After a distinguished career spanning a very impressive nineteen years with Diversified Communications, Carol Dunning has announced her decision to retire from her role as Portfolio Director of Natural & Organic Products Expo (formerly Natural & Organic Products Europe).
Under Carol’s leadership, Natural & Organic Products Expo has gone from a small domestic niche show, to becoming one of the leading events for the sector in the world, with an international reputation for its product mix and launch platform for innovative new products, attracting nearly 10,000 visitors and over 500 exhibitors. The success of the brand has also allowed Diversified to launch similar events in Scandinavia, Spain and Australia, plus Diversified’s first consumer event, Go Organic! Festival.
Carsten Holm, Managing Director of Diversified said: “Carol’s passion for the natural and organic sector and her ability to forge relationships, is well known to everyone in the industry. She has been an incredibly popular and successful Director for the event over the years and I am enormously grateful to Carol for her dedication, tenacity, focus, support and exceptional can-do attitude over the years, which have played such a crucial part in creating the show we have today. Whilst I know Carol will be missed by everyone, I also appreciate that after so many years, leading such a high-profile event, why she wants to dedicate more time doing the things she loves, including spending more time with her husband Paul in Spain.”
Carol Dunning said of her decision: “I am incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with this amazing industry over the past 19 years, which have been some of the best years of my life. I’m so proud of all the achievements we have made together, and I have made so many life-long friends within our industry; I hope to stay in touch with you all. However, 19 years is a long time, and since Covid my life perspective has changed and having given it much thought over the Christmas break in Spain and in recent months, I have decided that now is the right time for me to leave. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone in the industry for your incredible support and friendship over the years and it’s been a difficult decision, as it’s been such an important part of my life. However, all good things must come to an end, and I feel that for me, with the show in such a strong place and a great team in place to continue to take the show forward, that time has now come.”
Following the news, Diversified have moved quickly to put a robust new team structure in place, which will ensure that NOPEX continues to thrive as one of the most important events on the international calendar. Key to the new structure, will be a formidable new leadership team, with Georgina Baker promoted to Event Manager, and Annie Lindsell becoming Event Director, having worked in senior roles for Diversified for the past seven years.
Carsten Holm continues: “George is one of our longest serving colleagues, having been with Diversified for 19 years, playing a key role in the development of Natural & Organic Products Expo. It’s not just her knowledge of the sector, experience, passion and ability to build relationships, that has impressed over the years, but also her focus, sales ability, and organisational skills. Her promotion is well overdue and so deserved, and we are incredibly lucky to have her as part of the senior team, to play a higher profile role as we embark on the next chapter for NOPEX.
Annie Lindsell more than proved her ability during her time with Diversified, including when she took on the relaunch of London Design Fair, as a strong leader, mentor, ideas generator and ambassador. She is popular with both colleagues and clients, and I look forward to seeing her bringing the same energy and focus to NOPEX. The combination of Annie and George is an exceptional team, which will be able to build on the reputation, professionalism, attention to detail and stability of the NOPEX team nurtured over so many years, under Carol’s leadership.”
Natural & Organic Products Expo is the leading event for the natural health, food and beauty sectors in the UK and takes place at ExCeL London on 14-15 April 2024.
For more information, contact Carsten Holm, Managing Director Diversified Communications, at [email protected] or visit www.naturalproducts.co.uk
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