the right time in the right way . “ I don ’ t necessarily see that level of pace , agility and scale in any other organisations . So that ’ s something which I really want to be able to maintain .
“ I want to continue to thrive in the live environment , but I do want us to be able to continue to develop our digital aspirations across the group .”
Hannant sees the virtual future as “ complementary , digital ways of working , that are helpful for the customer ” but says they are also investing in “ standalone , organic digital businesses in the sectors where we ’ re really strong ”.
“ I think it ’ s a real advantage having different models across the group . We ’ ve got B2B and B2C portfolios both in the UK and in in the US . We ’ ve got large trade shows , conferences and confexes across the group . We ’ re also quite content driven , which lends itself well to some of our media assets .
“ We also have a growing one-to-one business model . Both in the US and in the UK , we ’ ve got a high level of oneto-one meeting businesses across the organisation , which offer huge amounts of value to the customer , but also gives us an ability to trade in different environments at different times of the year , rather than just one big trade show , once a year .
“ So that variety is a big advantage in any market . Who knows what ’ s around the corner at the moment ? I think it ’ s a good advantage .”
Diversity As one of only a small handful of female CEO ’ s in the exhibitions industry Hannant is keen to champion greater diversity . Whilst humble about her own success she understands the importance of seeing more diversity in the industry – especially the top jobs .
“ I really do think it ’ s changing , but these things can take time ,” she says . “ Historically , in our industry , the leaders at C-level have typically the come from sales backgrounds . I think that personality perhaps has driven those types of front leading roles . You ’ ve got leaders now coming through , certainly in Clarion and also across the industry , from a different set of backgrounds , some of which are coming from outside of the industry , which I think is a real positive . Others are coming up through very different routes such as marketing , content , insights .
“ There ’ s now much more potential for leaders that come from very different pathways in the exhibitions industry . So , I think that ’ s a real shift for the industry .
“ As individuals it ’ s always hard to
40 — December