Helen, could you please tell us a little about your background?
I have been involved in hospitality, sales and events since I embarked on my working career. Starting in sales support, sales research and event management at the Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland, I was lucky enough to work on some amazing events, such as the Scottish PGA & the G8 Summit and to learn from some amazingly talented people.
Moving into regional sales roles, covering territories across the Midlands, the North East and Yorkshire, I learnt account management, training with IHG (InterContinental Hotel Group) on account plans, total account management and solution-based selling, ahead of moving into sales leadership. One of my scariest moments was a two-minute sales elevator pitch live on stage at a black tie dinner for 800 guests at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, when I was a finalist at the National Sales Awards.
Moving back to Yorkshire (Hull being home for me) I took the role of director of sales and marketing with DoubleTree by Hilton Hull, 12 months prior to the hotel opening. My job included commercial activation, developing systems, recruiting, training and coaching the team. Then I moved up to Hilton Corporate head office, taking on a role looking after a vertical market, managing accounts across the UK and producing business into Hilton hotels globally.
Most recently, and predominantly due to the unprecedented challenges of this year, my career has taken an unexpected twist in its path and brought about a fantastic new opportunity to transfer my skills to a completely different industry.
In October, I joined Pure Renewables, to lead its sales and marketing. And now I’m learning more about the world of renewable energy every day!