group and operational sales teams within Initial Style Conferences Analysis of the training provision for the pro-active sales teams – with the formulation of a strategy to update the provision in line with the present business needs Updating of the Operational Sales SOP & Performance Reviews of 20 Sales Staff to identify skills gaps. This culminated in a proposal for all future sales inductions and the introduction of a mystery caller programme. 2002 – Awarded ‘Best contribution to group sales’

I played a key role in the development of a large number of major accounts – bringing a wealth of experience in understanding the varying requirements of both corporate companies and Government Departments and translating these into workable solutions. This involved communication with key decision makers – both during sales presentations and through ongoing business to business partnerships. Key achievements and roles included:  Hitting or exceeding all annual revenue and bed-night targets. Developing a trusting and strong relationship with my key accounts. Working with Operational Sales Managers and General Managers to create and implement robust Sales and Marketing Plans. Ongoing development of the Trainers’ Club. This included the development of the half-yearly networking events, marketing material and implementation of standards for the operational delivery of the benefits offered to trainers. 2000 - Awarded ASM of the year

The Graduate Scheme provided me with an excellent grounding in each hotel department to achieve and exceed set training objectives within a variety of hotels nationwide. My success gained me promotion to Accommodation Sales Manager at The Bellhouse Hotel, where key roles included:  Promoting and increasing accommodation sales to the local corporate market. Active implementation of a yield management policy for the hotel.

I undertook a management trainee scheme as part of the professional stage of my degree. I gained operational and supervisory experience