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🪴 Loyola
Client engagement, market development and bidding specialist at Arinex
Professional Background
Virginia Loyola is a seasoned professional in the global business events industry with two decades of experience under her belt. As the Senior Business Development Manager – International at Arinex, based in Sydney, she leads client engagement and business development initiatives with a focus on bid strategy. Virginia joined Arinex in April 2021 and has since brought her wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role, enhancing the company’s international presence and fostering partnerships that drive growth.
Before her tenure at Arinex, Virginia made impactful contributions in various roles across several prestigious organizations. Her journey in the industry began with Business Events Sydney, where she worked for 15 years from 2002 to 2017. Within this period, she held multiple positions, culminating in her roles as Head of Engagement – National, Head of Client Engagement (Association), and Bid Director/Head of Bidding. Virginia’s strategic initiatives at Business Events Sydney shaped the engagement framework with professional associations and universities, significantly boosting the organization’s ability to secure high-profile events.
Virginia’s career also includes international experience; in December 2019, she returned to Sydney after living in Singapore for two years. During her time in Singapore, she provided expert business development and marketing strategies to the Darwin Convention Centre, contributing from June 2018 to March 2021. She also played a vital role in the development of the Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, supporting its business development initiatives while leveraging her regional expertise.
In February 2018, Virginia began contracting with Mayvin Global as a subject matter expert. Her consulting work has involved key projects including collaborations with the Association of Australian Convention Bureau and the Barangaroo Development Authority, showcasing her versatility and adaptability in various project environments.
Education and Achievements
Virginia Loyola’s educational qualifications lay a strong foundation for her successful career in business events and development. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a focus on Marketing, Hospitality Management, and Tourism from the esteemed University of New South Wales (UNSW). This diverse educational background equips her with a unique perspective on both the strategic and operational aspects of the industry.
Additionally, Virginia pursued further studies with a Graduate Diploma in Business and Technology from UNSW, supplementing her commerce knowledge with skills pertinent to the technological advancements within the industry. Beyond her academic achievements, she has completed a course on Governance Foundations for Not-for-profit Directors at the Australian Institute of Company Directors, reflecting her commitment to continuous professional development and understanding of governance matters within the not-for-profit sector.
Organizations and Professional Roles
Throughout her career, Virginia has been associated with various prominent organizations, consistently playing invaluable roles that have enhanced their business development, strategic engagement, and client relations capabilities.
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Arinex Pty Ltd: Senior Business Development Manager – International
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Mayvin Global: Subject Matter Expert and Project Consultant
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Darwin Convention Centre: Business Development Adviser - International
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Te Pae - The Christchurch Convention Centre: Business Development - Asia
Virginia’s long-standing association with Business Events Sydney included her role as Head of Engagement – National, a position where she excelled in engagement strategy and client relationship management. Her contributions as Bid Director and her various account management roles within BESydney played a pivotal role in securing multiple high-value events and strengthening Sydney’s position as a premier destination for business events.
Virginia also began her career in the hospitality industry as a Travel Adviser at STA Travel and further developed her customer service skills as a Front Office Associate at Sheraton on the Park Sydney. These initial experiences in hospitality laid the groundwork for her exceptional client engagement capabilities that now permeate her work in the business events sector.
Virginia Loyola’s career reflects her dedication, expertise, and capacity for building lasting partnerships within the global business events industry. Her strategic mindset, combined with her extensive experience across various organizations, underscores her commitment to driving success for her clients and the platforms she represents. As a thought leader in business development, Virginia continues to seek innovative ways to promote client engagement and nurture relationships within the industry.
Achievements
- Over 20 years of experience in the global business events industry
- Senior Business Development Manager at Arinex since April 2021
- Developed strategic engagement frameworks for professional associations and universities
- Key contributions to international business development for Darwin Convention Centre and Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre
- Contracted as a subject matter expert for Mayvin Global since February 2018
- Holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in Business and Technology from UNSW.
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
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Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.
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