The Business of Events, the independent Think Tank and Policy Unit for the events industry, has announced the members of its new Advisory Council.
The Advisory Council will play a critical role in guiding the direction of The Business of Events’ Policy Unit, providing insights and recommendations on the latest trends, innovations, and challenges facing the events industry. They 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:
- Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet and Chair 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, Managing Director, 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 & 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 comprehensive Policy Agenda for the sector. It marks the first stage of the Policy Unit’s work and will close on 14th April 2023.
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.