INTERVIEW
Lauren Morrey , a founding member of the Ops Nest , has been operations director at Event Partners since 2020 . Founded in 2017 , the company specialises in launching B2B exhibitions and conferences in high-tech , high growth industries . It has 10 brands in its portfolio currently , two of which run back-to-back in the Spring ; an established event in the UK and a launch in the US . Production for these events is currently in full swing .
What was your journey into the exhibitions industry ? Did you plan to a have a career in operations ?
Like many , I ’ m an accidental recruit into the industry . Nearly 20 years ago , a ‘ friend of a friend ’ was looking for an admin assistant , so I applied with zero experience or knowledge of events . Needless to say , once I was in , I was hooked . Much of my early career was spent in sales , but I was always fascinated by the mechanics of delivering shows and what went on behind the scenes . As soon as an opportunity came up to make the switch to ops , I jumped at the chance and haven ’ t looked back since ; it ’ s definitely my natural habitat . What does your work involve regarding sustainability ? Sustainability is a journey , not a race , especially in an industry that has historically been excessively wasteful . We do what we can , where we can and try and up our game each time we run an event ; reusing graphics where possible ( I ’ ve got items at my next
Lauren Morrey
Natural habitat
Lauren Morrey , operations director at Event Partners , tells EN why she ’ s envious of eventprofs who are starting out in ops today
event that are three years old and still going strong ), minimising literature onsite , encouraging attendees to return lanyards so we can use them again or return them to the client and working with suppliers that actively recycle and reuse . What is your favourite thing about working in ops ? The people , without a doubt . I deeply value the relationships I have with my contracting community .
“ Sustainability is a journey , not a race .”
The role they play in an event delivery is critical ; we absolutely couldn ’ t do what we do without them . Strong partnerships that are built on trust , mutual respect and friendship , create great events . There is nothing better than being onsite and saying ‘ we made this together ’. What are the biggest challenges ? Costs , especially venue costs , some of which rise at an alarming rate , year on year . The price of items also varies wildly ; as an example , identical internet connections cost me £ 500 at one venue and $ 7,000 at another . It makes it really hard to innovate or get excited when a budget allocation increases ; you know that extra money is going to be immediately swallowed up just covering off the basics . Rising costs impact exhibitors negatively too ; they are often priced out of being able to do what they want to do on their stand because they simply can ’ t justify that level of spend .
How do you think ops has changed over the years ? For better or worse ?
I ’ m secretly jealous of anyone coming into ops today . Over the years , much of what I ’ ve learnt has been by trial and error and more often than not , the hard way . Now , for those taking their first steps in our profession , communities like The Ops Nest provide a much-needed holistic approach to event operations ; structured online and face-to-face education , networking opportunities and a safe space where people can seek advice and support . Many of us could only have wished for a dedicated resource of this nature when we started out in our careers . EN
Winter — 17