A Force for Good Hub will expand its global footprint in 2021 with an event to be held across the Pacific in Los Angeles. Event founder Helene Taylor confirmed the push into the US market at last Friday’s annual one-day show in Sydney, which coincides with International Women’s Day.
LATTE exclusively flagged a US event with Taylor 13 months ago, when she told us “my goal would be to take it to America and to the UK and to New Zealand, if I can obtain support.”
Since then, Taylor has secured sponsors to take A Force for Good Hub across ‘the ditch’ with her maiden event held in Auckland, New Zealand last Monday, to a sold-out audience.
Taylor revealed the Los Angeles event will be held on 18 March 2021, and that American Airlines has jumped on as a primary sponsor. A growing number of speakers have already put up their hand to present on the topic of diversity, Taylor said.
A force for good hub is a movement that brings leaders together from around the globe who care about pushing diversity forward and inspiring greatness in other women to become future leaders.
Last Friday’s Sydney event saw 22 speakers present at Dockside to an audience of around 400, including Wendy Wu from Wendy Wu Tours, IHG’s Leanne Harwood, Club Med’s Rachael Harding, Contiki’s MD Katrina Barry, The Treadright Foundation’s Channon Guihan, Expedia’s Demi Kavaratziz, Eden Ministry’s Michelle Kerr, G Adventures’ Founder Bruce Poon Tip, Intrepid’s Brett Michael, Phil Hoffmann from Phil Hoffman Travel and The Travel Corporation Australia’s outgoing CEO John Veitch.
In Auckland, speakers included Air New Zealand’s Leanne Geraghty; Globus family of brands, Gai Tyrrell; Adventure World Travel’s Caryn Young; as well as Hurtigruten’s Joel Victoria; Intrepid Group CEO James Thornton, Flight Centre Travel Group’s David Coombes, Helloworld NZ’s Simon McKearney and others.
“Today is about the greater good of our industry and we’re going to have an open and honest chat about equality and diversity,” said Taylor in Sydney. “It is about standing together for the greater good of the industry.”
Taylor added this year’s event could not have come at a better time, “as the industry faces adversity”.
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