36
Big Interview
DRIVING THE PACE
OF CHANGE
Martin Fullard talks to International Confex’s Duncan Custerson about his journey
into events and how his and his team’s approach has seen the show thrive
ow did you get into the
events industry?
I haphazardly stumbled
into it professionally,
although looking back I have always
been involved in events in some
capacity. As a teenager I set up a
social media group called ‘Miss
Royston’ after a beer with some
friends, which was basically a Miss
Universe in a small market town in
Hertfordshire.
With little in the way of things to
do, and plenty of scope for gossip,
this exploded into thousands of votes
coming in each day. My young
entrepreneurial brain thought ‘let’s
turn it into an event’. So, I set about
sourcing a venue, finding sponsor
partners for prizes, involving the local
council and newspapers, and selling
tickets for a charity.
The event ran for two years, and
hosted over 500 people in a local
pub.
I then moved to London and
started a house music club night
while pursuing a professional career
in sales at EMAP. Eventually, I went
from various print and online
campaign sales roles into sales
management in events. I soon
became more and more interested in
the delivery of the sales promises I
was making.
What impresses you most about
the conference and meetings
industry?
Its size, diversity and how it touches
every part of business in some way
shape or form. Not to mention the
people who work in this industry
underlining that knowledge and
diversity. There are some awesome
characters out there, and I have
been lucky enough to form not only
great business relationships, but
friendships too.
What do you think was your biggest
challenge when you joined the
Confex team; how has the event
changed in your time there?
Everyone has an opinion of
International Confex. When I joined in
January 2018, I felt like a fish out of
water, and maybe even suffered a
touch of ‘imposter syndrome’. The
show is the same age as me, so that
was a little bit daunting.
I was discussing Confex with
industry leaders who were attending
it when I was still playing kiss chase
at school.
I listened to them for a long time
www.conference-news.co.uk
and took all opinions on board while
adding my own logic and forming my
own ideas of where the show should
head, and then driving it in that
direction through development and
tweaks.
The industry is constantly evolving,
which keeps it exciting but what is
interesting is that there is a broad
range of active participants from all
generations. So, while new apps and
technology develop and enable a
new type of event professional, there
are also ‘old school’ experiences and
opinions that are still extremely valid.
Networking of old is to meet up
and grab a coffee or beer, and to
discuss matters face-to-face,
exchanging numbers and emails.
With networking apps and a younger
generation with smartphones glued
to their palms, it makes sense to
connect through channels that
resonate with them, before, during
and after an event. As long as this is
a catalyst to face-to-face
interactions, I’m all for it.
Is it more about creating
partnerships than simple
transactions for exhibition space?
Absolutely. The best business comes
from forming strong partnerships