ICMS Alumnus Featured for the Second Time in Micenet Publication

Respected events publication micenet recently featured International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) alumnus Will Gunner as a person of interest making a splash in the industry.

Featured in April in the Young Gun profile section, coincidentally a pun on his surname, Gunner, 28, spoke of his passion for events and how he has risen to the role of Senior Conference Manager at Eventful Meetings & Events in a relatively short amount of time. Gunner was also featured in 2017 in micenet in a Top 20 under 30 article.

Micenet print and digital magazine is the premier publication for the business events industry and is read by more than 50 000 buyers, sellers and influencer.

Gunner graduated with an Associate Degree of Business, specialising in Event Management, in 2012. The equivalent is now known as the ICMS Bachelor of Event Management, one of many degree courses offered at the career-focused higher education institution located in Northern Beaches, NSW, Sydney.

“I have to say I have done a lot so far in my career that I’m proud of, from starting as an Event Coordinator and progressing to Senior Conference Manager at Eventful in less than three years,” Gunner said.

“In addition to this, I have also been recognised in publication micenet in two separate pieces (Top 20 under 30 article and my more recent Young Gun article). It’s an honour to be featured in such articles and offers great exposure within the events industry.”

Gunner recognises the jumpstart to his career he received at ICMS, particularly through the nine month industry stint he completed, while studying, as a conference assistant at the medical association ASHM.

“I chose ICMS as they are leaders within the events industry in terms of education within Australia. I knew that studying at ICMS would be the stepping stone in the events industry that I needed,” he said.

Industry training is a key component of every degree offered at ICMS, and which is a significant factor in the 90% graduate employability rate recorded by the college.

“If you are serious about a career in Events I strongly recommend ICMS. In my short time there I gained so many valuable skills and also learnt so much about the industry. Having industry training also gave me the required experience I needed to go out and seek a job once I graduated,” Gunner said.

At Eventful Meetings & Events, Gunner’s main role is a senior conference manager, managing clients’ flagship meetings, including important customer-focused events and company-wide events such as Sales Kick Off conferences and end-of-year celebrations. In addition to this, he works with the Managing Director as Business Development manager, which entail generating new business leads and working on proposals and budgets. As one of the more senior staffers at Eventful, Gunner also works on training and development within the team.

“An event achievement I am proud of is an IT/Software design Kick Off meeting for 800pax which I have run now for the past two years. There are so many elements involved in the event and to be the project lead and to work across all areas is so much fun,” he said.

Gunner has ambitions to one day found his own agency and is also working towards becoming a leader within the event community. His enthusiasm for the industry is infectious, and the solid grounding he received at ICMS has proven to be the foundation for a fulfilling career which is on an upward trajectory.

“I’m not built for a typical 9-to-5 job, so I love that I am always working on different projects, each with their own set of rewards and challenges. I love events that allow me to be creative, but I also enjoy the challenge of working on the same events over multiple years, making them better and different every year,” he said.

“Attending ICMS has been great for me in a lot of ways; the lecturers gave me real industry knowledge and really opened my eyes to the various roles within the industry – how it’s not all just party planning – and I met people through the college who have become colleagues, suppliers, bosses and even clients.”

For more information on the ICMS Bachelor of Event Management, click here.

To view Will Gunner’s micenet Young Gun feature, click here.

To view micenet’s Top 20 under 30 article, click here.