There was no waiting to be involved with events once I started at Grapevine, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The Fintech Wales Awards took place in September, on a very warm evening, something that’s hard to imagine now it’s December! This was my first event and the first time properly working with and meeting the Grapevine team. This was an instant indicator of how an awards evening is successfully managed. Some amazing businesses were shortlisted in what is evidently a very important sector for Wales.

Two weeks later and the next awards evening was upon us, the Vale of Glamorgan Business Awards. Another successful event celebrating the diverse businesses that are based in the Vale. In between these two awards evenings I had time to settle into the office and see the work that goes into planning future events, attend a Christmas showcase event at the Ivy, and be a part of assisting the Industry Wales showcase event at Hensol Castle, with a tour of the impressive gin distillery. It had only been two weeks since starting at Grapevine and I could already see that meeting and speaking to people who are doing great things in business was a regular occurrence.

In October Grapevine managed the Wales STEM Awards and November saw a packed house for the ninth Cardiff Business Awards, both taking place at the Mercure Hotel. As well as the black-tie events, Grapevine manages networking events for two organisations; Cardiff Business Club and Team Wales, which I have had the opportunity to work at.

Fast forward to December, and just under three months has flown by, which is of course a very good sign, it has been a pleasure to be a part of a very welcoming team and work on such an array of exciting events in different venues.

As we come to the end of the 2023 calendar of events, I am looking forward to an exciting and busy 2024, and a chance to recharge the batteries over the Christmas break!

-Dan