RICOH ARENA HEAD OF SALES NOMINATED FOR NATIONAL AWARD

MEETING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION’S MIALIST 2015

The head of sales at the Ricoh Arena has been shortlisted for a national award which rewards staff in the UK’s meetings, hospitality and events industry.

Angela Perkins will be visited by the judging panel from the Meeting Industry Association’s miaList 2015 next month before the winners are announced at the Park Plaza Riverbank London on Monday, September 28.

The miaList celebrates those who have made a difference to the industry either to their organisation, customers or the industry overall.

Angela, who was crowned the Best Venue Salesperson at the 2014 Exhibition News Awards, secured over £1.5millon worth of business at the Ricoh Arena last year ranging from the UK’s largest gaming festival Insomnia to the UK Radiation Oncology Conference.

She has led the Ricoh Arena’s 10-strong sales team to increase sales revenue by 36.6% and occupancy (excluding hotel rooms) by 27.2% over the last two years.

“I am extremely pleased to have been shortlisted in the sales and marketing people category and I’m looking forward to meeting the judges and talking about the Ricoh Arena,” Angela said.

“My mantra is based around making contacts, transforming contacts into clients and then clients becoming friends.

“The Ricoh Arena has a ‘wow’ factor which impresses potential clients when I am taking visitors round the venue for the first time.

“We always start at the casino since post-meeting and events entertainment is important in our industry and heading down a waterfall staircase into the £36 million casino definitely has a ‘wow’ factor.

“The fact we have on-site bedrooms and 20,000 sqm of event space is a real plus for organisers however large or small their event.”

Angela has also been one of the driving forces behind the On Your Bike challenge which raised £36,000 for the Memusi Foundation to build a secondary school in Kenya, and the Ricoh Arena collecting £5,000 to buy a guide dog called Rick in the Godiva Puppy Appeal.

“The Memusi Foundation is a charity which is close to my heart and I am about to return as a volunteer to work at the school for nine days,” she said.

“We are also hoping to run a medical camp for the community of Magadi which will, once again, be the only free health check offered for miles around and reaches out to all of the community.

“I am planning to climb Kilimanjaro in January to raise further funds for the charity who help children to escape poverty through education.”