Event Industry News Podcast

Recorded at Stream7 to mark Event Industry News’ 15th anniversary, this episode brings together event producers, staffing experts and broadcasters to share real-world stories and practical insights. Guests discuss Wildfire’s show‑stopping props (yes, hovercrafts), the role of temporary staff and people-first culture, and how production teams add value through problem‑solving and client focus. Conv...

delighted to record this episode in person at the Stream7 studios in Sheffield. Joining us for the conversation was a brilliant panel of Northern-based event professionals, all members of the fantastic NOWIE community: Emily Woods, Marketing at Stream7 Lia Baron, expert in end-to-end event management Hannah Pugh, Freelance Event Manager and AAA 30Under30 Evie Booth, Events & Marketing Freelanc...

Recorded at Stream7’s Sheffield HQ as part of Event Industry News’ 15th anniversary series, James Dixon sits down with long-time listener and big fan of the podcast, Andy Jeffries. They explore Stream7’s journey from event broadcasting to hybrid solutions, how the team adapted during the pandemic, and their role across live, virtual, and festival productions. The episode dives into working with ev...

In this episode of the Event Industry News podcast, host James Dixon is joined by Matt Pearce, the CEO of Talk2 Media and Events, to delve into the dynamics of the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME 2025). Held in Melbourne, Australia, AIME is recognised as the leading business event in the Asia-Pacific region, drawing in 675 exhibitors from 30 countries and facilitating nearly 20,00...

In this episode of the Event Industry News Podcast, host James Dixon welcomes Carly Gibbs, recently appointed as the Head of Customer Experience at Olympia Events. Carly shares insights into her new role, discussing her extensive background in the events industry and how it shapes her approach to enhancing guest experiences at the iconic London venue. With exciting developments underway at Olympia...

Managing director Craig Mathie founded full-service event production agency Project 30 in 2022, after nearly 12 years as MD with Bournemouth 7s Festival.   In conversation with host and friend Adam Parry, Craig gives a detailed background to the thinking, decisions, and numbers that bore Project 30. Not just the want to run his own business but to do things a bit differently, and how that’s paying...

Event strategist and consultant at ElectraLime Marketing, a company she founded in 2009, Lisa Schulteis is also a director of the North West Event Show. Coming to the sector from working as a neuropsychology technician isn’t the most traditional route, but using those skills to analyse show content for optimal brain function, unlocking the secrets of neuroscience in event design, has proved to be...

Duncan Strain started Silent Noize 16 years ago. A gamechanger. In this episode, Duncan talks host Adam Parry through the journey from promoting Birmingham club nights to hearing about headphones for events from his business partner, launching Silent Noize and the circumstances/breakthroughs that led to the Silent Seminars offshoot some 10 years later. Duncan, and Adam, remember the impact of intr...

A part of the event industry for as long as he can remember, in some form or other, latterly Chris Carver is co-founder and CEO at Florida-based content/speaker management platform Sessionboard.   Beyond the traditional background detail, Chris’s work with non-profits, the Covid tipping point et al, this episode is a fascinating focus on Sessionboard’s latest element, AI Evaluations.   With questi...

In among the event tech-world for 20 years, working with the likes of Cvent and SwapCard, Kevin Singh launched data integration platform RunMerge little over four months ago. Prompted by host Adam Parry, Kevin, who’s picked a luxuriant backdrop, details his career history before focusing on the here and now. This episode is about the triggers that spurred Kevin and company to develop a solution to...

With 40 per cent of an organiser’s time spent ‘chasing exhibitors’ according to a recent Bizzabo study, this episode is about what’s broken, what exhibitors want, and the impact/potential impact of smart technology.    Client director at Ascender Design, Christian Skelton, went on to co-found exhibitor management platform Eventflow in 2022, winning Best Technology Startup at the Event Tech Awards...

Mark Hamilton, strategic, tactical and operational advisor with over 50 years’ experience in security, Paul McCartney among his long-term clients, and equally independent crowd, security, event and fire safety consultant, Steve Allen, have teamed up to develop and deliver the new Showstop Procedure course. Principal consultant with Crowdsafety.org since 2014, Steve toured with any number of big ac...

In and around events since the 1970s Steve Heap needs little introduction. Saying that, there’s a whole lot of it in the shape of his forthcoming book: You Call That a Career? The Memoirs of a Festival Organiser…   In the context of this episode, Steve is a founder member and current Chair of the Events Industry Forum (EIF), which took over The Purple Guide from the HSE some 12 years ago. Steve ta...

With a background in managing 10,000 plus events, for the last three and a half years Utah-based Rodney Hart has been at next generation marketing platform RainFocus, where he’s vice president, events. Experienced in mechanics/checks and balances across the trade show model, and beyond, Rodney is the perfect guest. Hosted by Adam Parry, this episode starts quickly and keeps the pace. From answers...

Karen Saragoussi, owner of branded apparel/merch company TeamTogs, follows up her 2024 appearance on the podcast, accompanied by business development and sustainability manager Katie Noonan.   Karen reiterates the impact of her time as an event producer, how it shapes TeamTogs’ create, supply and ‘take the pain away’ process. She goes on to highlight the power of face-to-face events and the role b...

Behind the recently published article: Tariffs – now what for trade shows , this episode’s guest, media and events entrepreneur Dr Baris Onay, is a bit of a coup. Referencing the impact of international sanctions on Russia in 2014 from first-hand experience, Baris looks at what to expect, and what might actually happen, as a result of the restless canon of US tariffs.  Hosted by Adam Parry, Baris...

Ten years ago, recognising the narrow horizons of his sales job, Big Event Media founder Vincent Roazzi Jr started exploring New York City through the lens of a new camera, going on to take gig pictures for music events startup Sofar Sounds.   Accepting an offer to serve as photographer for a friend’s project in Bhutan, Vincent found his chops, or his shots, on that eastern edge of the Himalayas....

This special edition of the Event Industry News podcast sees editor Adam Parry in conversation with Enrico Gallorini, co-founder and CEO of GRS – a global research and strategy company based in Dubai. Alongside the business, Enrico has written a book: ‘In Person, a journey through the unstoppable evolution of events’, and that’s the topic here.  Asked about his inspirations, Enrico highlights chat...

Nathan Reed runs experiential events company MEGA, which he founded 15 years ago. Behind rolling successes like The Rock Orchestra, Illuminated Orchestra and Incredible Silent Discos, his story is equal parts passion, conviction, commitment and delivery.   Bitten by the events bug in his youth, Nathan switched away from drumming to found a small festival in his home town. From there, things went M...

Brian Gates, SVP of Industry Strategy at next-generation event platform RainFocus, is James Dickson’s guest for the first Event Industry News podcast of 2025.   Founded in 2013, RainFocus made a fast mark on heavyweight shows like Oracle CloudWorld, VMworld, Cisco Live, and it’s gone on to have similar impact for the smallest events.   Speaking live from Utah, Brian, who joined RainFocus nearly 10...

Sustainability strategy experts Sam Wilson, managing director at Syntiro Associates, and Dr Dominic Tantram, partner at Terrafiniti, present a podcast precursor to the ‘Unmasking Greenwashing in the Events Industry: Understanding, Identifying, and Avoiding Misleading Practices’ panel at Event Sustainability Live (ESL). Succinctly titled ‘Greenwashing’, this episode sees Sam and Dominic do some bac...

In and around events-world for years, Seattle-based CEO and co-founder of MJ Unpacked, George Jage, sowed the seeds for a show committed to the cannabis sector back in 2014. MJ Unpacked, the biggest trade event in a now burgeoning business, hits St Louis, Missouri, this month and Atlantic City, New Jersey, next spring. Aimed exclusively at retail and brand executives on a national scale, it promis...

Founder and CEO at Eventwise, Chris Carter, and company set out to transform financial management in the sector for ‘greater efficiency and control’. Formerly a promoter in Bristol, Chris wanted to get into accounting. This episode, his first appearance on any sort of podcast, incidentally, serves to normalise that leap. Starting with some background, and the focused switch from artist to event ‘w...

Louisa O’Connor, managing director of female-led brand experience agency Seen Presents , which represents the likes of Netflix and TikTok, has been in the industry since she joined Grace & Tailor subsidiary We are Vista, formerly Logistik, in 2008.   This episode benefits from Louisa’s experience, nous and personality as it looks at cultural relevance; what it means, how it plays a part in bra...

From sales director at Mentor Direct Marketing to vice president, European sales, at software solutions giant Cvent, nearly 30 years later, Jamie Vaughan has been in the thick of event technology.     In this episode, a fast, informative 35 minutes, Jamie takes host James Dickson back to the days, the trials of analogue registration, through the impact of digitising the process, and beyond.   Jame...