Editor's Pick
Before leaving, Heather Gibson, EP’s editor for the past eight years has shared with us her Top Ten Articles and Top Ten Events. See below for more..EP is delighted to announce an enlarged team to take the magazine forward. EP has grown in the past twelve months, doubling both its editorial content with increased online features and also aims to host over 60 events in the next twelve months.
Led by Chris Sheppardson (founder, far right), the new team showcases a different array of skills and ideas from varied backgrounds that will lead the engagement process. The team will include a new editorial team of:
- Jaz Notay (third from the left)– a former FD within Elior’s City Division, Jaz is an exceptional emerging talent with a clear business focus.
Miriam Staley (center) – known for formerly being on “The Apprentice” but has been involved in hospitality industry for many years, running a hotel in the Caribbean and also managing events for Lloyds. Miriam is a strong advocate of leadership and cultural development.- Sara Stewart (single picture right) – a leading figure in EP’s work supporting entrepreneurs. Sara brings a unique insight and different perspective.
- Arlene Tobin (third from the right) – the driver of EP’s busy events schedule
- Nicole Thompson (second from the right) – Comms
- Linn Vislie (second from the left) – Engagement
- Ben Gateley (BORN SOCIAL) (far left) – Comms and Social media
An editor’s pick
I must preface this list by saying that it has been a huge privilege to interview all of the people we have included in EP’s pages over the years. In addition I’ve facilitated a wide variety of great events that have benefited from great engagement by all those who attended.It has been very difficult to pick the best memories of these memories - these are those that resonated on a number of levels:Top Ten Article Subjects:
- Buckingham Palace – Reflections on 2012 and The Coronation Festival 2013
- Passing the baton 2012 – generational leadership change in hospitality
- Des Gunawardena, D&D London on the restaurant market and D&D London’s development
- Hotel General Managers Round Table with David Levin, Harry Murray MBE, Andrew McKenzie and Nick Halliday on how general management has changed
- Iqbal Wahhab OBE on his eventful career in hospitality
- Mike Smith, Oakman Inns on the development of Oakman Inns and his successful transition from catering into pub restaurants
- Richard Shepherd CBE on his unique career
- Ufi Ibrahim, BHA and perspective on the industry
- Sir David Michels on how he sees business changing
- Russell Stinson, John Stevenson, Paul Tocher and Robert Beaugie founders of ACT Clean and their success story
Top Ten Events
- Is Ramsay a Brand? (with Oxford Brookes University)
- This was EP’s first big evening event and we had a great audience of over 100 to listen to the debate, including many Oxford Brookes students. It crystallised the potential of this kind of engagement for EP and the enthusiasm for the debate really hit home that it was what the market would buy into. Also just a lot of fun.
- H Talk: Neil Goulden
- Personally this was my first big facilitation and Neil Goulden did not disappoint. I liked that he took hold of the audience and read the room well, not only focusing on what is a very successful career but also his tips for success for others.
- H Talk: Gerald Lawless
- I’ve been lucky to have many dealing with Gerald over the years, and the story of his career and Jumeirah is fascinating. This event saw him talk about the journey from a personal perspective and it was inspiring for all who attended – just a proud moment with a room to capacity and some great people in the room.
- Chairmans’ Think Tank with the BHA
- This has been one of the best events to develop and working with Martin Couchman at the BHA, a joy. It’s been very interesting to develop a profile for entrepreneurs through this piece, and to have the commitment from the Chairman involved is incredibly rewarding.
- Innovation Forum
- We held this initial forum (a precursor to EP’s Food Innovation Forum) at Enterprise Ireland in what ended up being a ‘Dragons Den’ style event. It was an informal affair but the whole vibe for the event worked really well and it heralded a new step in EP’s focus towards supporting entrepreneurs. It’s always been brilliant to see ideas progressively turn into reality.
- BHA / EP with NatWest on the future of hotel ownership
- Hosted this year, firstly it was an honour to be asked by the BHA to chair this event but secondly fascinating to be in the room and learn about views on the hotel market from a diverse array of people. An intellectual challenge with some great debate literally had by all.
- Scottish Leadership Forum with HIT Scotland
- Scotland is one of the jewels in the crown of the hospitality industry and I co-hosted a number of events with David Cochrane for this market. Incredible hospitality and like-minded individuals made up these sessions, with people who have shown great support and commitment to EP over the years.
- Leadership Forum with Tom Wright, former chief executive, VisitBritain
- EP has hosted numerous forums over the years and the format itself has been enjoyable to develop in different disciplines. As a leader Tom Wright had great clarity and insight which he delivered to full effect at this event looking at tourism issues in the UK, and created a very interesting and informative debate. This was the epitome of what I hoped our events stood for over the years.
- GX Leaders Forum with Richard Reed with Joelson Wilson
- This new event worked well on many levels, not least of which because of the engaging Richard Reed who is from Innocent fame. However, it was the air of excitement that brought the whole thing together from a group of highly professional and passionate ‘new’ leaders that elevated the event to a great level.
- Emerging Leaders with Carl Weldon at Apex
- Our emerging leaders group are inspirational young people all rising through their careers in hospitality. Combined with Carl Weldon’s gifts for public speaking – looking at the question of whether there should be free wifi in hotels – the atmosphere made this event memorable. It was excellent to see the group get involved and react to Carl’s argument in a constructive way and there are many happy memories at Apex City of London hotel, and in general of this group.