The Business of Events, an independent think tank and policy unit for the events industry, has announced the members of its new advisory council.
The advisory council will help guide The Business of Events’ policy unit, providing insights and
recommendations on the latest trends, innovations, and challenges facing the
events industry. It will meet quarterly, and future members will be invited
to join in line with required expertise.
The initial members of The Business of Events advisory council are:
- Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet and chair of All
Party Parliamentary Group for Events
- Michael
Hirst OBE, vice chair, UKEVENTS
- Paul
Black, head of business events, VisitBritain/Meet England
- Kerry
Prince, chief growth officer, RX Global
- Michael
Gietzen, chief executive officer, Identity
- Shane
Hannam, MD, Montgomery Group
- Ian
Edwards, CEO, ICC Wales/The Celtic Collection
- Dr James
Musgrave, head, UK Centre for Events Management, Leeds Beckett University
- Martin
Ferguson, vice president global communications & public affairs, American
Express Global Business Travel
- Rachael
McGuickin, director of business development, Visit Belfast
- Michael
Smith, head of events, CBI
- Felicia
Asiedu, senior marketing manager, Cvent | co-founder at Diverse Speaker Bureau
- Neil
Brownlee, head of business events, VisitScotland
Martin Fullard, director, news and content at The Business
of Events said: “I would like to extend my gratitude to those who have joined
the advisory council so far. We have a blend of experience from a broad range
of sector fields, and crucially we are delighted that Theresa Villiers MP has
joined. It is vital that any policy initiatives are stress tested by
Government.
“I look forward to expanding the advisory council further
with specific expertise as a picture unfolds, such as on matters such as
taxation, diversity, sustainability, trade and many more.
“It is also important to add that we will invite new members
to join the advisory council when appropriate to cover certain knowledge or
experience gaps, for which we will be guided by the evidence attained in the
consultation. We encourage active engagement from the wider industry.”
Sector-wide consultation open
The Business of Events is currently running the first stage
of its sector-wide consultation.
The aim of the consultation is to gather sentiment among
those owning, running, managing, and working in the events industry, which will
lay the foundation for a policy agenda for the sector. It marks
the first stage of the policy unit’s work and will close on Friday 14 April.
Responses to the consultation will be categorised into
sub-sectors and discussed as part of a policy unit which will lead to the
publication of multiple reports, which will be reviewed by MPs sitting on the
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Events, the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport, and the policy unit’s advisory council.
A second stage consultation will open later in 2023 and will
further explore policy initiatives in more detail.
Complete the consultation here.
