News Feature
Steps to success
Conference News reporter Louisa Daley explores how women can build a
successful career at the highest levels in the exhibitions industry, and how
future generations of women are encouraged to follow suit
There can be many obstacles in
the workplace, but your gender,
alongside many other factors, should
not prevent your success. So why are
there less female event professionals in
C-Level positions across the industry?
To investigate this question,
Exhibition News hosted its second
Women in Exhibitions virtual event:
‘The Road to Success’ on 15 July, which
was moderated by CN editor, Martin
Fullard. The virtual event introduced
six of the most successful women in the
European Chapter, who shared their
experiences and advice on how to build
an outstanding career in the exhibitions
industry, despite the potential obstacles
women face in their careers.
The female panellists included
Lori Hoinkes, managing director of
Montgomery Events; Daria Smith, a
senior event leader; Tamar Beck, CEO
of Gleanin; Kellie Reynolds, head of
operations at IDEX; Alison Jackson,
managing director at Nineteen
Group alongside Katariina Rohrbach,
managing director at Hannover Fairs
Asia-Pacific.
Across the board, the event
professionals revealed that they didn’t
plan to enter the exhibition industry.
In fact, their path was “not a straight
line, but a zig zag” says Hoinkes.
Instead, they originated from diverse
backgrounds such as the military,
publishing, sales and accountancy and
eventually “fell into the industry” says
Beck. However, Jackson reveals “once
you’re in, you’re in for good” because
you “immediately know it’s the right
job for you”, adds Beck.
Perhaps this passionate feeling
stems from how our industry is
constantly evolving, which provides
event professionals with so many
opportunities to transform it,
Hoinkes suggests. The topic of gender
equality in the workplace, particularly
10 — August