EDITOR ' S LETTER
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Contributing editor Mike Fletcher
Portfolio director Max Agostini
Reporter Joe Gallop
Production manager Sabrina Boucher
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Exhibition News Magazine
An operational renaissance
T he supply side arguably had the toughest time of anyone operating in the exhibitions sector when the pandemic hit . Warehouses were padlocked shut and kit remained untouched , sometimes for up to 18 months . Huge bank loans and minimal government support proved unsustainable for many , resulting in business casualties aplenty . Blitz , a GESowned company headquartered in Elstree , Hertfordshire went under in the summer of 2020 . While Freeman with its largescale warehousing in the midlands made the strategic move to refocus its core UK business away from general trade fair contracting . Jobs were lost , assets were sold and where once two competitive contractor giants serviced major exhibitions across the country , the landscape today looks very different .
Out of the ashes of Covid , however , has come hope . The formation of the Ops Nest in 2020 has united UK ops managers who once worked in silos . The community is now 180 members strong . We speak to Ops Nest founder Lou Kiwanuka ( page 14 ) about today ’ s challenges . Also in this edition , we interview Sharon Reynolds ( page 47 ) who refused to give up following the Covid demise of her company , ITR . She has now rebuilt as Immersive AV , which has a future-facing business model and a predicted turnover of £ 4m .
We also meet former ops manager , Emily Peat ( page 63 ) who has reinvented herself as an organiser and will launch her debut exhibition , Readyr Live at the NEC in June . Plus , we hear from supplier RefTech ( page 19 ), driving industry innovation by continuing to launch event technology solutions .
For me though , the most inspiring tale of success over adversity wasn ’ t even told to one of our journalists . It was recounted to Claudia Winkleman by Cvent ’ s CEO and founder Reggie Aggarwal during the company ’ s recent customer conference . To read how Aggarwal survived the dotcom meltdown of 2001 and how Cvent risked it all by making the boldest of bets to survive the pandemic , turn to page 21 . Ops people and suppliers to the events and exhibitions industry are certainly made from sterner stuff . Enjoy the read .
Mike Fletcher Contributing editor Exhibition News
Winter — 05