Leaders of tomorrow – that is the accolade bestowed on the three finalists in this year’s Birmingham Young Professional of the Year Awards' Marketing and Communications category.
But what have they done to attract such high praise from the category sponsor, Malmaison Birmingham?
Here we take a close look at the achievements to date of the finalists.
Abby Corfan – Recently promoted to Director of Marketing & Digital at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, having joined the business in May 2014. She leads the marketing strategy for the orchestra, which is one of the best-known in the UK. Abby’s experience in promoting the city’s cultural offering spans a decade, with previous roles including Marketing & Press Manager at DanceXchange and Audience Development at Audiences Central. She is also a West Midlands Member Rep for Arts Marketing Association.
Joseph Schuppler – Founder of Independent Birmingham, which is dedicated to unearthing Birmingham’s hidden gems and best-kept secrets, touring the city in search of the unique and the inspiring. Independent Birmingham members receive a card that gets them exclusive discounts across the city’s unique retailers; from cafes, bars and restaurants, to fashion stores and hotels. To date, Joe has grown membership to over 11,500, with more than 80 venues on board. This comes in addition to a social media following of over 35,000.
Lauren Bansal – With six years’ experience in the field, she is General Manager at ORB and works closely with the branding agency’s clients, offering brand and business advice from both a strategic planning and day-to-day delivery point of view. Lauren specialises in developing strong relationships with clients, ensuring all projects are delivered on time. She is following in the footsteps of Rob Bloxham, Founder of ORB, who was shortlisted in the Entrepreneur category at BYPY12.
These Marketing and Communications professionals will go head-to-head at the glitzy BYPY awards ceremony at ICC Birmingham on May 12.
Damian Goom, general manager at Malmaison Birmingham, said: “We are proud to be part of Birmingham, especially at a time when the city is really thriving!
“With all of the new developments and positive headlines, it’s great to support an established event like BYPY, which has been championing the city’s business professionals for 16 years.
“BYPY is all about celebrating the leaders of tomorrow – the people who will continue to lead the city to greatness, and looking at this year’s finalists, I think it’s safe to say we’re in good hands. A massive good luck to Abby, Joe and Lauren!”
These finalists join a total of eighteen professionals who are in the running to win one of six categories; Property & Construction; Finance; HR, Recruitment & Training; Legal; Marketing & Communications; and Technology.
One of the category winners will also go on to win the coveted overall BYPY16 title, benefiting from a range of professional development opportunities, including a place on the Common Purpose Navigator course, designed for emerging leaders.
This comes in addition to the Aspiring Talent and Inspiring Leader awards, which will also be given out at the ICC, Birmingham on Thursday 12 May.
To find out more about the awards, and book tickets and tables, visit here
