The winners of the 2023 miaList have been unveiled by The Meetings
Industry Association (mia) following a record number of
nominations.
Now in its thirteenth year, competition for
a spot on the sector’s landmark roll of honour was well contested once more, as
judges revealed an unprecedented level of inspiring sector stories about
individuals and teams going above and beyond across a range of business
meetings and event roles.
Celebrating these stories at Park Plaza
Victoria London following the mia’s inaugural miaSummit, 10 titles were also
dedicated to exceptional teams and initiatives that epitomise excellence in the
sector.
The 10 individuals who secured a place on
the hotly-contested 2023 miaList, were:
• Caroline
Reed, NewcastleGateshead Initiative
• Charly
Andrews, Bath & West Showground
• Danielle
Bounds, ICC Wales
• Hannah
Robinson, BMA House
• Helen
Applin, Meet Bristol & Bath Convention Bureau
• Krishna
Pastakia, Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre
• Lauren
Hudson, Manchester Central
• Roisin
Ryan, Richmond Hill Hotel
• Sarah
Franczak, Central Hall Venues
• Sebastien
Babin-Roadley, The Venues Collection
Whittebury Park & LifeTime Training’s
Grace Goodger was recognised as the mia’s Star of The Future, with judges
inspired by her exemplary customer service and clear drive to become a leader
in her team and the industry.
The Venue of the Year title was
presented to The Eastside Rooms for its can-do attitude and economic impact on
Birmingham. Meanwhile, Supplier of the Year was awarded to First Travel
Solutions for its commitment to sustainability, safety and the wellbeing of its
stakeholders, while Broadsword took home the miaList’s first Agency of the Year
title for its impressive expansion, annual results and championing of event
apprentice schemes.
Visit Belfast secured the Destination Team
of the Year title for a second year running, recognising its determination to go
above and beyond for its clients, working tirelessly to deliver exceptional
events that meet the city’s ambitions to be the very best.
The Events and Operations Team of the Year
title was awarded to Warwick Conferences, whose highly commendable achievements
over the last 12 months was put down to the incredible efforts and strategic
approach of its team.
The Sales & Marketing Team of the Year
was claimed by NEC Conventions: The ICC, NEC and VOX, whose innovative
promotional campaign and tactics led to an impressive uplift in enquiries over
the last 12 months.
Horwood House Hotel were awarded with the
evening’s Innovation award. The hotel, based in Milton Keynes, recently
converted its unused breakout spaces to create dedicated coffee lounges,
enabling it to donate more than £7,000 and rising to Crisis to help support the
homeless.
Spaces at The Spine took home the
Sustainability award, with its commitment to all pillars of sustainability, and
in particular its focus on people striking a chord with the miaList
judges.
Closing the evening, the Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion award was presented to University of Leeds Conferences and
Events, whose enthusiasm to continuously evolve and share best practice with
really demonstrated its commitment to lead the way on DEI and inspire other
organisations across the sector.
Kerrin MacPhie, chief executive of the mia,
said: “Securing a place on the miaList is no mean feat, particularly this year,
so we’d like to congratulate all of those that have made this year’s roll of
honour and those who made our competitive shortlist. We were blown away with
the number of entries to this year’s miaList, and to celebrate so many talented
individuals and teams with our biggest event yet was incredibly gratifying.
“I would like to extend my thanks to our
expert judges, partners and sponsors for their continued support, and to those
working so hard in our sector to support the successes that we’re able to
celebrate.”
MiaList nominees were assessed by a
panel of industry professionals, including micebook’s Chetan Shah, Heledd
Williams of Event Wales, Barbican’s Jackie Boughton, Hotel Football’s Jess
Southworth, Meet & Potato’s Jon Kelly, Leo Lloyd of Leopold Marketing,
Robert Kenward of You Search & Select, Rory Archibald of New Intent and
Inntel’s Sian Sayward.
