25 Years of Outsourced Events: A year of recognition and reflection
A quarter century in the making
In 2001, Denise Sharpe and Alexandra Sibley set up Outsourced Events in a small office in Chiswick, West London, with a simple idea: build an events agency that could work so closely with its clients that it felt less like a supplier and more like an extension of their own team. Twenty-five years on, that idea has grown into a business trusted by some of the world's biggest technology brands and professional associations, but the thinking behind it hasn't changed.
By 2007, Outsourced Events had firmly established itself in the technology and associations events space. Since then, the team has delivered everything from intimate roundtables to major international tradeshows, always guided by the same founding belief: get the people part right and everything else follows.
What Outsourced Events stands for
Our vision has always stretched beyond the events themselves - bringing people together to create a better world, one where individuals, organisations, communities and the planet can all thrive. That vision is carried day-to-day through five core values that shape how we work, not just what we deliver:
- We put people first
- We're partners
- We care
- We challenge
- We're curious
These aren't words on a wall. They show up in the way we plan events, the way we treat clients and just as importantly - the way we treat each other. It's why, after 25 years, so many of the relationships at the heart of this business go back a decade or more, including team members who've come back after time away and clients who've stayed with us since our earliest years.
A year of recognition
This milestone year has brought some of the most meaningful recognition in our history, not because awards are the point, but because they reflect something real about how the business has been built.
- CN Agency Awards 2026 - WINNER Employer of the Year.
- UK Company Culture Awards 2026 - WINNER Leadership Award. Won by our CEO and Co-Founder, Denise Sharpe.
- Conference and Events Awards 2026 - WINNER Best Event Agency. Recognition from the UK's longest-standing and most prestigious event industry awards, landing in our 25th year.
- micebook Awards 2026 - Double finalist for Best UK Agency and Best Internal Communications Event, for our work on Ocean Infinity Thrive '25.
-UK Company Culture Awards 2026 - Finalist, Best Agency to Work For (Medium).
-UK Agency Awards - Finalist for Events Agency of the Year, Best Large Agency of the Year, Agency Leader of the Year (Denise Sharpe), and Best Event (BMFMS Annual Conference 2026 and BSGE Annual Scientific Meeting 2026).
-Association Excellence Awards - Finalist for Association Agency or Supplier of the Year, plus Best Development of an Existing Association Event and Best Medical Association Event (both for BMFMS and BSGE).
-C&IT Awards - Finalist for UK Agency of the Year, The Luminary Award (Denise Sharpe), Conference (1,000 or less) for BMFMS, and Conference (1,000 to 1,500) for BSGE.
What this recognition really means
For a business built on the belief that people come first, this kind of recognition means something different: it's independent confirmation that the culture inside the business is as strong as the events we deliver outside it. Winning Employer of the Year in the same year our CEO wins a Leadership Award, isn't a coincidence - it's the natural result of 25 years of consistent investment in the same values.
Looking ahead
To mark this milestone, we launched The Confidence Code - new research exploring the pressures and priorities shaping tech marketing leaders in 2026 and beyond, reflecting the same curiosity that's driven the business since day one.
The next 25 years won't look like the last. The technology our clients work with will keep changing, the way people gather and engage will keep evolving, and the events industry itself will keep being reshaped by new expectations. What won't change is the belief Outsourced Events was started with in that small Chiswick office: put people first and everything else follows.
About Outsourced Events
Outsourced Events is an award-winning B2B event management agency with over 25 years of experience, specialising in technology brands and professional associations. We partner with global clients to design and deliver events that engage audiences, extend reach and amplify impact. To discuss your next event, get in touch at [email protected]/ + 44(0)330 460 6007
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