Shelley Spencer, joins us at Fitwise as our newly appointed Business Development Manager. Shelley has over 30 years of experience in the hotel, events, corporate and association meetings industry and we’re looking forward to having her as part of the team.
‘"Fitwise are delighted to share the news that Shelley Spencer has joined the team as our Senior Business Development Manager. Shelley brings with her a wealth of experience operating at a senior level within the association market from her many years spent at the SEC, Glasgow. She is well respected in the industry and has been a leading light with ABPCO in the past by holding a Board role within the association from 2019-22. We here at Fitwise are extremely excited about Shelley’s appointment as we feel she will be a real asset to the business and our clients over the coming years."
We asked Shelley to tell us about herself, her career to date and her role as business development manager.
What lead you to become a Business Development Manager?
After graduating from Manchester University with a Bachelor of Science degree, I embarked on a career in the hospitality and events industry, starting in the conference office of the Crowne Plaza Hotel Manchester and then moving into conference and banqueting operations management.
Moving into sales and after two hotel openings, I joined Marriott Hotels, as their Sales and Revenue Manager, firstly in Portsmouth and then onto Glasgow. In Glasgow, I was approached by the Scottish Event Campus to set up their corporate conference sales team, to support the opening of dedicated professional conference facilities being developed to accommodate the growing demand for specialist medical, academic and scientific meetings, coming from the vibrant Glasgow network of hospitals and universities.
At the SEC, I first started working closely with associations, many of them medical and scientific and developed a love for collaborating with the association teams and their Professional Conference Organiser partners and helping deliver the best possible experience for all involved. During my time at the SEC I got involved with ABPCO, The Association of British Professional Organisers, who represent charity and not for profit meeting organisers and I joined the Board of Directors for a four year term.
It was as the SEC that I first met the team from Fitwise, working with them on a number of their association conferences, such as the British Academy of Audiology and British Association of Urological Nurses meetings.
In 2023, after a short break from the industry, an amazing opportunity arose to join the Fitwise team and having worked with them in the past and with a particular interest in associations and their meetings, it seemed a perfect fit for me, my “dream job” in fact!
Tell us about your role as Business Development Manager
My exciting new role at Fitwise is as Business Development Manager and I’m looking forward to spreading the news to association executives and trustees about the extensive support available to them, when partnering with Fitwise for their Association Management and Secretariat services, Conference and Event Management.
With a team of 26 staff, Fitwise have experts in all the necessary specialties including sales and marketing, there’s even a qualified Chartered Accountant on the team, to help association clients keep financial management in order, demonstrating Fitwise commitment to offer the best support possible. This gives me an extensive, diverse and reliable portfolio of services to go to market with.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I love to be in the hills and mountains. Originally from North Wales I’m at home in the countryside and have a passion for trail running and hillwalking.
I run with the Strathaven Striders who introduced me to ultra distance running and a favourite of the club is the West Highland Way Run, which I’ve completed twice and covers a distance of 95 miles through mountain passes and along lochside, with a time cap of 35 hours to finish the race.
This put me in great stead to run the Everest Marathon in Nepal, an amazing experience. Since arriving in Scotland, I’ve also been “bagging” Munros, mountains in Scotland over 3,000ft and out of the 282 recorded, I’ve plenty left to do, having done around 150 so far.
What is your favourite place on earth?
My favourite place on earth is Derwentwater, Keswick, Cumbria, where I’ve spent many happy times running, hillwalking and socialising with family and friends.