1. What drew you to the events industry?
This will be my fourth year working and training in the events industry – time is flying! As a child, I had a real passion for performing arts and loved going to the theatre or the circus with my family. I would then come home and try and stage my own “world-class” production much to my family’s despair. After a while, I realised that whilst I loved being the centre of attention and the star of the show, I actually had more of a penchant and passion for the production and organisational side of things. When it came to choosing a university degree, event management seemed like a logical fit and the rest is history.

2. You are the Show Executive for the London Christmas Party Show (LCPS) & London Summer Event Show (LSES) – what does this entail?
As the Show has grown, the team have all found their niche and their talents but I started off having my fingers in lots of pies from creative to marketing and operations to sales. My role now is very much operational and I get the exciting job of working with Steph on putting the Show together and delivering it logistically on-site. From recruiting staff to coordinating the installation of theming and from designing and planning the signage to managing the exhibitor and sponsor experience, it’s all in a day’s work and there is never a dull day.

3. What is the hardest aspect of your job?
Trying to ensure that everyone is happy, well looked after and ready for Show opening. I am responsible for looking after our exhibitors and sponsors as well as working on the logistics and operations of the Show so keeping a firm balance to ensure that everything goes without a hitch is no easy task.

4. You are known as the Tech Guru in the Story Events office how did you get this label?
I didn’t know this was the case but I love being called a guru – I feel very wise and important now! I think ultimately, when I joined the business two years ago, I confessed that I knew a little bit about Macs and printers and have been called upon in times of trouble ever since. I used to be a bit of geek as a child and so have pretty much taught myself all I know. Even if I don’t always know the answer, years of sitting in front of a computer and giving myself square eyes (that’s what my Mum would tell me) as a child has helped to give me a moderate working proficiency.

5. Why do you think technology is important in events and how does it add value?
Technology has advanced in leaps and bounds in the past 20 years and the world and the way in which we do things are evolving at such a rapid pace because of it. Events are all about innovation, creativity and engagement so it seems only right that we
advance with technology through the delivery of our events too. Technology can be used to be more efficient, to educate and to entertain and so the possibilities of added value are endless. Projection mapping, for example, is such an exciting and clever way of lighting up an event and making audiences gasp in awe, which wouldn’t have been possible 20 years ago but now is becoming more and more commonplace.

6. What elements of technology at LCPS & LSES are you proud of/sets the exhibition apart from others in the industry?
Our Shows are still relatively young and so we were lucky enough to be able to start our event blueprint when technology was booming. We have taken advantage of lots of different advancements to match our unique and innovative take on the exhibition experience itself. We have a really robust event management system that manages most aspects of the event including the NFC exhibitor-visitor data capture element. We have done away with the old zap barcode system and introduced a new and fun way of capturing visitor information with one tap of the wrist. I haven’t seen any other shows or industries begin to use NFC in this way yet so I’m really proud that we are one of the few flying the flag on this unique process.

7. When technology is added to an event this adds more opportunity for things to go wrong. Any advice on dealing with mishaps at events?
Definitely! I always anticipate there to be some issue with technology somewhere along the line. It helps to be as prepared as you possibly can in advance of the event by having a suitable contingency plan in place. I think it’s also useful to teach yourself a little bit about the technologies you are working with so you can at least solve or understand minor problems. Above that, at the Show, we are very lucky to have a talented technical team on-site who can deal with the majority of issues for us but no matter how prepared you are, something will always manage to surprise you.

8. If you weren’t working in events what would you be doing? Any hidden talents?
I have a huge passion for design and branding and have always been a big fan of Mary Portas. Whilst I understand it’s all TV hype, I love the idea of being able to go into a failing business and look at ways of re-inventing it to make it more of an experience or a destination.

9. And finally, as your next show is centred around Christmas what is your favourite Christmas food?
I love the ‘festive Christmas sandwich’ – as soon as these hit the shelves in supermarkets, my lunch for the next week is sorted!