Voices of Powwow
To mark International Women's Day 2026, we sat down with six women from across our team for honest, open and candid conversations about what they bring to their roles, and how it feels to be part of an agency that champions female talent.
Six voices. Different roles, different stages, different stories. What connects them is not their job titles or their tenure, but their commitment to the work, their generosity in sharing their experience, and the pride they take in what Powwow stands for.
We hope their insights give something back: to anyone starting out in the events industry, or navigating the moments that many women in this industry will recognise.
This is Give to Gain in its truest sense.
Amanda Edgcumbe, Founder
“I started Powwow because I had something to prove to myself that I could do it, be a successful businesswoman. For myself and my family.”
Looking back, she has no regrets. What she has built has given her something rarer and more durable than professional success: fun, friendship, and laughter, alongside the hard work that made it possible.
On her proudest moments
Amanda is characteristically forward-looking when it comes to career highlights: the moment she is most proud of, she says, is still ahead of her. But two achievements stand out in the ones already banked: steering the agency through a global pandemic and, more recently, achieving B Corp certification. Both speak to a business built not just to grow, but to endure and to do good along the way.
On her role model
Her mother. A woman who went through a great deal, kept strong throughout, and was loved deeply for it. It is a quietly powerful answer from someone who has spent nearly three decades building something of her own a reminder that the most formative role models can be found outside of the corporate world.
Louisa Cook
Creative Strategy Director
Louisa has been at Powwow for twenty years. She thinks in metaphors and they are good ones.
On navigating career and motherhood
“Life often feels like a juggling act, where some balls are glass and some are rubber. It takes time to work out which ones can be dropped and which must be protected.”
Having children, she says, added several more balls to an already complicated routine. But the bigger shift came later, and it was a more personal one.
"As I have gotten older, and as my children have grown up, I have realised something else. I cannot only be the juggler. At times, I am also one of the glass balls."
That shift in perspective changed how she thinks about rest, recovery, and resilience. Turning off the laptop and getting enough sleep stopped being indulgences they became essentials. Not just for her own sake, but for everyone who depends on her keeping everything else in the air.
On her career highlight
Her proudest event was, in her words, a ten-thousand-piece jigsaw, and the complexity was exactly the point. A two-day private music festival: two hundred guests in a glamping site, three music stages, an A-list headline act, heliosphere acrobats, a firework display to rival New Year's Eve, and a concierge hot water bottle service and complimentary flip-flops for the showers. The kind of event where imagination and meticulous planning have to coexist entirely, and both have to be excellent.
On her role models
Louisa is not drawn to celebrity role models. Hers come from real life and two of them work at the desk nearby.
“I draw inspiration from Amy's labrador-like positivity and 'I've solved it' approach to challenges, and from Katie's leadership, which is sharp, fair and grounded in real humility.”
If pushed to name someone outside Powwow, she chooses Hannah Fry: for her wit, her intelligence, and her gift for making the complex feel simple. It is, perhaps, not a coincidence that those are qualities Louisa herself brings to her work every day.
On advice for those starting out
Find work that does not feel like work. The events industry, she points out, has room for every kind of personality, which means there is real scope to find something that genuinely fits.
She recommends Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara, and its central idea that great experiences can create genuine joy for people. That is what makes her tick. And understanding what motivates you, she says, is the foundation of a fulfilling career.
“Women often spend a lot of time looking after everyone else and forget to ask themselves what they actually want. Work takes up a huge portion of our lives, so make sure the career you choose feeds you too, not just the other way around.”
Izzy Martin, Project Manager
Izzy joined Powwow and was promoted to Project Manager within a year. She has a clear sense of what made that possible.
On her promotion
“The time and dedication Powwow invested in my development really speaks to our value of being People First. I felt so supported throughout, and Powwow were so intentional about prioritising my development while ensuring I was challenged throughout.”
Izzy reflects that it was not simply encouragement. It was deliberate investment. The kind of progression that happens when an organisation is genuinely committed to developing its people, not just retaining them.
On advice for those starting out
“Get out into the industry as much as possible. Build a network, absorb knowledge from others, visit venues and destinations. All of it compounds over time, and all of it builds the confidence that comes from experience rather than theory.”
She also recommends joining a mentoring scheme. For Izzy, Elevate was a turning point: an outside perspective on her objectives, and the space to think about her development without the noise of day-to-day work. "It helped me think of my objectives objectively".
Fiona Alwin
Project Manager
Fiona is new to Powwow. She arrived with fresh eyes and, as it turns out, a sharp pair of them.
On arriving at Powwow
“There's a real sense that people enjoy working together, which makes such a difference day to day. It's a culture where people lift each other up, which makes it a really joyful place to work.”
What struck her immediately was the balance: creativity and fun on one side, genuine support and camaraderie on the other. Being part of a female-led team, she says, has shaped an environment that feels empowering, flexible, and collaborative, not as a policy, but as a lived reality.
On role models
The women she has worked alongside throughout her career. What has mattered most is not just learning from their experience, but feeling respected and listened to at every stage - a combination of mentorship, openness, and mutual respect that has shaped how she wants to grow and how she wants to support others in return.
On advice for those starting out
“What feels obvious to you isn't always obvious to everyone else. Trust yourself enough to ask your questions and share your thoughts, even if you're not completely sure of them. Sometimes the smallest comment or idea can spark a new conversation or lead to something bigger.”
It is not about speaking for the sake of it, she adds. It is about having the confidence to contribute and be part of the conversation. A distinction worth making, and worth remembering.
Emma Hufflett, Senior Project Manager
Emma does her job well, and then she goes that little bit further.
Last year, she launched Powwow's Sports Club, an initiative born from a simple belief that staying active should be part of working life, not separate from it.
On starting the Sports Club
“Whether it is onsite, as part of a lunch break or a weekend of exploring new sights I think it's so important to make time for movement and fresh air.”
The monthly run club is already up and running (excuse the pun!). Her hope is that it encourages people to try something active and new, individually or together, and that over time it becomes part of how Powwow thinks about wellbeing, not an add-on.
On what it says about Powwow
“Powwow doesn't just allow people to try new things, it actively encourages it and supports people in getting others involved. Being able to bring an idea like this to life makes me feel trusted and emPOWWOWed.”
On her role models
Emma counts herself lucky to be surrounded by incredible women, in her personal life and at work, and says she learns something different from all of them. It is a generous answer, and a true one.
On advice for those starting out
"Do what you enjoy and surround yourself with people who inspire you. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing and the people around you motivate you to grow, it makes a huge difference. ”
Charlotte McCormack
Project Director
Charlotte has been at Powwow before. She left, and then came back. That decision tells its own story.
On why she returned
“I'm happiest in a small but mighty team, where you genuinely know the people you work with, can collaborate across the whole business, and can clearly see the impact of the work you do day to day.”
What she found when she returned was what she had been looking for: a voice at the table, and one that was listened to. A team that backed her, professionally and personally. That combination, she says, makes a real difference to how she feels about the work she does and it is not something she found everywhere she looked.
On her proudest career moment
Not a specific event though she is proud of all of them, but a state of mind. Charlotte has navigated imposter syndrome at points in her career, and arriving at a place of genuine self-belief and trust in her own judgement has taken real work.
“I'm proud to have reached this point where I feel confident in what I do and the value I bring.”
It is the kind of quiet, hard-won confidence that is worth more than any individual project highlight.
On role models
Impossible to name just one, she says, and she means it. Her role models are the women she works with every day: their resilience, their passion, their ability to thrive while still finding room for fun. She counts herself genuinely lucky to work among them.
On advice for those starting out
“Embrace every opportunity. Any chance you get to put your name forward, gain experience, and show your passion, take it. And that goes just as much for the less glamorous tasks.”
Everything adds up, she says. The enthusiasm, the drive, the willingness to contribute to the bigger picture, people notice it, remember it, and it shapes where you go next.
The people who make Powwow, Powwow
Read these responses back and something becomes clear. Six women, six different stories, six different points in their careers. But the same thread runs through all of them: a sense of being genuinely supported, actively inspired by the people around them, and trusted to show up as their authentic selves. That is not a small thing. It is the foundation of a team that does its best work.
At Powwow, we believe you get the best from people when they feel seen, valued and included. When the environment is one of collaboration and openness rather than pressure to fit a mould. The women in this piece are not just contributors to the Powwow story. They are integral to it, and the culture they describe, built on support, shared ambition and the freedom to be themselves, is one we are proud of and committed to.
International Women’s Day is one day in the calendar. The pride we feel in this team is there every day of the year.
Happy International Women's Day. From all of us at Powwow.