Joining business exhibitions mainstay CloserStill Media in January 2021, from Ocean Media Group, and taking his tech acumen into events-world, was an ambition realised for head of digital & CRM, Rakim Asher.   In this episode, Rakim discusses that career journey, exploring the ‘head of digital’ role, finding the right tech and scrapping old-school show guides.   With host James Dickson putting the questions, Rakim goes on to talk pressure of time, the power of collaboration, analysing...

John Regis is global technology adoption manager at London-based publishing/intelligence/exhibition giant Informa. This episode looks at his career path before turning its attention to the now. John details the brief behind the job title, which he helped create, before discussing how systems are used effectively, inside the Informa walls and across its portfolio. Prompted by host James Dickson, John goes on to detail the time he takes studying new platforms and understanding the people set to...

Ashley Kendall is director of international business development at Sorenson Communications, leading solutions servicer for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.   Andrew Dewey, vice president, EMEA, for Strategic and Business development at the same company, is also Interim CEO at the Royal Association for Deaf people.   With an interpreter on hand, this episode delivers insightful background from Ashley and Andrew, highlighting their drive, their motivation, to make events more accessible.   They...

Maria Sidiropoulou – senior product manager at Informa Markets – accepted a new role with the company, event director for Jewellery Arabia, based in Bahrain, since this podcast was recorded. In events for more than 12 years, a career that’s taken her from sales and marketing to the heady world she’s now a part of, Maria talks host James Dickson through that background and the lessons learned before digging into the bigger picture. This episode touches on the pros and cons of studying event...

Laura Shapiro is portfolio director for medical events at Closer Still Media (CSM) where she’s worked at for more than 12 years, during which the company has grown from 20 people to 700.  This episode is about Laura’s frontline experience, how serving the sector has changed since 2011. She talks strength in diversity, creating Clinical Pharmacy Congress (CPC), Europe’s largest event of its kind, and the value in CSM’s carryover learnings from its tech shows.  Answering host James Dickson’s...

Clarion Events’ head of sector marketing operations, Tom Fisher, worked for the prison service and the Met Police before stepping across the tracks to events-world, giving him a telling take on people and their wellbeing. Fisher’s altruism, fostered by his own experience living with bi-polar disorder, has seen him offering support via LinkedIn and helping his own situation at the same time. Focused on mental health, this episode sees Tom discussing triggers – social media and deep fakes among...

From designing computer chips at Intel nearly 30 years ago to current role as head of industry at Fintech Meetup, Sanjib Kalita – who is also CEO at guppy.ai - has been engrossed in the technology sector, taking on events by default. In this episode, live and direct from Fairfax, Virginia, Sanjib Kalita discusses his years at Money 2020 and how that experience triggered his move to Fintech Meetup, a brand committed to ‘revolutionising how the fintech industry connects, collaborates and does...

In this episode of the Event Industry News Podcast host, James Dickson, is joined by Terrapinn COO Sharon Roessen. Sharon has been with Terrapinn for 30 years this year, starting in marketing and progressing through the company. Terrapinn is a global Business to Business events company with a mix of exhibitions and tradeshows in its portfolio, the largest of which sees 40,000 registered attendees and 500/600 exhibitors, big events with content being the main focus. Reflecting on Sharon’s...

In this episode of the Event Industry News Podcast host, James Dixon, is joined by Jeremy King, CEO and co-owner of Festival of Media. Jeremy brings a wealth of expertise to the table, having steered Festival of Media to new heights in the dynamic landscape of events. Festival of Media has been shining a spotlight on the very best media and marketing campaigns since 2007. Their numerous awards programmes highlighting the best in media, marketing and advertising around the globe. To keep...

In this episode of the Event Industry News Podcast, host James Dixon is joined by Karen Saragoussi, Founder and Director of TeamTogs. Celebrating their 20th year in November 2023, TeamTogs was founded with the aim of creating merch and apparel specifically for events and brand activations. Through the episode Karen shares her insights on how important being service driven is when it comes to branding, working directly with brand managers and organisers to ensure the product and print is of...

Dive into the latest episode of The Event Industry News podcast, where our James Dickson engages in a captivating conversation with Emily Clark from Informa. This time, they unravel the secrets behind running a stellar exhibition in 2024, focusing on the pivotal role of data and digital upskilling. In this episode discover how harnessing the power of data can elevate your event game, providing insights that transcend the ordinary. Emily Clark, with her wealth of experience at Informa,...

In the ever-evolving landscape of event design, technology continues to play a pivotal role in shaping memorable and impactful experiences. The latest episode of our podcast, "The Intersection of Event Design Experience and Artificial Intelligence," delves into the fascinating world where event design meets cutting-edge technology. Joining us for this insightful conversation are three industry leaders: Ryan Howard, Global Event Experience Technology Lead at Google; Panos Moutafis, CEO and...

With a big background in tech-world, marketing director Felicia Asiedu has been at Cvent for five years. This episode is a deep dive into the brand, with a particular focus on Cvent Connect Europe, the company runs a similar event in North America, and how event tech fits into event design. With questions from host James Dickson, Felicia talks about the attendee journey at “the largest supplier-based event technology show in Europe”, the value of significant breaks between sessions, and the...

Oli Bailey, interaction designer at IMEX, and Panos Moutafis, who is co-founder/CEO at Zenus AI, a company developing ethical facial analysis tech, are a great combination. Joining IMEX, ‘where the global meetings industry comes together’, right after its first event nearly 20 years ago, Oli has worked across pretty much every facet of the show/the brand. He knows his IMEX onions. Meanwhile, Panos has worked on facial analysis since 2011, founding Zenus – a company committed to protecting...

With an impressive background in how to monetise audiences for publishers, through events, Orson Francescone moved to the Financial Times’ stable four years ago, as managing director of FT Live. This episode sees Orson talk through the background, strengths and processes of the FT’s event division. A clued-up speaker, he tells podcast host James Dickson through the USPs, finding the most viable markets from an extraordinary reach, profitability, resources, the international team and growing...

Chief operating officer Rachel Swann has been with global exhibitions company dmg Events for eight years. She is also vice chair of the AEO and, topically, on the board at Women in Exhibitions’ UK chapter. With a focus on the latter, this episode sees Rachel talk host James Dickson through her five-point career development plan. 1) Choosing the right career path and the potential in sideways steps. 2) Bouncing back – learning from mistakes and not worrying about making them. 3) Playing to...

Céline Laukemann, head of internationalisation at German-based ‘full-service registration solution’ ADITUS GmbH, and Elinor Honigstein, business development & international growth partnerships at LinkedIn, know the secret. In this episode, hosted James Dickson, they discuss LinkedIn’s interest in events, its Community Builder and the ADITUS role in that platform. They look at registration and diffuse the notion it’s a ‘necessary evil’, at generating benefits for all stakeholders, at...

Formerly head of events at Founders Forum Group, Jesse Peterkin took his background in high-end hospitality and international events to immersive specialist This is Beyond, where he’s head of operations, in September 2023.   Focused on engagement at in-person events, this episode sees Jesse talking to host James Dickson about the customer journey and fostering that ‘I belong’ feeling.   They discuss the components that make up an event, and the best ways of getting them to work together. The...

Live and direct from Montreal, Canada, Jesse Gainer is VP growth and partnerships at C2 – a company spawned from equal measures of two impactful locals - ad agency Sid Lee and Cirque de Soleil. Best known for the shapeshifting C2 Montreal, ‘Canada’s leading creative business summit’ launched in response to the 2008 financial crisis, which has featured A-list speakers, Spike Lee, Martha Stewart, Arianna Huffington, Steve Wozniak, Jane Fonda, and Snoop Dogg among them, C2 has gone on to take...

With more than 12 years’ experience working in the events industry, primarily in tech, Rachel Heller is senior content program manager, events, at Github, the AI-powered developer platform.   Tellingly, Rachel wrote a blog for the Github site, ‘9 tips to go from attendee to speaker at a tech conference’ and that’s what this episode is all about.   Rachel talks about the journey; the call for sessions, inspiring people to apply, networking, crafting talks, writing a good bio and, ultimately,...

Former head of digital innovation at Reed Exhibitions, Ade Allenby launched his own advisory business in March 2023.   In this episode, Ade talks advances in event tech, the sector’s move from the fringes to the heartbeat of contemporary shows, tools that help people connect, and generating data to help organisers better understand their audience.   Prompted by host James Dickson, Ade goes on to discuss the spoils of cameras in the halls, algorithmic Bluetooth navigation/tracking and...

Caroline Cronin took her 16 plus years of industry experience to emap in 2021, as head of conferences then head of events.   In this episode, with a focus on the post-pandemic push for new order, Caroline details the spawn of enforced downtime, changing formulas for awards ceremonies and conferences, and how covid crushed historical data’s validity.   Talking to host James Dickson, Caroline goes on to discuss everything from fostering event relationships after pandemic ground zero, the unity...

Ewelina Dunkley has years of experience in the live events world, working in hospitality, fine dining and private parties before joining Meta, (then Facebook, Inc) in 2016, where she’s events lead. This episode is about Hackathons, a term for a social coding event that brings computer programmers and other interested people together to improve upon, or build, new software. Ewelina talks host James Dickson through the customer journey, dispelling myths and clarifying the makeup of a...

Working at Emirates Old Trafford since 2013, Angela Hobson has been sales director at the home to Lancashire County Cricket club for more than three years. Talking to host James Dickson just after the third Ashes Test had decided the series, Australia retaining the urn, Angela does the detail about the venue’s massive redevelopment – a £45m programme over 15 years. She discusses the planning and delivery behind a Test match and Emirates Old Trafford’s new-look provision for the greater...