SEVEN YEARS AGO they arrived as events management students for work placements. Now Charlotte Disbury and Atlanta Benham have completed the management buy-out of their events business employer.
The two University of Northampton graduates took jobs with the company, developed their careers and are now the proud owners of CJS Events, based at Pytchley near Kettering.
They have taken over from former Metropolitan Police officer Kevin Shapland, who founded the business in 2004. He began by bringing police conferences in house but soon developed a partnership with the events management team at the university’s Faculty of Business and Law taking on full-time work placements.
Through a policy of putting his people first, Mr Shapland is now handing over his business to former students and trusted employees.
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Main picture: Kevin Shapland, flanked by CJS Events’ new owners Charlotte Disbury (left) and Atlanta Benham.
Also pictured: Elly Lacatusu and Rachel Fletcher (far right).
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CJS now has around 20 clients at any one time, in the public sector including the police and health service and a wide range of private sector clients. Mr Shapland has gradually passed responsibility to Charlotte and Atlanta over the past two years until they felt confident they could take on the top jobs.
“I had approaches from a couple of third parties for the business but I thought that actually I had spent 20 years building this up, I did not want someone to take it on and tear it apart,” he says. “I would rather place it in the safe hands Charlotte and Atlanta and assist them with continued mentoring so they are able to take on an established business at the ages of 26 and 27 and can take it to the next level.”
The business has weathered the severe challenges of the 2007-08 recession and, more recently, the pandemic. “I sat down with Atlanta and Charlotte and the rest of the team at the start of Covid and said our goals were to make sure the business survived and that they still had jobs by the end of it. But that was reliant on them being willing to adapt.
“And because of their ability to adapt, we ended Covid with more clients than we started with. They came to us because we were quick to go online and have stayed with us now that they are going back to live events.”
Charlotte, from Swindon, and Atlanta, from Northampton, had no idea they would end up being entrusted with an established events company when they first took up work placements for their Events Management BA.
Taking on the company Mr Shapland is a daunting prospect but one of Atlanta’s life ambitions is to have her own business. “If I sit down and think ‘I’m a managing director,’ it is a big concept to process,” she says. “But I am also confident Kevin would not have taken this step if he did not believe in us to carry on running the business for another 20-plus years.”
Adds Charlotte: “Sometimes I cannot believe it actually happened, that this is our life now and how much we have achieved. I am proud of everything we have done, going from university and building it up to this stage in six years.
“There is a bit of imposter syndrome. We are still doing events and our day-to-day jobs so in some ways nothing has changed but it has and we have to remind ourselves we own the company now.”
Working with the University of Northampton has affirmed Mr Shapland’s belief in investing in the younger generation. “As a boss, I found you get some great ideas from students. Working with the uni also allowed me to help develop the curriculum and any gaps in the knowledge of students on placement have been addressed as the course was updated.
“When people first start with me, the first thing I say is that we are going to sit down in three months and I will want you to tell me what we could be doing better, are there any other areas of improvement, because they will have a fresh set of eyes.”
Of CJS Events’ new owners he adds: “They are both absolutely dedicated to the job and to the profession. They have complimentary skills – Atlanta is very meticulous, Charlotte is very creative, they make a great combination.
“The challenge for them now is that they have gone from being friends and colleagues first to 50-50 business partners.”