From the UK to Adelaide to support SA business
Solstice Media, publisher of InDaily, has appointed Annabel Borchardt to leads its program of events which range from support for regional South Australia and young entrepreneurs to the state’s most comprehensive assessment of our top companies.
Annabel Borchardt. Photo: Ben Kelly/Solstice Media
Borchardt, who started this week as Solstice Media’s Event Program and Sponsorships Manager, comes to the role after three years as trade and events manager in the London Office of the Agent General of South Australia.
Before this, she worked for Brand South Australia and consulting firm EY managing the EY Entrepreneur of the Year program.
In the UK, she supported the Agent General’s work to promote South Australian businesses and identify opportunities in the UK and the EU for those companies. She ran the office’s events, including the South Australian Club – a unique venture aimed at connecting people and businesses interested in what the state has to offer.
With Solstice, she will oversee events programs including Regional Showcase, which focuses on stories beyond metropolitan Adelaide, 40 Under 40, an awards program that recognises the state’s brightest young entrepreneurs and business innovators, and the South Australian Business Index, an annual analysis of the top 100 SA-owned or headquartered companies.
Borchardt said she was pleased to return to her home state while continuing to work with South Australian businesses.
“Being back here, you realise that the lifestyle factor is huge,” she said. “I can’t believe the difference in everyday life – it’s such a great place to live.”
In relation to the new position with Solstice, she said she was looking forward to supporting independent media as well as great South Australian companies.
“I have wanted to work for a media company for a long time,” she said. “The biggest appeal in this position was supporting independent journalism as well as working with South Australian companies more broadly.”
Similar to all South Australian events programs, this pandemic year was a challenging one for Solstice events.
Despite the difficulties, dozens of Regional Showcase stories and the full suite of SA Business Index data was made available online. An event to announce the Regional Showcase winners is set for early next year and, while the SA Business Index lunch, usually attended by hundreds of South Australians, couldn’t go head, a series of smaller lunches has been planned.
The 40 Under 40 presentation dinner was able to go ahead, after a delay, in a smaller fashion, with all of the winners profiled in InDaily.
All three programs will be back next year, hopefully with a return to relative normal events, depending on health advice.
