The individuals and organisations securing a place on the highly anticipated 2023 miaList were unveiled by The Meetings Industry Association (mia) on Friday night, following a record number of nominations.
Now in its thirteenth year, competition for a spot on the sector’s landmark roll of honour was well contested once more, as judges revealed an unprecedented level of inspiring sector stories about individuals and teams going above and beyond across a range of business meetings and event roles.
Celebrating these stories at Park Plaza Victoria London following the mia’s inaugural miaSummit, ten titles were also dedicated to exceptional teams and initiatives that epitomise excellence in the sector.
The 10 individuals who secured a place on the hotly-contested 2023 miaList, were:
- Caroline Reed, NewcastleGateshead Initiative
- Charly Andrews, Bath & West Showground
- Danielle Bounds, ICC Wales
- Hannah Robinson, BMA House
- Helen Applin, Meet Bristol & Bath Convention Bureau
- Krishna Pastakia, Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre
- Lauren Hudson, Manchester Central
- Roisin Ryan, Richmond Hill Hotel
- Sarah Franczak, Central Hall Venues
- Sebastien Babin-Roadley, The Venues Collection
Whittebury Park & LifeTime Training’s Grace Goodger was recognised as the mia’s Star of The Future, with judges inspired by her exemplary customer service and clear drive to become a leader in her team and the industry.
The illustrious Venue of the Year title was presented to The Eastside Rooms for its can-do attitude and economic impact on Birmingham. Meanwhile, Supplier of the Year was awarded to First Travel Solutions for its commitment to sustainability, safety and the wellbeing of its stakeholders, while Broadsword took home the miaList’s first Agency of the Year title for its impressive expansion, annual results and championing of event apprentice schemes.
Visit Belfast secured the Destination Team of the Year title for a consecutive year, recognising its determination to go above and beyond for its clients, working tirelessly to deliver exceptional events that meet the city’s ambitions to be the very best.
The Events and Operations Team of the Year title was awarded to Warwick Conferences, whose highly commendable achievements over the last 12 months was put down to the incredible efforts and strategic approach of its team.
The Sales & Marketing Team of the Year was claimed by NEC Conventions: The ICC, NEC and VOX, whose innovative promotional campaign and tactics led to an impressive uplift in enquiries over the last 12 months.
Horwood House Hotel were awarded with the evening’s Innovation award. The hotel, based in Milton Keynes, recently converted its unused breakout spaces to create dedicated coffee lounges, enabling it to donate over £7,000 and rising to Crisis to help support the homeless.
Spaces at The Spine took home the Sustainability award, with its commitment to all pillars of sustainability, and in particular its focus on people striking a chord with the miaList judges.
Closing the evening, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion award was presented to University of Leeds Conferences and Events, whose enthusiasm to continuously evolve and share best practice with really demonstrated its commitment to lead the way on DEI and inspire other organisations across the sector.
Kerrin MacPhie, chief executive of the mia, said: “Securing a place on the miaList is no mean feat, particularly this year, so we’d like to congratulate all of those that have made this year’s roll of honour and those who made our competitive shortlist. We were blown away with the number of entries to this year’s miaList, and to celebrate so many talented individuals and teams with our biggest event yet was incredibly gratifying.
“I would like to extend my thanks to our expert judges, partners and sponsors for their continued support, and to those working so hard in our sector to support the successes that we’re able to celebrate.”
miaList nominees were assessed by an expert panel of industry professionals, including micebook’s Chetan Shah, Heledd Williams of Event Wales, Barbican’s Jackie Boughton, Hotel Football’s Jess Southworth, Meet & Potato’s Jon Kelly, Leo Lloyd of Leopold Marketing, Robert Kenward of You Search & Select, Rory Archibald of New Intent and Inntel’s Sian Sayward.
