14
Leeds & Hull
Events is a people industry, so who are the superstars working
to make Leeds and Hull first-class event destinations?
Charlotte Podlewska, business
development manager at
ConferenceLeeds
“As the business development
manager for ConferenceLeeds, my
role is to drive business events into
the city.
“I do this by attending national
and international trade shows,
networking events and sales
missions, where I meet with
conferencing buyers and build
relationships with them, in order to
entice them to host their
conference or event in Leeds. We
also put Leeds centre stage when
we host familiarisation visits for
conference buyers, so that they can
see for themselves why Leeds
would be the perfect destination for
their next conference. Another area
of my role is to nurture the
relationships we have with the
hotels and venues in the city, so
that I have city-wide knowledge that
I can use to promote Leeds as a
premier conferencing destination.
“Since I started my role at
ConferenceLeeds, the team and I
have been working hard to build our
network of conference buyers and
we are now seeing this develop into
physical business, via enquiries and
bookings. We are currently waiting to
hear on a number of bids we have
put in for events, so I hope to be able
to announce some great
international events coming to Leeds
next year. We have also been working
along our Universities in developing a
network of conferencing
ambassadors for Leeds. Our goal for
the next year is to grow and expand
this out to the city.
“It has been great being part of a
team that has seen Leeds secure the
position of fourth most popular
conferencing destination in the UK
only behind London, Edinburgh and
Manchester, despite not having a
convention centre in the city.”
Phone: +44 (0)113 378 1183
Email: [email protected]
Ellie Walkington, business
tourism sales officer, Visit Hull &
East Yorkshire
“Having started working for the
conference team seven years ago,
just as we began the bid process for
2017 UK City of Culture, I’ve been
lucky enough to really see Hull
transform itself into a proud, vibrant
and welcoming city and work on a
huge variety of conferences and
projects along the way. I’ve recently
returned from maternity leave and
am looking forward to catching up
with old clients and meeting new
ones, I love assisting clients
throughout the planning process
and helping them to deliver a stand
out conference, whether it’s finding
them the perfect venue, arranging a
gala dinner or organising an
informal ice breaker at one of our
historic pubs!”
www.conference-news.co.uk
Sophie Bass, business tourism
sales officer, Visit Hull & East
Yorkshire
“I joined the conference team in
April 2018 as a business tourism
sales officer while completing my
degree in Business Management.
My role includes managing
partnerships with our venues and
clients, as well as representing Hull
at exhibitions and networking
events. One of my other key roles is
taking care of the accommodation
side of a conference, which can
often be one of the biggest
headaches for organisers. Our
accommodation service is just one
of the free services we offer to
organisers to help make hosting
their event in Hull as easy as
possible.”
Phone: +44 (0)1482 391535
Email: conference.bureau@
vhey.co.uk