Gift Focus - Nov/Dec 2017 (Issue 104)

giftfocus 7 news and events CELEBRATING THE WOMEN REINVENTING RETAIL Hundreds of senior figures from some of the UK’s most-loved retail brands gathered to celebrate the 10 th anniversary of the Worldpay Everywoman in Retail Ambassador Programme. Twelve inspirational women working in retail were hand-selected and appointed as this year’s everywoman ambassadors. These included founders of fast- growing global superfood brands, to women reshaping complex operations at some of the country’s largest retailers such as Argos and Gap, as well as individuals who are driving change through their organisation around mental health and breaking perceptions around disability. Of the 2017 Ambassadors announced, one woman was selected to be the 2017 Retail Ambassador of the Year. Lauren Kisser, Director of Operations at Amazon Prime Air, was singled out by the judges for her dedication to addressing the gender gap in retail and technology and awarded the 2017 Retail Ambassador of the Year. Lauren has led outreach efforts specially dedicated to inspiring young girls to continue studying STEM subjects, including inviting them to Amazon’s drone lab in Cambridge and regularly visiting schools as a Prime Air STEM Ambassador. Alongside this, she’s the executive sponsor of the Diversity Working Group at Amazon’s Development Centre. The evening included keynote speeches from Dame Marry Perkins (Specsavers) and was compered by June Sarpong. For further information about the Worldpay everywoman in Retail Ambassador Programme visit the website everywoman.com/retail- ambassadors SARAH KITLEY-SPENCER APPOINTED AS NEW EVENT MANAGER OF IJL IJL, the UK’s leading jewellery industry event, has announced that Sarah Kitley-Spencer has been appointed as the new show Event Manager, with Fotoulla Michael continuing to lead sales on this international brand. Sarah Kitley-Spencer has worked at IJL for the past seven years and Reed Exhibitions for 10 years. In her former position as Marketing Manager at IJL, Sarah worked closely with her predecessor, Sam Willoughby and the wider team, to expand the show commercially – nationally and internationally. She has been involved in implementing many of the market-leading features at IJL 2017, including the newly formatted seminar programme and the innovative 365-day strategy, encompassing content marketing, social media and industry support. IJL 2018 will run from 2 nd to 4 th September, 2018 at Olympia, London. ACID WELCOMES NEW HEAD OF MEMBERSHIP The leading design and intellectual property campaigning group Anti Copying in Design (ACID) has welcomed Simon Bull to a newly created role of Head of Membership. Simon brings with him a wealth of experience working for membership organisations in national and international senior marketing, communications, business development, commercial and membership roles including the Institute of Directors, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers and the Musicians’ Union. His impressive record includes responsibility for multi - million commercial revenue generation and not for profit development in sales and marketing across the private and public sectors in the UK and overseas markets. Commenting on Simon’s appointment, ACID CEO Dids Macdonald, OBE said, “ACID has reached a critical point in its growth with a three-year strategy in place and Simon is just the man to lead this to ensure we build upon and grow the ACID community. A united voice is a strong voice and, with Simon’s leadership of our dynamic team, this will steer us into the next period of growth to achieve the aims of our members, namely, to be a formidable force against design theft.” Contact Simon at simon.bull@acid.uk.com or call +44 (0)845 644 3617 .