London, 8th March 2023 Transformational mentoring platform The Cat’s Mother Network held an exclusive event last night to thank an illustrious group of luminaries from across the UK music and creative industries on the eve of International Women’s Day.
Hosted by luxury watch brand Audemars Piguet at their beautiful AP House in London, the cocktail party saw The Cat’s Mother Network welcome artist ENNY as its inaugural Ambassador and Claudia Winkleman present the first ‘Cat’s Mother of the Year’ award to Emma Banks (Head of CAA), who has fully embraced the network and invested many hours of her time.
ENNY dropped a blistering performance in celebration of the incredible women who make up The Cat’s Mother Network, which is working to transform the chances of progression for underrepresented women in the music and creative industries.
The evening of 100+ women featured speeches from Cat’s Mother founder Natalie Wade and Trustee Sara Lord and was attended by many high-profile women in the industry, including Cassandra Gracey (4th Floor Creative, Sony Music), Stephanie Haughton-Campbell (UK Music), Eunice Obianagha (Enspire Management), Sonia Diwan (Sound Advice), Taponeswa Mavunga (Sony Music Africa), Laura Lukanz (Amazon Music) and Remi Harris (Remi Harris Consulting).
The Cat’s Mother Network engages respected industry professionals, who give their time to help young women from diverse and challenging backgrounds gain a first footing, build a network and receive support to succeed in the worlds of music, fashion, film, television and advertising. Since inception in late 2019 by Natalie Wade and Niki Evangelou, The Cat’s Mother Network has created over 500 in-person meetings for aspiring young women, who are looking for that all important first step, or next step in their career path. The results speak for themselves for the simple network building system – with over 430 hours banked, 150 beneficiaries, 4 full time jobs and over 35 internships /work experience placements already achieved.
Natalie Wade, The Cat’s Mother Network Co-Founder, said “Niki and I created The Cat’s Mother to help more diverse and low-income women break into and progress in the music industry. It was a simple idea, based off our lived experience – it just needed the support of a range of incredible, professional women to realise it. We were lucky, because these women rallied, gave their most valuable asset, their time, to became part of this unique network. So, it’s important we thank and celebrate them for their commitment, and for making a stand for change with us. I’m also delighted to welcome the amazing ENNY as our very first Ambassador and award Emma Banks the inaugural ‘Cat’s Mother Of The Year’, she is a respected pioneer in her field, yet has always found the time to be there for the next generation of talented young women.”
ENNY said “I’ve had a ball tonight, and I’m so thankful to be welcomed and celebrated as the very first Ambassador for The Cat’s Mother Network. I want to do my best to represent the organisation and help to shine a light on its important work and achievements.”
Claudia Winkleman said “Emma Banks is the best human on earth and what the Cat’s Mother Network do is just fantastic and really important.”
Emma Banks, Co-head of CAA, London added “I was at The Standard back in November 2019 when Cat’s Mother launched. It seemed like such a brilliant idea that it was a mystery as to why no-one had thought of it before! Massive kudos to Niki and Nat who made sure the dream came alive! I am thrilled and honoured to receive the inaugural ‘Cat’s Mother of the Year’ award. It’s a pleasure to be given the opportunity, through The Cat’s Mother, to meet so many talented and ambitious women who sometimes just need someone to listen or give them a couple of words of advice. Diversity across all areas is crucial for a thriving and vibrant music industry and yet I know how hard it can be to get a foot in the door. If me giving up a few minutes of my time can make a difference, then I am happy to do so. It’s never felt like a chore and I look forward to remaining a Cat’s Mother for a long time to come.”
Ends.
Notes to editors:
- Main image – L-R – Emma Banks (Co-head CAA, Cat’s Mother Of The Year 2023), Claudia Winkleman (broadcaster), Anjola Akeju (mentee The Cat’s Mother Network), ENNY (artist and The Cat’s Mother Network Ambassador), Natalie Wade (The Cat’s Mother Network co-founder)
- Link to download images here
- The Cats Mother Network (TCMN) is a powerful network of extraordinary women in the music and creative industries. By offering a simple, free, but impactful dynamic careers consultancy service, TCMN works to transform underrepresented women’s chances in the music and creative industries and inspire sector-wide change. By nurturing personal growth, TCMN aims to propel careers forward by providing free access to engage with leading women in the music and creative industries for 30 minute coffee meetings. Young women are bespoke-matched with industry leaders for 1-1 sessions, where new connections are forged and practical tools and advice are shared, giving young talent the confidence to take the lead in building that all important network and create the long-term career they want for themselves. TCMN partners include PPL, Small Green Shoots, Cinegirl, Hardwick & Morris and RTC. The Cat’s Mother Network , Instagram , Linked In
- About ENNY: BBC Sound Of 2022 singer and rapper ENNY is a soulful, truth-talking lyricist of Nigerian heritage (London born and raised). Since her 2020 breakout single ‘Peng Black Girls’, the South East London breakthrough star has gone on to release a global charting COLORS set, a Jorja Smith remix, a thought provoking, fiery GRM Daily Duppy, and has been tipped for 2022 musical success from the likes of The Guardian, BBC 1Xtra, Apple Music, No Signal Radio, MTV & more. Influenced by her Mother’s Gospel records, her Dad’s jazz records and her siblings playing hip-hop, garage and indie tunes around the house it’s clear to see how all of these elements helped shape ENNY’s rich sound coupled with her conscious, impeccable songwriting skills. ENNY’s latest EP, ‘Under Twenty Five’ bares sentiment as a personal pillar of growth for ENNY but came from a “day in the life” reflection on the struggles of a Black woman. With her debut EP speaking volumes and connecting via real stories with her fans old and new, ENNY is on trajectory to becoming one of the leading voices in our golden generation of UK rap.
- About Audemars Piguet: Over the years, Audemars Piguet has fostered creative synergies between Haute Horlogerie and the world of music through collaborations with experts in the field. The Manufacture has also nurtured long-standing relationships with music artists including Jay Z (2005) and Quincy Jones (2009) who share the Manufacturer’s values such as technical mastery, precision and a taste for innovation. Furthering its engagement in the world of music, Audemars Piguet became Global Partner of the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2019, after participating in the Montreux Jazz Digital Project. This massive project, started in 2010 and orchestrated by the Claude Nobs Foundation in collaboration with the EPFL, enabled the digitisation, restoration and preservation of the Festival’s entire sound archives, acknowledged by UNESCO as part of its “Memory of the World”. Today, Audemars Piguet takes these collaborative partnerships a step further by putting rising music artists to the test, while offering unique music experiences to varied audiences.
