Pennine Events was formed in 2002 by managing director and sports enthusiast Mark Sandamas in Preston, Lancashire, the heart of England’s Northwest. Mark has worked in event management and marketing for over 20 years, with experience in the public, private and voluntary sectors .
He has led the growth of the company that now stages events throughout the UK and Europe.
Kirsty joined the team in 2010 and became full-time in June 2013 as a project manager after graduating from the UK Centre for Events Management with an honours degree in Event Management (2:1) from Leeds Metropolitan University, Kirsty is our Senior Operations Manager, a position she was promoted to in March 2015. In this role she manages the Operations department in the planning and delivery of all the company events (both our own events and contracted events).
Kirsty led the process of continual development of our new event documentation including Event Safety Management Plans, Traffic Management Plans, Production Plans and Risk Assessments and has also recently completed the NEBOSH general certificate course.
With over 38 years of event, major project management, and health & safety experience gained in the public sector, Graham brings a wealth of skill and knowledge to the company. Graham’s primary role in our previous major events has been as either the Event Director or Safety Director. He has worked in key roles on the British National Championships in Pendle in 2010, the Tour de France in Kent in 2007 and in Yorkshire in 2014 and the recent highly successful Tour of Yorkshire in 2015. He has considerable experience in delivering complex crowd management operations also
Qualified in Business Administration L4, Nilma grew up in the great sporting nation of Kenya. Nilma is our digital marketing and social media guru. She manages all our online platforms including social media, websites and participant entry systems, for both our own events and for our clients. She also looks after all our participant enquiries, ensuring participants know all there is to know about their event. She manages sponsor and exhibitor liaisons for all our events.
Nilma has the aptitude to be fast-tracked in our growing company with her ambitious and industrious nature.
To support our permanent staff we have a dedicated team of over 50 freelancers who help us plan projects, and deliver and run the events.
Bringing their qualifications and experiences to work, our freelance team play a key part in our robust planning processes. Their skills ensure we always provide the right people for every position. From escorting the Queen to organising Australia's largest tuna festival, there's little our freelancers haven't achieved.
The freelance team is part of our ‘family’, and is regarded as an integral part of what Pennine Events offer.
We aim to be the best events management company in the Northwest of England.
Our work is informed by eight key values that underpin the Pennine Events ethos.
We create events to be proud of – and we are.
Like any great sports team, we are always there for each other and only win when everyone succeeds.
“Pennine Events worked very hard and professionally to turn our initial ideas into a fantastic event. They used their expertise and dedication to ensure it was a very memorable occasion with a cracking route and wonderful sports festival at the end.”
