Feature
During a long , far reaching and incredibly enlightening conversation with Lori Hoinkes , MD at Montgomery Events , we covered a wide range of topics , but for the purposes of this article I want to focus on how Hoinkes found herself after a very successful career in manufacturing moving mid-career into events and her involvement in Women in Exhibitions ( WIE ), a fantastic initiative focused on supporting women in the events space ( there is a clue in the name ). I start by asking her how she made the decision to start working for Montgomery Events : “ It was really by chance to be honest . I was working on a volunteer board of directors , with another person who was also a non-exec director at Montgomery who let me know they were looking for an MD at Montgomery Events . I ’ d never given this industry ; any thought and I was oblivious to the event
Inspiring progress
Simon Parker meets Lori Hoinkes to discuss the rise and rise of the Women in Exhibitions network
world at the time . But when she mentioned it to me , I was somewhat intrigued and thought well , I might as well , have a look and see . “ My career ’ s mainly been based around ‘ there ’ s a real big problem , we ’ re here and we need to be over there ’ the ‘ how are we going to do that ’ is the kind of stuff I really like . The process I went through is relevant for WIE as I think women , maybe more than men , take stock a little bit more and really question whether what we are doing in our careers is the right thing for us . I had just turned 40 and couldn ’ t see myself working in manufacturing like I have been for the last 20 years for the next 20 or 30 years of my career , I really feel like I needed something different . “ I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up . What was really important and what does happiness mean and the role my job plays in that . I ’ m hoping with WIE that we can be there for other women who are having that same kind of journey and wondering , is this where I really want to be ; is this what I want to be doing ; and how can I how can I change if I want to ?” Hoinkes goes on to say that the dynamics of our industry also play to the formation of this type of initiative : “ I ’ ve never worked in an industry that is so close knit , I think there ’ s really a sense of support for each other when we get together with our peers and our colleagues and are open to sharing lessons , I ’ ve never felt quite that sense in any other industry that I ’ ve ever worked in .” So how did Women in Exhibitions come about ? “ It was created by a small number of women who were really passionate about the idea of trying to bring something together , a network for women in the UK building on what Oana Cipca has started on a more international level . We are effectively the UK chapter of what is becoming a global organisation . “ Cipca attended an UFI meeting in Birmingham and gathered a group of women together who were interested in hearing what she was working on . While talking about what she was trying to achieve I remember putting up my hand and saying that we really have to get to this moving in the UK . We then grew organically : Tamar Beck and former EN editor Nicola Macdonald joined , and we have grown from there . “ The funny thing is I have spent so much of my early career in really male dominated environment and I wouldn ’ t have touched a ‘ women in ’ group with a 10 foot pole because I almost didn ’ t want anyone to know I was a woman I was hoping they maybe hadn ’ t noticed and I certainly wasn ’ t going to draw any attention to the fact that I was different from
18 — June