Female-focused music careers service The Cat’s Mother will partner with PPL to host a London ‘speed meeting’ day for Leicester-based students.
The two organisations will arrange a power hour of focused industry meetings at the PPL London offices in November for 15 students from De Montfort University, Leicester.
The 15 music business students will connect with 15 industry mentors for 15-minutes each, followed by a 1-hour networking reception. These meetings will support them in building the networks and knowledge that are the foundation of a successful career in music.
Supported by accomplished female executives from across the UK’s music sector, The Cat’s Mother Network is a unique mentor network and not-for-profit organisation that helps aspiring young women jumpstart their careers in the creative industries.
The organisation allows professional women to ‘gift’ their time and expertise to aspiring young women in the form of 30-minute informal coffee meetings, a welcome alternative to traditional career services.
The speed meeting day follows a PPL and Cat’s Mother Network panel event delivered virtually for Leicester-based young women in celebration of International Women’s Day 2021 in March this year.
The panel hosted guest speakers including Emma Banks, agent and co-head of CAA’s London office, Camilla Waite, deputy general counsel at PPL and Olivia Crooks, senior account manager at Spotify and founder of Madland Hack.
“I am really excited to be working with The Cat’s Mother Network as their Regional Partner to host their first London speed meeting day,” said Kate Reilly, chief people officer at PPL.
“It is a great opportunity to connect individuals from outside of London with mentors from across the industry, helping to provide them with the skills, knowledge and experience to forge a career in the music industry.”
“This initiative is a great way to diversify the industry with new talent, offering valuable knowledge and experience to those outside of London who might otherwise not have access to such opportunities,” added Tomi Oyewumi, equity, diversity and inclusion partner at PPL.
“It also allows attendees to connect and network with each other and so begin to form crucial professional networks. I am proud PPL is working with The Cat’s Mother Network on such an amazing event.”
Niki Evangelou, co-founder of The Cat’s Mother Network added:
“After a really difficult couple of years, I’m so happy to be hosting this live session in partnership with PPL. This is predominately for young women who do not have immediate access to the music industry and all of the networking and career opportunities that come with growing up or living in the Capital.
“It’s always been important to us that we make our service as accessible as possible, remaining dedicated to investing time and efforts into young women around the country and not just locally. The unique format of this intimate event will see us get the most out of our resources and industry network in a short space of time, and we’re confident that it will leave a transformative and positive legacy on the lives and careers of our participants, in terms of industry connections, confidence and possibly even follow-on opportunities."