Leaders and MDs of agencies including CWT M&E, Smyle, DRPG, OrangeDoor, TTA, Noble Events, Strata, Cheerful Twentyfirst, Goose Live Events, Identity, Black Tomato Agency and more attended the inaugural micebook Agency Leaders Retreat, which took place at Birch last week.

Check out the first official pictures from the event, which saw members of nineteen, our recently launched collaborative membership group for agency leaders to connect, develop and influence at an executive level, gather in person for the first time.

The two-day event kicked off with a Women in Leadership session, chaired by Worldspan’s Jennifer Jenkins, and a session with TBA’s Guy Horner and Top Banana’s Richard Bridge on their recent acquisition. This was followed by drinks and dinner for agency leaders.

The second day saw leaders inspired by Chris Penn, Co-Founder, Performance Hotels – creators of Steel and Birch, who shared his experiences of swimming the channel and setting up his own hospitality business, and tackle the difficult topic of diversity and inclusion in session with Diversity Ally’s co-founders Gabby Austen-Browne and Ashanti Bentil-Dhue.

Agency leaders were then joined by micebook partners including Cignpost Diagnostics, Lore Group, Just The Letter B, Accor Hotels, Belmond, Conventions Malta, London & Partners, Ablemaxx, Monaco Convention Bureau, Dorchester Collection, Wonderful Copenhagen, Explore Edmonton, Vienna Convention Bureau and more, for more content sessions including an inspirational evening keynote by Natalie Campbell, Co-CEO at Belu Water Ltd, activities hosted by Birch, drinks, dinner and networking.

David McDowall, President & COO at BrewDog, in partnership with Speakers Corner, kicked off the final morning, followed by a Leaders Panel, chaired by Martin Fullard, Editor, Conference News, on whether the events industry could be better structured and prepared for handling future crises.