Former ABPCO Association Director Heather Lishman Joins Victory Services Club Board
The Victory Services Club has appointed former ABPCO Association Director Heather Lishman as a trustee, adding one of the association events sector’s best-known and most respected figures to its board.
Heather is widely known across the UK events industry through her work with ABPCO, (the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers), a leading industry association for organisers of association conferences and events. As Association Director, she worked closely with professional conference organisers, venues and suppliers, championing members and helping to strengthen standards, collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the sector.
Her appointment gives the Victory Services Club access to deep insight into the priorities of association event organisers, alongside her experience spanning venue and hotel operations, sales, key account management, quality assessment, membership organisations and the delivery of events for event professionals.
Heather’s relationship with the Victory Services Club stretches back many years. Before working with the Club through ABPCO, she assessed it through Hospitality Assured, giving her first-hand insight into its facilities, service culture and behind-the-scenes operation. Heather and her husband are also members of the Club through her father-in-law’s service in the Royal Air Force.
Heather Lishman, Trustee, Victory Services Club said: “I have known the Victory Services Club for many years and have always been impressed by its facilities, its ethos and the way it lives its values. It offers event organisers something particularly meaningful: the opportunity to deliver an excellent event while also supporting a charity that makes a genuine difference to the Armed Forces community.
“My career has allowed me to see the industry from many sides – operations, sales, quality, membership and association events – and I hope that balanced perspective will be useful to the board. I am looking forward to helping the Club build its profile and relationships across the association sector, while ensuring that members and its charitable purpose remain at the heart of its growth.”
Located close to Marble Arch, the Victory Services Club operates as both a private members’ club and an events venue. Heather’s appointment comes as it seeks to build on the growth of its events business, deepen its relationships with association organisers and reach new clients whose values align with its charitable purpose.
Income generated through the Club’s accommodation, hospitality and events operation helps it provide welfare and respite breaks for members of the serving Armed Forces community and their families, with the Club also seeking to extend this support further into the veteran community.
Colin Francis CBE, Chief Executive Officer, Victory Services Club said: “Heather’s appointment is a major coup for the Victory Services Club. She is held in the highest regard across the events and association sectors, and the knowledge, connections and perspective she has developed over more than 30 years will be enormously valuable to us.
“Heather understands what association organisers need from a venue and will bring a knowledgeable and critical eye as we continue to evolve our events business. The better we perform commercially, the more we can do for the Armed Forces community. She has already shown real passion for those charitable outcomes, and I am delighted to welcome her to the board.”
Heather joins a board whose members contribute their time on a voluntary basis and bring expertise spanning the military, legal, finance, hospitality, events, communications and marketing sectors.