Hi Helen, tell us a little bit about yourself! 

I started in events in 1997 and spent 17 years in venue operations and proactive sales before I decided to switch and re-qualify as an event manager and marketer 3 years ago. I love this industry and I’m really passionate about what I do, I think what we all do as events and marketing professionals is amazing. The power of face to face meetings and events for relationship building is something that will never stop being relevant. But not only that, events are one of the most powerful and emotive communication channels out there, I love being a part of that, it’s what’s driven me to do what I do for the past 20 years.

How would you describe EWL?

EWL stands for #EventProfs Who Lunch. It’s the only business networking club that operates solely for event professionals, and is a platform where you can build great relationships and contacts by leading with yourself and not with your business cards. Our aim is to drive education for event professionals via peer to peer knowledge, engaging in open, honest debates and through listening to the viewpoints and experiences from both sides of the industry, planners learning from suppliers and vice versa.  EWLevents are incredibly powerful communicators that help create a better understanding and empathy for the benefit of the industry.

Why did you set up EWL?

Like many new businesses I set up EWL out of a professional need I had when I re-qualified 3 years ago. There were no events that I could attend as a planner where I could simply sit down and have focussed discussions on topical issues within the industry, where I could really pick the brains of my fellow event managers and share valuable knowledge and experiences in a forum where people were open and honest. That is why I set up EWL, and that is what our members love about EWL. Our first ever event centred on diversity and women in events, and 2 ½ years in we’ve never looked back!

What can someone expect by joining one of your events?

If you join an EWL event you are not going to walk away from that one event with a handful of sales leads, that is not what we are about. What you will get from that EWL event is a foot in the door to start building better and stronger relationships and connections by really getting to know what drives decision making processes, what frustrations people may have, what the real needs and thought processes are of people who work in events, from all sides. This knowledge is far more powerful than any business card. The more events you attend, the more you’ll develop a greater understanding and knowledge of this industry. As you foster these relationships and become part of the EWL family, you’ll walk away with valuable business and leads from EWL events. The more you put in the more you’ll get out, and you can expect some really great thought-provoking educational content along the way.

What’s next for EWL? 

We are 2 ½ years in and we’re currently going through a rebrand with a new look for EWL launching in September. We’re changing the format of the events to really drive debate and we’re going to be as disruptive and interactive as we can to really get to the bottom of what is driving professionals in our industry and what needs to be addressed to make positive change for the future. It’s an exciting time for us and there’s been a great reaction from our membership, I can’t tell you any more than that  for now so you’ll have to watch this space!

To find out more about EWL and their events, head over to their website here.

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