One can be forgiven for being slightly daunted at the prospect of meeting Fay Sharpe, a woman known for being at the head of her game and often way ahead of the conference curve. Marked by boundless dynamism, she is not known for being shy in giving an opinion.
Fay is hot property in the UK meetings and events industry and her candid responses prove that if you state your objectives clearly enough they can be achieved. She is straightforward in revealing moments from her early career which may surprise those who know the usually ‘cool’ Mrs Sharpe well.
To start at the beginning; where did the young Fay see her career ambitions?
“I wanted to be a millionaire! I wrote it on a piece of paper which I still have to this day,” she says.
It is only when she goes on to explain why do you get a true understanding of her motivation and uncompromising desire to succeed.
“My father died when I was 14, and, coming from a family of four girls, money was tight. My mother worked hard to bring my sisters up, but a college education wasn’t really an option. I saw my friends getting new clothes and with cash to spend, and it dawned on me that I was going to have to do it myself and belief in my own ability was essential. So, I decided to become self-sufficient through a series of part time jobs waiting tables and serving in bars in my hometown of Bristol.”
Relishing the buzz and the challenges that the service industry threw at her, Fay enrolled at college to study Hotel Management before concluding her studies with a degree at Bournemouth University. A highlight of those years was travelling Stateside to Yellowstone Park for her industrial placement.
“I was so driven to be the best, and I was in heaven that I’d found an industry that I loved. I knew I was good at helping solve problems and loved the whole customer service aspect to the hospitality industry. The USA was, at the time, the Holy Grail for best practice,” she adds.
For someone who now manages the meetings and events budgets of many FTSE-100 companies, it is refreshing to hear Fay’s earnest take on her student placement. “I turned up with business suits and crisp shirts to a national park where the customers were quite clearly more used to backpacks and billie-cans than concierges and a turndown service!
“I was also woefully unaware of the numerical difference in how Americans write their dates. Not only did I cause a stir in my first week with my dress code, I played havoc with the reservations on the back office rack system. I had people arriving on the wrong months and days, and for my first few weeks had a daily glut of unexpected guests.”
She soon learned from those mistakes, and says the team that helped her through the misdemeanours remain firm friends. “Yellowstone was the point at which I started to comprehend that teamwork is essential to succeed, yet there’s nothing wrong in standing out from the crowd. It was also the time when I started to appreciate the great outdoors, something that has stuck with me.”
Hilton International was the first full time role for Fay, where she started out as a graduate trainee before moving through the ranks and lending her mettle to problem hotels and taking the helm for new property openings.
A coveted Caterer and Hotelkeeper Acorn Award (recognising the industry’s future leaders), was the first in many accolades that have since been bestowed upon her.
“At 23 years old, I was the youngest Director of Sales in Hilton, managing a large team of people. I had built myself a career path that I hoped would see me move to the top. A flippant comment from a then director, that having children could hamper my career, made me think about the glass ceiling that exists in many big corporate chains. How this female-centric sector can sometimes be so short-sighted is something that has stuck with me.”
In the late 80s, Fay moved out of the corporate framework of chain hotels into business with two investors. “The creation of venue finding agency IBR gave me a far greater insight into managing people, and I quickly appreciated that talent management is more than just setting individuals’ financial goals and targets,” she says.
Fay looked for strategic acquisition opportunities and in 2005, with four major meeting brands, she master-minded the re-brand to Zibrant, now one of the UK’s leading full service meetings, incentives, conference and event agencies.
In 2007, Zibrant was, in turn, acquired by Motivcom in a move which Fay fully supported and she remains the founding shareholder and Managing Director.
So, how does she think the business will continue to grow? “Any business that stands still will simply not survive; it is up to the directors to look for new opportunities and ways of doing business. Trust is one of the key differentiators in today’s crowded marketplace, and something that takes years to build; you only need to look at the fact that our top five clients have been with us for over 12 years. And just as there must be trust between vendor and supplier, there needs to be trust throughout the organisation.
“I have learned from my formative career years and am now resolute with my support for a team ethos. Pride, passion, creativity, leadership and respect are Zibrant’s values, which underpin everything we do.”
When asked who has been the biggest influence in her professional life Fay says it is without doubt David Sharpe. “David taught me so much about managing individuals, understanding the necessity of teamwork and recognising that everyone has different personal needs and strengths. The fantastic team who surround me at Zibrant also continue to teach me new things every day through their passion for the business.”
And what goals does she still aspire to achieve? “I am the sort of person who always looks forward and for me at this point in my career I feel it my duty to give back. I am keen to increase the profile of women in business and representing the UK events industry at the Women for Economic Growth reception at Downing Street was a proud moment. Innovation is in my very core, I have exciting plans for Zibrant and I intend to continue to bring originality to our industry and ensure that Zibrant remains at the forefront of our sector.
“My kids are my grounding and I hope to see them lead and be happy in both their career and personal lives. Personally, I intend to climb Kilimanjaro, swim with sharks and do Machu Picchu. In everything that I do, my fundamental philosophy is; believe in yourself.”
What was the significance of the recent change in Zibrant’s leadership (Joint MD Chris Parnham leaving and Nigel Cooper (P&MM) now overseeing – Ed)? “No business can ever stand still, we relish change,” she replies, adding: “There is a saying that behind every great man, there is a great woman. I would wholly challenge this to say, behind every great woman, there is a great man. You can ask Nigel (Cooper) if he’ll vouch for me on that one.”
Are there further acquisitions or overseas expansion plans for Zibrant? “Nothing ever stands still, but for now our focus is on strengthening our account base and winning new business by providing unrivalled service levels.
“We are also developing thought leadership in the sectors where we are dominant by really getting under the skin of our clients; our Healthcare Meetings Forum on 17 September underlines this type of approach,”
she adds.
On the wider industry, Fay has a more prescriptive approach that embodies many of the lessons she has learned throughout her career.
“For one, we need a collaborative approach to what we want to get out of the associations. At one particular meeting, I was horrified to realise that so many of the industry bodies were all trying to achieve a similar goal; they only realised this when they explained their individual premises. We need to work as a team for the betterment of the collective industry.”
Women’s role in the workplace is another focus for Fay, who has been involved with Think, Act, Report, which is a Government initiative to develop a fairer and more flexible market that draws on talents, skills and experience for everyone and advises The Women in Business Council.
“For some time Zibrant has championed women in the workplace, and we have been recognised by The Sunday Times as one of the best places to work.
“I still find it shocking that so few women get to the top in this sector despite numbers being more dominant in our workforce.”
She is equally passionate about nurturing tomorrow’s talent: Zibrant’s reach in the different components of the events sector means it is an incubator for talent with graduates moving through the organisation, many of whom have since secured senior positions.”
A final piece of advice from the Zibrant MD: “In life and work, there are people who will try to deter you from pursuing your goals – how many times have you been on a diet and someone says, ‘go on, have a piece of cake’. My take on business is that determination is everything: believe in yourself, set your goal and don’t stop until you get there.”
This was first published in the July/August issue of CN. Any comments? E-mail conferencenews@mashmedia.net
