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 data and high purchase intent.

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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 use them, before introducing any tech. He talks about learning from Formula 1, the future of hybrid events, and the value in having specialist teams for live and digital elements working together to deliver a show.   

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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 look at the evolution of sign language, right through to it being recognised as an ‘official language’ in the UK two years ago, going on to discuss the growth in the number of interpreters since the 1990s, video interpretating, sharing resources and the value of booking people early in event planning. How last minute doesn’t work.

Look out too for the technology lever, the Spice Girls’ late 1990s arena tour, and understanding the broad reach of sustainability…

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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 management at university, understanding the industry and picking a path. Maria goes on talk about her role at Informa before the Bahrain job, how event companies big and small manage the myriad platforms available, the benefits of having a tech specialist on the team, analysing data, ‘always on’ connectivity and much more.    

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 questions, Laura goes on to discuss shaping content around the medical market’s rules and regulations, delegate bags, sustainability, programme grids/moving away from show guides and breaking the boundaries of Closer Still Media’s traditional geography.

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 them – the next generation’s better work/life/empathy balance, pride versus taking time off, incidentals and longer-term conditions.

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 business’.

Taking questions from host James Dickson, Kalita looks at the impact of increased digitisation, the electronification of payments and other accelerators driven by the pandemic, growth in event tech, and finding the right solutions for events.

Look out too for the insider take on planning and accommodating 175 speakers, RFID tags and always making space for networking…

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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 experiences, this episode explores how working in B2B events has evolved. Do the fundamentals remain the same or is the approach to engage target demographics different from even 10 years ago?

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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.

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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 the quality desired for high profile companies. Sustainability is also a big aspect of the business with repurposing, overprinting, reusing donating or shredding clothing with date printing now part of the considerations for branded product.

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, shares invaluable tips and strategies that could be the game-changer for your next exhibition.

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