Feature
help me here. I don’t have
to build it from scratch. I
have the architecture, I have
the infrastructure, I have
the security and I have the
capital to do it, I just have
to repurpose it. Once you’ve
built it, that’s your service
base.”
How are you going to
approach events within the
company?
“The world follows a
distribution curve and there
aren’t many businesses that
buck that trend. When you
have market leaders, you
ask yourself what are they
doing well? What can we
leverage from them? How
can I make them better? Can
I geo-locate? Can I learn
from what they’re doing
and apply that learning to
the events that aren’t doing
well? What commitment did
we make to these events,
as we don’t just walk away.
Are they trending in a way
that we think they will have
a natural home here? Then
you have some events where
the time has passed, and
you do need to manage your
portfolio or your customers
will.
“There are some
advantages to having so
many shows; if there’s a
sector that becomes weak,
there’s normally a sector
that’s not weak. We have
so many shows that you do
have a sense of cadence,
and you do have some
flattening because you place
so many bets. But over time,
there are shows that need
to be refreshed and there
are shows that need to be
expanded.”
46 — March
“We are not simply Reed Exhibitions,
we are an important, large division of
RELX Plc, one of the most sophisticated
companies in the world”
Does Jones believe in only
having market leading
shows?
“I have a finite number of
resources and we do need
to choose to be profitable
and growing. But do I need
to keep an event if it’s not
number one in its category?
I think that if you deploy
that strategy, you don’t place
enough bets, and I think
because we don’t know
the effects of clean energy,
cybersecurity, Brexit etc.
if you don’t place bets, I
don’t think you’re going to
be there when something
does actually bloom. If you
do place bets, you have to
be ready to fail, and when
you fail celebrate it because
you’ll be a better executive
tomorrow. I feel that being a
part of being a good CEO is
that you have to explore.”
What’s your vision for your
global offices?
“The first is an ethical
vision, I want all of our
offices to do business
ethically, we don’t bribe,
we don’t let people into the
exhibitions that shouldn’t be
in them, we don’t chain fire
doors because we don’t want
to pay for security. There
are ways the world should
behave; I’m interested in you
telling me not what the next
show should be but what is
the customer problem we
are trying to solve, and what
are they telling us about
their needs being met? I
just want to hear what’s not
being fulfilled, and then
we’ll figure out if we have
the resources to fulfil and
then we place our bets. It
doesn’t matter whether
you’re in our office in Brazil
or Shanghai to have that
conversation.”
Jones concludes: “I’m
looking forward to
bringing more increasingly
sophisticated data-led
analytics and technology
to more customers
around the world.
Exhibitions is an exciting,
entrepreneurial industry,
and the fundamentals of
the business are excellent.
Combining the best of
face-to-face connections
with technology and rich
data analytics will provide
new value to our more than
seven million exhibitors and
visitors.
“This ensures that their
investment of time and
resource in our exhibitions
becomes even more
valuable, efficient and
relevant to their individual
needs, ensuring that they
grow their business.”
Former Reed CEO, Chet
Burchett, is returning to
Texas after a five-year
stint at the top, and is a
15-year-veteran of Reed
Exhibitions. He will serve
as non-executive chairman
throughout 2020, focusing
on special projects and
providing transitional
support to Jones.
He said: “It has been an
honour to lead the team
at Reed Exhibitions and
a privilege to serve the
company. Hugh is a proven
CEO and well-recognised for
an outstanding track record
of driving growth. Coming
from a business where the
importance of data analytics
and product-driven
innovation is paramount, he
will be a fantastic leader for
the company.”
Jones also spoke of
his concerns about the
recent outbreak of the
coronavirus explaining that
he is receiving daily updates,
he will not jeopardise
the health of any of his
employees or visitors and
would rather postpone those
events if necessary. He will
directly report to RELX
CEO Erik Engstrom. EN