Following recent contract wins at three UK event venues, Anna Valley has promoted Dan Orchard to the role of venue director. The newly created position sees Orchard assuming responsibility for both commercial and operational aspects at all the venues where Anna Valley is the preferred audio-visual partner, reporting directly to the board.
Over the past 18 months, Anna Valley has established itself as a significant service provider to the UK’s venue sector. The company signed a preferred partnership agreement with ExCel London in December 2020, was appointed by Tobacco Dock as their new AV service partner in June 2021 and expanded its existing AV maintenance contract with The NEC Group to help deliver events at the venue as part of their Preferred Supplier Programme in January 2022. Anna Valley is also the in-house audio-visual supplier to the Emirates Stadium and The Grove Hotel.
The dedicated venue managers and on-site teams at each venue will now report to Orchard who will be responsible for ensuring that Anna Valley’s exceptional client service and delivery standards are upheld at each location as well as for building a strategic model for expansion.
Orchard joined the Anna Valley team as director of business development for the rental division in 2017 after four years as group business development manager at Blue-i Event Technology. Since joining, he has been instrumental in establishing Anna Valley as a leading technology and service provider to the event industry, growing the company’s client list by building relationships with key event agencies and championing Anna Valley’s position as a leader in technical innovation.
“After spending almost five years growing our event business and working with agencies to produce incredible brand experiences, Dan is the perfect person to bring the unique Anna Valley approach to the venue sector,” said Anna Valley Managing Director, Pete Jones. “We’re more than just an audio-visual provider to our venues, we’re their partner in delivering show stopping events, exhibitions and conferences, and Dan is ideally suited to helping our venue partners get the full benefit of the broad range of services and expertise across our group.”
Orchard is enthusiastic about the opportunities that Anna Valley’s growth in the venue sector will provide. “It’s fantastic to be part of an expanding company that offers their staff this kind of opportunity for career growth and development. I’m looking forward to working with and growing Anna Valley’s venue teams as well as continuing to support my existing clients hosting events at our venues.”