I got to know Valerie from the time when I lived in London. She is always out and about and you can’t miss her big smile and contagious energy. Since 2013 she is the Managing Director at C – Wise, a UK based event agency and DMC and the driving force behind its global growth. Under her management, C – Wise has expanded into European, American, Asian and CIS markets, and that’s just the beginning as they have more plans to grow and diversify their products and services. It was a great pleasure hosting Valerie as a speaker at a recent Event Planners Talk session at the International Confex this year, and I was very impressed with her deep industry knowledge and understanding, as well as the ability to prioritise and identify business opportunities for her company. I was also impressed to know that she participated in the latest cohort of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme, a highly competitive and selective programme that supports entrepreneurs and small business owners with education and business support services. This programme is carefully designed to help entrepreneurs create jobs and drive economic growth within their communities. Here I’m delighted to share with you more about her journey and business advice.