Meet Beverley (Bev) Williamson – winner, Business Development Person of the Year at this year’s Victoria Meetings and Events Australia (MEA) Awards.
Ms Williamson is a major player in the Victorian business events industry. Working with her team, she secured 36 major international conferences for the state of Victoria in the 2010/2011 financial year, with an estimated economic impact of almost AUD $197 million.
In her role as Associate Director, Convention Sales for the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB), Ms Williamson leads the International Convention Sales Team, with two direct reports, where her key responsibilities are centred around bidding for and securing major international conventions to generate economic wealth for Melbourne and regional Victoria.
This is the first time Ms Williamson has entered the MEA awards as an individual and she said she feels honoured to have won.
“The award may be in my name however it is an award for the whole of MCVB, as every business unit has contributed in some way to the tremendous success I achieved in the 2010/11 financial year,” she said.
Ms Williamson added that her involvement in business events spans 17 years and she is proud to be part of such an exciting industry.
“People who work in the business events industry are extremely passionate about what they do. Collaboration exists between such a diverse range of business events stakeholders and that keeps things interesting,” she said.
“Once you are in the industry, you don’t want to leave.”
Chief Executive Office of MCVB, Karen Bolinger, said Ms Williamson’s win at the Victoria MEA Awards is extremely well-deserved and acknowledges the key role played by her in achieving outstanding results for the organisation, and the state of Victoria.
“Bev’s superior ability to do her job well has led to significant results for MCVB, with her team continuing to secure high profile convention bid wins which generate millions of dollars for the state of Victoria,” she said.
In addition to her role at MCVB, Ms Williamson volunteers her time to be involved with local, national and international industry groups, in particular MEA, where she is Chair of the Victorian branch. In this position she continues to contribute to the growth and professionalism of the meetings and events industry through coordination of networking opportunities and facilitation of educational activities for those both involved and looking to be involved in the industry.
Following her win at state level, Ms Williamson will battle it out for the national title during the 25th National MEA Conference in Sydney on Tuesday, 24 April.
