We sat down with Fiona Kelly, Conference & Events Director of Zoom In. Fiona is organising the 6th Executive PA, Secretary & Admin Forum 2015, will take place at the stylish Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Dublin’s city centre on Thursday May 21st & Friday May 22nd.

The Forum is a unique event offering an excellent networking opportunity for Executive Assistants, P.As, office managers, and anybody in a support role. It is the only one of its kind in Ireland and this year the Forum will be CPD accredited. An exciting programme is planned with guest speakers and expert workshop facilitators to include:

  • Vanessa Vallely, author of ‘Heels of Steel – How to Survive & Thrive in the Corporate World’, and one of London’s best–networked women
  • Claire Burge, productivity expert and ‘no e-mail’ champion
  • Sarah Jane Hutchinson, EA to Martin Shanahan, CEO of the IDA
  • Jacqui Quigley, pa-assist PA of the Year 2014
  • Rosanne Reilly, Chair of the newly-formed Association of Professional Administrators in Ireland (APAI)
  • Maria Jose Lynch, Executive Coach to the Irish Sports Council

The Early Bird rate is available until March 30th – to see the Early Bird programme, just click here. You can also contact aisling@zoomin.ie or call 00353-85-826-4072 for more information.

 

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How did you end up in the events business?

I first realised that I loved working on events when I was at UCD! I was a member of a couple of societies, class rep and club captain & social secretary of UCD Badminton club so I always enjoyed putting events together for large groups of people. I always knew it would be a tough but rewarding career.

Is the events industry growing in your opinion?

Yes I believe it is – events are a great way to promote a product or service for a company, they are a way of celebrating success, of bringing like-minded people together with a common interest, goal and purpose. In the age of social media, there remains to be huge value in face-to-face networking, meetings and events and I believe that will continue to be the case

Have you any upcoming events planned?

Yes we have a few networking events in the pipeline but our biggest annual event coming up on May 21st & 22nd is the 6th Executive PA, Secretary & Admin Forum. It’s taking place in the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin, and we have a super line-up this year!

What event have you seen or attended that you thought was amazing & why?

I haven’t been to one yet but I love to watch the TEDx events that are online globally – I would love to organise one someday, so watch this space!

What is a common event planning pitfall that event organisers should avoid?

Always be prepared with a plan B (and depending on the size of the event, a plan C and D!). No matter how much planning and cross-checking you do, a person or system may let you down, so always have a back-up plan. And don’t panic if things don’t go to plan as you wished. If you’re stressed, you won’t be able to think of the best solution, and there is ALWAYS a solution, even though at the time it might feel like the end of the world!

What do you think makes a successful event organiser?

I think a successful event organiser is very good at planning, can make informed decisions, sticks to the brief and objectives of each event and has a good contacts book to call on if plan A doesn’t work out

Do you have a mentor?

Yes her name is Gaye Moore, also known as The Potentialist! She is a fantastic sounding board, has helped me to achieve numerous goals over the past 18 months and is a champion at supporting business men and women.

The best advice you ever got?

You can do anything you want once you put your mind to it and work hard. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I see things and say ‘why not?’!