Welcome
Baptism
of Fire!
Saul Leese, Editor
[email protected]
W
elcome to my first issue as Editor on EN. Although
most of the planning for this issue has been done
well in advance of my arrival (thanks Nicola), I feel I’ve
been able to stamp my meagre mark on a few stories, that I
believe are important to the industry as a whole.
In my first week on the job, London Mayor Sadiq Khan
told the organisers of DSEI to ‘get out of London’ because
of mounting pressure from protestors outside the event.
Morals aside, his remarks had wider implications for the
industry, and I found myself embroiled in an argument with
the Mayor’s office because I don’t believe organisers should
‘foot the bill’ for extra policing (p30/31).
In my first interview with Broadway’s Emma Barrett
(cover) I learnt how tough it is being an indy in today’s
landscape, and how every penny has to go further than ever
before. A truly humbling experience. EN Raceday opened my
eyes to the topic of sustainability and more alarmingly how
utterly disorganised and under-resourced we are. Perhaps
more alarmingly, far too many organisations are profiting by
‘clouding the water’ and making it nigh on impossible for us
all to understand what steps we should take to improve our
carbon footprint - enter our new idea… SAP (pg14).
Between editors (thanks Martin, editor on Conference
News), we somehow managed to organise another
important roundtable discussion supported by GES, where
we learnt how incredibly important it is for exhibitors to
have clear expectations before the event begins (pg36-39)
I believe my job here at EN is to ask awkward questions
and stick my head above the parapet, when no one else will.
Most of all I want to be seen as a knight fighting for and
defending an industry which I believe is underrated and
undervalued by Government and beyond.
Lastly, I want to take time to thank everyone who makes
a valuable contribution to the magazine. Keep telling us
what’s going on no matter how insignificant you think it is –
my door is permanently open.
October — 05