Mentor of Mentors
My name is Shonali Devereaux and I am proud to be Chief Executive of the event industry’s longest-running and most prestigious trade association; the Meetings Industry Association (MIA). The MIA’s sole purpose is to support events in the UK to be the best that they can be, so we run events that connect agencies, suppliers and venues, share knowledge and best practice, and accredit and train our members. I have the best job in the world as not only do I get to oversee all of that, I get to promote how fabulous our industry is and how fundamental it is to the UK economy.
I’ve known and supported Fay since the start of FastForward15, and – having mentored a couple of times – I am now delighted to be the go-to and sounding-board for the mentors on the programme (as “mentor of mentors”), helping them to get the best out of their mentees. There are a million reasons that I love being involved with FastForward15… but my top three? One; knowing I am a part of accelerating female talent in our industry, helping the 70% rise to the top; two; who doesn’t love to enable others to achieve their dreams? And three; Fay. Working with Fay and supporting all the good she does in the world is an immense joy and a huge privilege.