Born in Castlemaine in Central Victoria, Cathryn Bock finished her secondary studies at Merton Hall, Melbourne Girls' Grammar School and headed off to work as a senior cruise attendant with Fantasea Cruises in the Whitsunday islands.

She enrolled at the Blue Mountains Hotel School in 1992 and her first placement was back in the Whitsundays on Day Dream island. In second year she worked in Front Office at the Sails resort at Ayers Rock where she met her husband-to-be, then a Food and Beverage Manager.

"All the lecturers at the School had industry backgrounds," says Cathryn, " So it was not just learning from a text book but from the experiences of people who had worked in industry."

Only six months after graduation, Cathryn was offered the position of Training Manager in Reservations for the Novotel Hammersmith in England.From there she had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe and Canada before returning home in 1997.

While working in Front Office at the five-star Windsor Hotel in Melbourne, Cathryn was offered the job that has changed her life. She was approached to join the pre-opening team for the brand new Crown Towers Hotel.

Cathryn has now been with Crown Limited for the last six years. Starting with senior reception in Front Office, she quickly moved to the Crystal Club VIP lounge, then up to the position of Front Office Supervisor.

In 2000, Cathryn joined the Crown Events team and worked her way up to her current position of Business Development Manager, second-in-charge to the team's Executive Manager.Her main job is maintaining and growing a base of clients in the finance, banking and legal sectors in Victoria and NSW. Soon she will take on a national role.

“My main skill is building relationships,” says Cathryn who negotiates the terms of contracts and secures a venue space for clients' events before handing over to the event management team.“You need to be able to listen well to understand a client's needs.You definitely need time management and organisation skills but above all you must be a pro-active 'people' person.”

“My experience at the School proved that anything was possible if you put your mind to it," says Cathryn,“The School was also a great help with networking opportunities.
I still have strong friendships today from my time there, many of them still in industry.”