About Fiona

Fiona Pelham is the CEO of global not for profit Positive Impact which provides education, engagement and collaboration to create a sustainable event sector. In other words exploring how the future of human connection will advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Positive Impact has memorandums of understanding with a number of United Nations bodies including UNFCCC, UN Environment and UN SDG Action and in 2019 Fiona took the decision to close the event management and sustainability consultancy business she launched (in 2004 and 2008) to ensure there could be no conflicts of interest in conversations for the transformation of the event sector.

Fiona was the chair of an international standard for sustainability in events, and at the time was the youngest ever female chair for any ISO standard. Alongside this she has been involved in a number of working groups including the United Nations Environment programme and chair of Meeting Professionals International, the world’s largest association for event planners.

Fiona has also been awarded an honorary doctorate by Leeds Beckett University for her services to the event industry raising the profile of sustainability.

Through her work, Fiona has created plenty of opportunities for travel, and currently lives in Copenhagen (og hun lærte at tale lidt dansk i Covid tid). She loves to spend time with her six godchildren (two in Australia and four in the UK) and when in Manchester volunteers at her local football club.

She would describe herself as a creative person who is always ready to act on new ideas, and this has helped her to create her life to be how she wants it. Not that it has been without challenges, and one of the main goals of this website is to share her experience and make life a little bit easier for people who are currently starting or growing a business in a way that works for them.

About this website

Fiona would describe creating this website as one of the hardest things she’s ever done. Why? When she took the time to write down the collection of her stories, she was faced with something that many of us experience: imposter syndrome. Who was she to write this?

Fiona credits her mentors for helping her overcome this by holding her to account to make sure this project actually happened. The other strong motivation is that people often ask her “how” questions (for example, how does she get to travel so much, or how did she move her business from a plan on paper to reality). Hearing those questions has inspired her to share the experience she’s had, and she’s passionate about helping people live their lives in a way that works for them, rather than following a copy or societal path that works for someone else.

This website isn’t a checklist of how to create a business or live a life, it isn’t about the “right” or “wrong” actions to take; it’s simply a collection of stories that you can take inspiration from and use to create a life that works for you.