Akmal Shahzad is the venue manager at Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) Birmingham: Austin Court
In one sentence, what does your role involve? At its heart, the purpose of my role is to ensure all our delegates and members have an exceptional experience every time they visit IET in Birmingham.
How long have you been in your current job? Nine years. While it’s the longest I’ve spent with one employer, the time itself has flown by.
Give a summary of your professional career to date. Prior to my current role, my experience was in the international hospitality industry as a hotelier. After completing a masters degree in international hotel & tourism management in Switzerland, I undertook a two-year management internship at the Sutton Place Hotel Chicago, an AAA-4 Diamond property.
Since then, I have worked as part of the pre-opening management team at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Birmingham, and have also been part of the executive management team during the £20 million refurbishment of Birmingham’s Crowne Plaza.
In my current post, I have led the venue’s 2019 refurbishment, a project which included revamping our facilities and upgrading the digital experience in our Kingston Lecture Theatre.
Did further/higher education set you up well for your particular vocation? Absolutely. It was because of my masters degree that I was able to secure a management internship at the Sutton Place Hotel Chicago, and this served as a foundation to then set me up for everything I have accomplished since as I have progressed my career.
How do you get the best out of your staff? While we make a powerful team together, we are each also powerful individuals in our own right; I focus on the different skills and talents each member of the team brings and utilise these effectively to create a successful whole.
I also share our company vision with employees, relay any delegate feedback we receive, and keep staff updated with how we are doing compared to our competitors in order to keep the team engaged as we work towards achieving our collective goals.
How have your working patterns changed since the pandemic? IET has embraced hybrid working across its venues, offering employees greater flexibility. I personally thoroughly enjoy working from home one or two days a week.
How many emails do you tend to get in a day, and how much time do you have to read them? Like most people, I’m forever trying to get it down to zero. I’ll often receive 50 plus emails a day, however not all require my attention. Effective time management is a real benefit here.
How do you hope your colleagues would describe you? I would say passionate, committed and helpful – it’s what I always strive to be. Although, to avoid shattering my illusions, let’s not ask my colleagues!
Highlights of your career so far? I would definitely include my time working and travelling internationally – it was such an incredible experience, and one that enriched me professionally, personally and culturally. That’s actually something I value most about my career; the opportunity to work with people from so many different backgrounds and cultures, and learn so much from people whose lives and experiences are different from my own.
Any particular faux pas or embarrassing moments in your career you would prefer to forget? Which one to pick? I think the worst has to be when I was waiting to interview the tourism minister of Luzern, Switzerland, for my MBA thesis. Having secured the interview, and waited two months for it to take place, I was standing outside the building making the most of the sunshine when a pigeon dropping landed right on my head – only five minutes before the meeting.
Pet hates? I think sometimes it’s so easy to get lost in the day-to-day, particularly as we all lead such busy lives, and I wish that people could remember more to enjoy the small things and find pockets of happiness, even on the most stressful of days.
If you could go back and give your younger self some wise advice, what would it be? Never forget the value of time. Life is short so make the most of every moment in whatever way is most fulfilling for you, and surround yourself with people who give you the strength to be nobody else but you.
How do you relax away from work? Actually, I’m a bit of a petrol head so I’m in my element when I’m riding sports/cruiser bikes and super-charged cars. I also love spending time with my family and travelling as much as is humanly possible – even better when I can combine these.
What do you believe is special about the Birmingham business community? It is made up of an amazing bunch of people – their resilience, optimism and passion for Birmingham as a destination inspire me every day to play my small part in showcasing just what the region has to offer.
Tell us something about you that most people probably wouldn’t know. I’m an adrenaline junkie and love adventure sports. My friends actually call me Globe Trotter because of my passion for travelling and adventure.
Some of my most favourite memories include hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro and fresh-water rafting in Costa Rica. They were such a thrill and moments I will never forget.
You can take one book, one film and one CD onto a desert island – what would they be? Easy. The book would be the Holy Book of Quran, the CD would be the Holy Book of Quran on audio, and the film would be Cast Away (could there be a film more fitting?).
Your five dream dinner party guests, dead or alive? That would definitely have to be Imran Khan, Barack Obama, Jennifer Lopez, Alexander the Great, and Marco Polo.
What would you choose to eat for your last supper? I love food so just the thought of this takes my appetite away!
