The Dan Assor Show #eventprofs

My guests for this episode are the new Managing Director of tfconnect Miranda Martin, and founder and now Chairman, Trevor Foley. tfconnect is the events and exhibitions industry's recognised global recruiter and senior executive search and selection specialist. https://www.tfconnect.global/ Miranda and Trevor discuss M&A, Private Equity, the evolution of the Trade Show format, roles and s...

My guest for this episode is Heather Holst-Knudsen, CEO & Founder of H2K Labs. Based out of Florida, H2K Labs helps events, media, marketing, and technology companies develop data-powered revenue growth. https://www.h2klabs.com/ Conversation includes: What is meant by a data first approach? What are the first steps businesses can make in utilising data in their sales strategies? Best practices...

My guest for this episode is Ruth Yarnit Co-Founder and CEO of LeadDev (formerly White October Events). Ruth co-founded LeadDev in 2013 with Dave Fletcher. Started as a small UK conference, the LeadDev team have developed their content function for their community as well as now running conferences in London, Berlin, New York and the West Coast of America. Their chosen audience, leaders of softwar...

My guest for this episode is Josh White, Co-Founder and Global Brand Director of CanO Water. A remote island. Plastic bottles everywhere. This sight changed everything for three friends from London. There had to be a more recyclable and recycled solution. Spotting a lot of brands they knew from home, bottled water seemed to be the biggest culprit. That got Josh and his 2 friends thinking, there ha...

My guest for this episode is Jamie Leonard, Founder & CEO, of The Recruitment Events Co. who create engaging experiences that empower, connect, and inspire talent acquisition professionals worldwide. RecFest, which now takes place annually in the UK, Knebworth, and USA, Kentucky, stands as a testament to their dedication to innovation and collaboration in the recruitment sphere, offering a pla...

My guest for this episode is Hugh Forrest, Co-President and Chief Programming officer of South by Southwest “SXSW” Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference an d festivals that celebrate the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. The event, an essential destination for 300,000+ global professionals, features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibi...

On October 3rd Nineteen Group announced that it had acquired London and Hong Kong-based global trade show organiser, Oliver Kinross. Formed in 2008, the Oliver Kinross business includes a series of Build Expos in New York, Chicago, Sydney and London. In this exclusive interview Peter Jones, CEO of UK based Nineteen Group, discusses why he believes Nineteen were successful in a highly competitive p...

My guest for this episode is Dahlia El Gazzar, who lives and works out of Melrose Massachusetts in the USA. Dahlia is the owner of Dahlia + Agency, brand + experience + marketing agency. With more than a decade of experience in the meetings and events sector, working on both the professional planning side and as an association collaborator, Dahlia is known as the coffee-fuelled ‘go-to’ source for...

My guest for this episode is Terry O'Dwyer Founder and CEO of LSX which since 2014 has established itself as a global powerhouse in life science deal making events by growing a collection of partnering and strategy events that have played a crucial role in fundraising and M&A for global Biotech, Medtech and Healthtech companies.    In August 2023 it was announced that LSX had been acquired...

My guest for this episode is Jo-Anne Kelleway, International Industry Ambassador for Freeman Company, the world’s largest exhibition services, logistics and technology company Jo-Anne lives in Sydney, Australia and is the founder & former CEO of The Info Salons Group, which in 2018 after 31 years Jo-Anne 2018 sold to The Freeman Company. The Info Salons Group is now involved in over 750 events...

My guest for this episode is Jonny Baynes, a partner at Plural Strategy , a strategy consultancy for the media, information and technology industries. Jonny has over 25 years of experience in the media and events sectors and leads Plural’s Events practice, working with leading corporates, investors and venues in the sector globally to drive growth and innovation. He is a keen musician and plays in...

In this episode I spoke with Gaby Mendes, founder of Talk Twenties, an award-winning media and events platform that helps young people navigate the rollercoaster years of their adult life. Discussion Includes; Gaby's background and where the ambition to start her own business came from The journey of developing the idea for Talk Twenties & TwentiesFest The ways and means of building and se...

Originally broadcast live on the Yoonity Connect virtual events platform on Tuesday 4th July, I had the privilege to host a webinar with a stellar panel of event industry professionals who came together to discuss how to Navigate the Path to Net Zero in the Events Industry. The webinar was a partnership between The Dan Assor Show and the Business Design Centre . Panellists: Anna Abdelnoor CEO, Fou...

In this episode I spoke with Duncan Wood, CEO of Rapid News Group who operate trade shows and publish magazines all over the world, including TCT 3Sixty, TCT Asia, TCT Japan, Med-Tech Innovation Expo and Interplas. Discussion Includes; Duncan's personal journey & lessons learned during the pandemic How best to serve & mobilise communities including the power of data insights Responding...

Charli Briggs and Ann-Marie Trzebinski are event industry entrepreneurs who set up their businesses in the summer of 2020. In this episode they talk to me about the journey they have been on as a small business owner, including; Why they took the decision to start their business The challenges they have faced both personally and professionally, and the measures they have taken to overcome them The...

I had the privilege to speak with Lord Stephen Carter, Group CEO of Informa Plc, directly after the release of Informa’s 2023 AGM trading update on 15th June. Informa is a leading Business Intelligence, Academic Publishing, Knowledge and B2B Events Group, listed on the FTSE 100 in UK, has offices in more than 30 countries, and employs 11,000 staff. Stephen joined Informa in 2010 as a Non-Executive...

This week I spoke with with Simon Foster, Group CEO of the private equity-funded, B2B group Arc network , which launched in 2021. Simon has more than 20 years experience managing B2B business globally including CEO of UBM EMEA (now Informa) & CEO of Comexposium. The company, backed by EagleTree Capital, of New York, has completed a number of acquisitions including financial services publisher...

This week I spoke with with Brad Langton CEO of Australian events business, National Media. National Media, headquartered in Gold Coast, Queensland own and operate a portfolio of market-leading events and data-driven marketing products across a range of industries and professional sectors. Brad provides an insight into the Australian exhibition industry, launching shows during the pandemic, convin...

This week I spoke with with Duncan Kirk, CEO ROAR B2B, who operate events in the Care, Health, Business Technology & Environment Markets, including Naidex, UK Cyber Week, Flexpo, Legalex & Flood Expo. Duncan founded ROAR B2B in 2019, when he secured investment from Apiary Capital to fund the acquisition of a portfolio of leading events from Prysm Media Group. The business has offices in Br...

Welcome to the on demand version of a special panel debate, which was previously broadcast live into LinkedIn on 20th April. Over 700 event professionals from around the world registered for this virtual event. I was joined by co-host Julius Solaris, founder of Boldpush , a management consulting agency for the events industry, and a stellar panel of senior event industry executives; Carina Bauer,...

This week I spoke with with Mike Seaman, CEO Raccoon Media Group, a dynamic, high-growth media business focused on health and wellbeing markets. The business launched in 2017 and is dedicated to getting people from all backgrounds healthy, outside and active via its portfolio of events and media properties which include The National Cycling Show, National Snow Week, Snowbound Expo, The National Ru...

This week I spoke with Bruno Roquette, Director at Standbuilder.co.uk , a London based exhibition contractor serving the UK and Europe. Discussion includes: Bruno’s journey to starting the business, from growing up in Brazil to owning a restaurant to serving clients all over Europe! How the business has adapted over the years to build and to stay relevant His perspective on exhibitor requirements...

This week I spoke with exhibition industry veteran Phil Soar, who has built an empire of successful shows over the last 30 years and is the Chairman of b2b events organisers, CloserStill Media & Nineteen Group. Discussion includes; The pace of the recovery of the global trade show & exhibition industry post pandemic, including a discussion on the key findings of the Association of Venues,...

This week I spoke with Laura Shapiro, Portfolio Director of CloserStill Media, and President of Women in Exhibitions Chapter (UK). Laura has been working at global business exhibitions organiser CloserStill Media for over 11 years, rising through the ranks from a Sales Manager to Portfolio Director, where she leads an multi award-winning portfolio of 12 medical trade shows. Laura sits on a number...

This week I spoke with Trevor Foley, MD, tfconnect, a specialist recruitment and executive search consultancy for the global events and exhibitions industry. Discussion includes The types of roles show organisers are recruiting for across the globe The skill sets that show organisers are looking & the pool of talent available Compensation plans: What are candidates demanding & organisers o...