Anna is a business event and tourism professional with European and Canadian expertise. She studied for her career at the University of Brighton in the UK and subsequently worked for international tour operators Thomas Cook and Cosmosair group before emigrating to Canada in 2005. British Columbia was her home for the first eight years, honing her sales and product development skills within BC’s competitive ski market. In 2014, adopting Edmonton, Alberta, as her home, she headed up Explore Edmonton’s Business Events team for eight years, transforming the sales and event attraction approach to a strategic, economic sector-focused machine. Successful through collaboration with Edmonton’s economic development agency, its top post-secondary institutions, and its thriving tech-driven Start-Up ecosystem. A big-picture thinker, connecting the dots often others don’t see, linking information, people, and backgrounds to navigate the way.
Anna understands the need for business events to be positioned as catalysts for long-term social, environmental, and economic benefits for the host communities she serves. By formulating strategic alliances in and outside the visitor economy, she is developing intellectual capital and knowledge networks and aligning with government priorities to build intrinsic economic development opportunities. The business events industry is her passion, leading her to launch Look Ahead Consulting in 2022. Most recently, Anna has turned her attention to Regenerative Destination Management and Events, earning two certifications from the Global Destination Sustainability Movement, which now proves foundational to her work.
