Louisa Daley talks to Nadu Placca , founder of The Zoo : XYZ and global experience architect about her Black-owned , female-led events agency and Black in the Boardroom report

According to agency-owner Nadu Placca , “ any passionate career comes from your upbringing ”, and this is exactly where her passion for the events industry began . Growing up , Placca attended events with her mum and dad and soon realised that being an event professional was her desired career path . After studying event management alongside music and media management at university , Placca completed several years of voluntary work in the industry because “ that ’ s how you really make your mark ”, she reveals .

With both theoretical and practical experience under her belt , Placca felt confident in her abilities and decided to start up a company herself . After constantly rebuilding and finetuning three

Nadu Placca

“ The more people we have , the bigger the voice , which means we can have a bigger impact across the industry ”

companies , she was able to successfully establish The Zoo XYZ in 2019 , as “ the brand was investable from a personal , board , expert perspective , as well as from a financial perspective ”, she says . Placca defines the Zoo XYZ as a “ Black-owned , female-led experiential event agency ”, which currently has a team of 12-13 black women .

“ The first year of business saw an amazing six-figure turnover ,” beams Placca , which has allowed the agency to work with multiple client briefs and run a variety of events , from UK rapper Stormzy ’ s ‘ Heavy is the Head ’ album launch to being involved with Park and NBA . Placca ’ s agency has also produced free briefs in the past , where it was previously funded by Southern Council for five years .

Since its launch , the Zoo XYZ has consistently been “ working with black talent as well as producing really good quality black events ”, she adds .

Education

Aside from creating and running events ,

Placca , and