What does it take to grow from a contracted Project Manager into the CEO of a leading creative events agency? For This Space CEO Jordana Shawyer, the answer lies in curiosity, adaptability, and a genuine commitment to people. Over the past five years, she has helped shape the evolution of the business while navigating her own leadership journey, progressing through multiple roles and strengthening the operational foundations that support our creative success.
In this candid reflection, she shares the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, the relationships that have influenced her journey, and her vision for the future of This Space.
Looking back, what have you learnt in the past five years?
The biggest lesson has been that leadership isn’t about having every answer. It’s about being curious, listening carefully, asking the right questions and creating enough clarity for other people to do their best work.
When I first joined This Space in 2021 as a contracted Project Manager, I didn’t arrive with a plan to become CEO. I simply came in with the attitude that I was there to help wherever the business needed me. If no one was quite sure what that was, I would look around, identify what needed attention and get started. That curiosity and willingness to step forward have shaped every role I have held here.
Over five years, I have moved from Project Manager to Business Strategist, then Chief Operations Officer and ultimately CEO. Every step taught me something different about our people, our clients and the mechanics of running a creative business.
I’ve learnt that structure and creativity don’t need to compete with one another. The right systems, processes and commercial foundations actually give creativity more freedom. My role has often been to create the clarity and structure that allow Jules and our extraordinarily talented team to focus on producing their best work.
Leadership can feel uncomfortable but this is often where the greatest growth happens.
Moving from colleague and friend to manager and CEO required me to become clearer in my communication, more confident in my decisions and comfortable having difficult conversations while still leading with empathy.
Most importantly, I’ve learnt that people are everything. Events come and go, but the relationships, trust and experiences we build together are what endure.
What is your favourite memory with the team?
There are honestly so many, and often my favourite memories aren’t connected to the events themselves. They’re the moments behind the scenes: travelling together, the laughter after a huge delivery, the delirious conversations after weeks of preparation and standing quietly at the back of a room watching something we’ve worked on for months finally come to life.
Our Christmas celebration last year is definitely a favourite. We had a long lunch on Sydney Harbour, followed somehow, as always by karaoke. No matter how a team celebration begins, we always seem to find our way to a microphone by the end of it!
Another memory I love is when Jules surprised us with trike bikes a few years ago. We spent the day cruising around Sydney and across the Harbour Bridge, with the whole team hooning around together. It was hilarious, chaotic and such a perfect reflection of us.
Beyond the fun memories, what stands out most is everything we’ve carried together.
Over the past two years in particular, we have experienced some of the lowest lows and the highest highs. There have been incredibly demanding periods, big changes and moments that tested all of us but also extraordinary achievements and so much to celebrate.
I genuinely couldn’t imagine having made it through any of it without the team we had then and the team we have today. Their resilience, loyalty, humour and ability to show up for one another are a huge part of what makes This Space so special. Those shared experiences have created a bond that goes well beyond simply working together.
What is your favourite event you have been part of?
It is almost impossible to choose a single event because each one represents a different chapter and challenge.
The projects I feel most connected to are generally the ones that have brought together every part of the business; creative development, strategy, detailed pre-production, complex logistics and an exceptional onsite team.
I love standing in the finished space before guests arrive and taking in how many individual decisions, conversations and hours of work have contributed to that one moment.
I’m especially proud of the large-scale conferences and multi-day programs we have delivered for our long-term clients. These projects demonstrate that we are more than an event supplier: we are trusted partners who understand the client, their people and what they are trying to achieve.
If I had to choose one, it would be delivering our creative design for a huge event in Hobart. It was my first major delivery with the This Space team, my first taste of Tasmania and, looking back, a genuine turning point in my career.
Tasmania has since become a huge part of both my professional and personal life. It holds an incredibly special place for me and is somewhere I feel deeply connected to.
The event required an incredibly complex logistics and operational plan, and it gave me the opportunity to step up, trust my instincts and see what I was capable of delivering alongside the team. I remember the enormous sense of achievement we felt when everything came together.
That experience also sparked something much bigger. It helped us recognise the opportunity to build a new arm of the business in Tasmania and four years later, we now have a permanent team member, local crew, a warehouse and an increasingly strong presence delivering projects across the state.
In many ways, that first Hobart event was where I discovered what the next chapter of my career could look like, even though I didn’t fully realise it at the time.
How would you describe your relationship with Jules and its influence on your journey?
Jules has been one of the most influential people in my career.
She initially welcomed me into the business, trusted my instincts and created space for me to grow into roles I may not have imagined for myself at the beginning.
Our relationship has evolved from employer and team member into mentorship, friendship and a genuine leadership partnership. We have very different strengths, but they complement each other. Jules is an extraordinary creative thinker who sees possibility everywhere. I naturally look at how we turn that possibility into something operationally, commercially and practically achievable.
A major part of my role is creating the structure and confidence that allow Jules to spend more time focused on creative direction and the future, while I lead the day-to-day business, our people and our operations.
That level of trust is incredibly special. I don’t take it lightly, and I’m enormously grateful for everything we have built together.
What are you most proud of?
I am proud that our growth has not come at the expense of who we are.
We have introduced stronger systems, clearer responsibilities, greater financial visibility and more specialised roles, but we have worked hard to protect the warmth, agility and collaborative spirit that make This Space special.
I’m proud of the culture we have created: one where people are trusted with real responsibility, encouraged to ask questions and supported to grow. I’m also proud that we have become more commercially confident without losing our heart.
On a personal level, I am proud that I have found my own way of leading. I didn’t become CEO by trying to imitate somebody else. I have learnt to combine high expectations with genuine care, operational rigour with flexibility, and directness with empathy.
What are you looking forward to in the future?
I’m excited about the next evolution of This Space.
We have built an incredibly strong foundation, and I want us to keep growing thoughtfully taking on more complex multi-day programs, expanding our reach across Australia and strengthening the specialist expertise within our team.
My vision is for This Space to be recognised not only for producing beautiful and memorable experiences, but for the strategic thinking, operational excellence and trusted partnerships behind them.
I want us to continue being the agency clients bring into the conversation early because they know we will help them understand what is possible, challenge their thinking and care about the outcome as much as they do.
For the team, my goal is to build clear pathways that allow people to develop meaningful careers here.
I want team members to see how their role contributes to the wider business, feel confident taking ownership and have opportunities to grow without believing they need to leave a company they love to take their next step.
Personally, I want to continue growing as a leader, sharing more of what I have learnt and contributing to broader industry conversations particularly around women in leadership, how operations and strategic thinking work together, moving from peer to manager and building sustainable, values-led creative businesses.
What would be your dream event with unlimited budget and resources?
My dream would be to create an immersive, multi-day journey through Australia that brings together extraordinary landscapes, storytelling, food, art, culture, design and technology.
Rather than a single event in a traditional venue, guests would move through a series of completely different environments.
Each location would tell its own story and engage every sense, with incredible creative installations, intimate dining experiences, unexpected performances and moments that feel impossible to reproduce anywhere else in the world.
It would be ambitious and logistically complex, which is probably why I would love it, but it would also feel deeply personal and connected to place. The aim wouldn’t simply be to impress people. It would be to create an emotional experience they would continue talking about years later.
How does reaching five years feel?
It makes me emotional and incredibly proud at the same time. I can’t believe five years have passed, yet I also find it difficult to remember my working life without This Space in it.
It has been the greatest joy of my career, not simply because of the events and experiences we have created, but because of the people I have had the privilege of growing alongside.
I arrived ready to contribute wherever I could, with no expectation of where that might lead. Five years later, I have the enormous privilege of leading a business, team and culture I genuinely love.
I am so grateful to Jules for believing in me, to the team for trusting me and challenging me, and to our clients and partners for allowing us to create extraordinary work together.
It has already been an incredible journey, and I still feel as though we are only getting started.
As Jordana’s reflections make clear, sustainable growth in the events industry is rarely driven by strategy alone. It comes from a willingness to stay curious, embrace change, invest in people, and continuously evolve without losing sight of what matters most.
From stepping into leadership and building operational excellence, to nurturing culture and long-term client partnerships, her journey over the past five years is a powerful reminder that great businesses are built on trust, collaboration, and a shared vision for the future. As This Space continues its next chapter, Jordana’s story reflects not only how far we’ve come, but the exciting opportunities that lie ahead.
