Organisation: Department of Family and Community Services
Job Title: Event Coordinator
Word Limit: 6 pages
Location: Sydney
In my current role as Head of Investor Services at Fortbridge, I often get requests from clients to
assist them to set up meetings or organise roadshows with very little notice. One example of this
was when a client called on a Friday and had a business trip booked for the following week. They
were going to be in Singapore the coming Thursday and Friday, and then Hong Kong the following
Monday and Tuesday. This gave us only 3 days to put together the plan, speak with suitable
organisations and book the various meetings required. The client was requesting that we set up
back to back meetings with potential investors on all of those days.
My first priority was to gather as much relevant information as I could from the client to make
sure we approached and secured meetings with the appropriate potential investors. I proceeded
to draw up a project plan and target investor list, and immediately had a teleconference with my
staff in those countries to get them started. A good program for a client is to have six meetings
back to back each day,
Throughout this project I consistently checked in with my staff in the local offices, at one point
noticing one member of the team was falling behind in booking enough meetings to fit the
program for the client. Through consultation with them, I realised they required more assistance
from me. I gave them some more training on the script and pitch to be used when approaching
investors, and also did more research myself to add more companies to the list of potential
investors to call.
Although this was on a strict deadline, we were able to establish an excellent program of back to
back meetings for our client both in Singapore and Hong Kong within the strict timeline, and
received great feedback from the client.
2
As part of my current role as Head of Investor Services at Fortbridge, I have been responsible for
assisting the company to expand their business interests into other countries; the most prominent
being India. India’s business community is based on long term relationships, and as such it can be
a difficult area to establish new relationships and form partnerships. It soon became evident to me
that I was going to need to show patience and build respect with the potential partners and
investors before they would do business with us.
Having worked in the predominantly male orientated financial industry for quite a few years, and
having been exposed to overseas investors in the past, I was also quick to ask questions of our
new staff members in India around the cultural differences and protocols I needed to be aware of
when visiting or speaking to clients. It became clear to me that as a female my role would be best
served standing in the background and allowing my male colleagues to take the lead, even though
I was their Manager and would usually take the lead role in discussions such as these. I was also
careful to dress appropriately and make eye contact only when it was appropriate.
Through being mindful, respectful and considerate of their culture and business practices, we
were able to form relationships with a number of potential partner businesses and secure
meetings with these organisations, and had a positive outcome of successfully brokering a
partnership arrangement and organising Fortbridge’s first roadshow in India. We continue today
to grow our network in India.
3
When I took on my current role as Head of Investor Services at Fortbridge, I felt that the team
reporting to me lacked direction, and were having difficulties completing the work to a high
standard and within the timelines required. We often have very strict deadlines to meet, and our
clients rely on us being able to provide them with our services to meet their project needs. In
addition to struggling to meet the deadlines, they appeared to be confused about whose
responsibility it was to complete the work. Through investigations and speaking to our clients, I
noticed there were instances when two staff members had completed the same task, resulting in
the client being double billed for the task, and other instances when certain tasks had not been
completed at all. At the time I realised there was no direct responsibility on any one staff member,
as their duties overlapped in quite a few areas.
It was evident a plan was required in order to address the above issue, so I started by requesting a
“one on one” meeting with the Corporate Development Manager and discussing the issues my
team were having. I suggested that, in collaboration, we reviewed the position descriptions for
each role and developed an approach for the best options moving forward. I then suggested that I
build and facilitate a workshop involving all of my team members located in Sydney to table all
issues, in a safe environment, and discuss how we could fix them.
With approval from the Corporate Development Manager and Managing Director, I facilitated the
workshop. During the workshop there were differing views from my team, however, through
effective facilitation and my encouragement for the reasons to back up points of view, we were
able to agree upon solutions to most of the issues we were encountering. At the conclusion of the
meeting it was agreed who would take responsibility for each solution.
For the issues that remained unresolved, my team agreed during the workshop that they were
unable to find a suitable solution and the best option was for me to approach management to
discuss further, also gain their input, and come up with a solution.
After we defined more effective processes, my team consolidated their efforts and worked more
collaboratively. In my “one on one” meetings I was given very positive feedback from all of my
team; they were happy with the way I conducted the workshop and included them in the process,
that they were allowed to share their opinions in a safe environment and were able to assist in
finding solutions. My Corporate Development Manager and Managing Director also gave positive
feedback regarding the workshop, and the subsequent improvement in work output and decrease
in issues raised by clients.
4
In my role as Head of Investor Services I am solely responsible for maintaining the high level of
client services provided by my team members, while making sure they are all aware of and achieve
the team KPIs, as well as the individual KPIs allocated to them.
One of the initial activities I undertook when promoted to that role, was to establish “one on one”
weekly meetings with all of my team members. During these “one on one” meetings we discussed
each team member’s progress individually, if they have any problems with the work they are being
tasked to do, and also if I am supporting them enough or if there is more I could be doing.
I understood the team may not be happy about the “one on ones”, as this was not something they
had done in the past and could be perceived as micro managing. Due to this, I implemented a plan,
outlining what the meetings were for and how I would facilitate them. To minimise this negative
response I convened a meeting with the team and explained the plan, making sure I gave the each
person enough opportunity to discuss any issues they might have, raise any valid points regarding
the meetings, and ask any questions of me regarding the importance of the “one on one”
meetings.
Due to my openness about the “one on ones” my team was very accepting of the new process,
and we continue today to have these meetings. They form an important role in providing an open
and honest relationship between my team and myself, and allow us to be very proactive about
things the team see as a risk, rather than waiting until it is an issue.
5
As part of my current role as Head of Investor Services at Fortbridge, I recognised that it would be
beneficial for our company to partner with the government department Australian Stock Exchange
(ASX). To do this I first needed to find the best person in the ASX to approach. Through speaking to
my network, I was given the name of the person within the ASX that would be the most
appropriate person to speak to regarding developing a partnership.
I contacted the person firstly through email and then over the phone, and organised a meeting
with them for myself and my Managing Director. During the initial meeting, we presented a
proposal and explained what Fortbridge does as a company, the clients and investors we have,
and how partnering with the ASX would benefit Fortbridge through our association with them.
We also explained and sold the idea of the benefits for them, by giving them access to our large
database of clients and investors and our ability to increase participation in their conferences
through our marketing strategies.
After multiple consultations with the ASX, we were able to secure a partnership with them and
become their sole key investor advisors. This has been in place for the last four consecutive years
as a result of the delivery of new ideas on how to continually grow attendance numbers, and by
participation at their international conferences.
6
Part of the successful partnering with the ASX required we assist them with their conference and
increase attendee numbers within the required sectors they were targeting. Being an integral part
of securing that partnership, and through my role as Head of Investor Services at Fortbridge, I
remained the key contact for the ASX. A short time after securing a partnership with the ASX, they
came to me requesting we develop and organise their first “resources sector” themed conference
for them. Having many years of experience in this area, I was nominated as Project Manager for
the event.
Through consultation with the ASX, I was able to get all the information required, including when
the conference would occur, the number of attendees they were hoping to get, the list of main
organisations they would be looking to attend and the budget for the conference.
I proceeded to write a project plan, and discussed this with them and also my team. Upon
approval of the plan, I met with my team and explained in detail what was required, who would be
needed to perform which duties and what deadlines were in place for each task.
Part of my role was to carefully monitor all progress, making sure we were achieving our timeline
targets. This was done through my normal “one on one” meetings with my staff, and as part of my
daily routine in keeping the project on track. I also organised weekly meetings with the ASX to give
them an update of how we were proceeding and find out if there was anything else they would
like added to the conference.
We were successful in organising and launching the first ever “resources sector” themed
conference with the required attendees, and received great positive feedback from the ASX about
our professionalism and the success of the conference.
7
When I first started at Fortbridge the company was in the beginning stages of its life and was
growing rapidly. Due to this we would often come across areas that needed a process written or
things that needed to be improved. One of the bigger issues was our billing system. It was
designed so we only charged clients at the completion of the project and not as we completed
certain stages. I noticed that we were coming across clients who were engaging with us for
roadshows or conferences, we were delivering as requested, sometimes a few weeks’ worth of
effort, and at the last minute they would decide they were not going to go ahead with the project
or that they had not budgeted for our services.
My suggestion was to change our billing process and introduce a deposit, to be paid by clients who
were engaging us for road shows and conferences, and to be paid before we proceeded working
on their project. I consulted with the Managing Director and he agreed this was a great resolution
to the issue.
Through consultation with management and my team we established a plan for charging clients
either 20% deposit, or 50% of billable hours up front, depending on the service they required. This
was implemented in the following weeks and we continue to use this billing process today. This
has resulted in a significantly smaller number of clients opting out, and if they do we still have
payment for our services.
As we were not aware how clients would receive this, I put together a script for myself and my
team to use explaining the reasons behind the change in billing. This was accepted with very little
disagreement from our clients.
8
When I first started in my current role as Head of Investor Services at Fortbridge, and after
working through the issues my team was having, I recognised the benefit they would have in
receiving regular training and having regular discussions about our work practices. This would also
give my team the opportunity to give new ideas as to ways we could improve our work or added
services we could offer our clients.
After consulting with the Corporate Development Manager and pitching my idea of holding bi-
monthly training sessions, it was agreed these would be a good idea. I was given the responsibility
of organising a plan for the focus and agenda for each workshop, making sure I cover any new
updates to processes required, and concentrating on any areas they required more training in.
I am still conducting these bi-monthly workshops today and have found them invaluable. It allows
me to deliver the same message to every staff members in a timely manner when there are any
changes to processes. It gives us the opportunity to work through any issues my staff have in an
open and honest forum, which has created an extremely collaborative working environment, and
cuts down on the training required for each staff member separately.
Another area of responsibility for me is to conduct a post project review and compile a report to
be given to the client. I use a number of different methods to gain the information I require to put
these reports together and give our clients an accurate look at the success of the project. These
methods include information gathered by conducting surveys during and after the project,
approaching people myself at conferences and roadshows and asking for feedback, and speaking
to the client regarding past and present thoughts on the project. Once I have all of this
information, I complete a detailed report for submission to the client.
These reports include the relevance of material at the roadshow, how it is perceived by the
attendees, how the client is seen in the market, and the number of attendees and their relevance
to the client. This information gives the client a detailed description of the success of the project.
After completing many of these reports, I consistently receive positive feedback from our clients
on the detail we are able to provide and the easy to read format it is provided in.
9
One of my achievements as Head of Investor Services at Fortbridge was the securing of a strategic
partnership with Euromoney Conferences in 2011. After research into the events, I contacted the
Managing Director of Coaltrans Conferences and Euromoney Energy Events, both based in the UK.
We communicated via email and had our initial meeting at the Coaltrans India event in New Delhi.
Euromoney Energy events were experiencing a drop in attendance of investors (funds and banks)
in the previous two years, and this was the area they wanted to concentrate on the most.
Due to our success in improving attendee numbers at other conferences I was able to propose a
detailed strategy where Fortbridge secures junior listed companies to participate at the event for a
fee to help increase revenue and attract the investment community as the conference historically
never showcased junior listed companies (purely only large industrial organisations). Euromoney
and Coaltrans immediately saw the benefit in this strategy and we were able to finalise the
agreement.
I developed a product package to pitch to companies attending the international event, in a
market of their choice, promotion at a shared investor booth, and promoting and arranging
strategic meetings for them with our client companies in attendance. Upon discussion with the
Managing Director and receiving approval, I engaged a part time sales consultant to promote the
offer. In doing this we were able to secure four companies for the Coaltrans Beijing event in 2012
and three companies to attend the Goa event in 2013. I attended the Goa event and secured over
seven meetings for each attending client, increasing the investor attendance at the event by 45%.
10
In my current role and also in previous roles, I have been and am required to have sound technical
knowledge and understanding how to use a variety of software packages. I have advanced skills in
using most of the Microsoft Office Suite of products, and in my current role use them on a daily
basis. I use Excel for all of the projects I manage, including for establishing our plans and timelines
for the project. I write and submit the reports for clients in Microsoft Word, and also produce and
edit PowerPoint presentations for proposals to clients, and at road shows and conferences.
Another large part of my role is to research industries to gain an understanding of the investors
available to clients. This is undertaken by the use of the Bloomberg Research Terminal; a complex
database of information. I find it easy to learn new programs and am confident when working with
technology.
11
Having been promoted into my current role as Head of Investor Service at Fortbridge, as a result of
my professionalism and good management skills, I have a thorough understanding of the
responsibilities of the roles which report directly to me and the pressure the appointed person
feels when working in an environment where tight deadlines are required on a weekly basis.
To ensure I keep in touch with each staff member, I convene bi-monthly workshops and deliver
any training to them that will assist in their business as usual activities. I also conduct “one on
one” weekly meetings with each person, in which we discuss how they are going, and if I am
providing them with the appropriate amount of support required for them to execute their
assigned projects and workload. If there is a shortfall in the support I am giving them, we discuss it
and work out an appropriate way forward. This process makes sure I keep well aware of any areas
I might need to focus my attention on, and also any staff who might be struggling and need extra
assistance. I hold regular meetings with the staff I manage who are located in overseas offices and
go through the same process, with the understanding that my level of support will differ due to
the complexity of us being in different locations
Our company currently has two interns who work with us on a part time basis. The responsibility
of delegating their duties and training them falls to me, so I am consistently checking with
management to find out if they are required for other duties. I then construct their daily duties
plan, which I explain to them each day before they start. In addition, I undertake monitoring of
their progress throughout the course of the day. The interns are aware I am the person they come
to if they are in need of assistance; this approach is working well for all concerned.
12
Due to the nature of the business we conduct at Fortbridge, we are often privy to inside
information that could greatly affect the shares of a company. There are strict guidelines around
information disclosure and trading rules, and myself and all of my staff are required to comply by
them. For any project that involves this kind of information we are all required to sign non-
disclosure agreements. I conduct training on this subject as a priority when conducting workshops
for my staff, and am careful to explain in detail the reason for the confidentiality to new starters. I
continue to monitor this on a regular basis and instil in my staff its importance.
It is also imperative that the information we are privy to is not leaked to the media, so keeping the
amount of people who know the information to a minimum and making sure all non-disclosure
statements are signed before any information is given to my staff is my number one priority when
dealing with this kind of information. I am also careful to minimise the amount of people allowed
to make statements to the media, and if it is required, have dedicated scripts so as not to release
information early.
Another area of my responsibilities is to understand any legislative or policy requirements each of
my clients might have. I obtain this information through consultation with the client and asking
any necessary questions. I also research the industry in which our client works, and throughout
the life of the project, keep up to date on any changes within their industry.
