Big Interview
Time to reiterate value of events
EW meets Damion Angus, group managing director at Montgomery Group. Part of the interview is published
courtesy of the SISO and mdg Turning Point series, with additional reporting from Paul Colston
re there any learnings
from past challenges
that you think
translate to the
current situation?
The most recent and most closely
comparable challenge we have faced
would probably be the emergence
of Ebola in West Africa in 2014. This
affected a number of our shows in
Nigeria and our African business.
My biggest takeaway was that you
cannot overdo communication
with your communities. Keeping
exhibitors and visitors updated
on what your plans are and really
understanding their concerns made
all the difference then, and I believe
that holds true now.
How has Montgomery Group been
approaching scenario planning
during the pandemic?
We’ve set up a Business Continuity
Team, consisting of the divisional
heads across the world, and we
“meet” every Monday. There’s also
an optional drop-in session on
Thursdays, where this group can
share ideas. Also, we set up a wider
set of working groups involving
the next level of leadership in the
business. These groups are currently
looking at the future of our industry,
how Covid-19 will affect our
communities and what the longerterm
view of a return to the office
might look like.
Are there any organisational
changes that you’ll keep?
This pandemic has forced us to
embrace technology to better
communicate and streamline our
remote working capabilities. This
will undoubtedly change how our
office is structured, how certain
meetings take place and how flexible
we become in working from home.
I can’t tell you how much I miss the
physical meetings round a table and
how much can be achieved by sitting
together, but I also feel closer to our
international teams than ever before.
As a leader, what do you see as
your biggest challenge now?
The unknown nature of what we’re
dealing with. Most issues that affect
the business allow you to make
informed decisions based on facts.
This gives you the opportunity to
put a specific strategy together
Above: Damion
Angus, group
managing
director at
Montgomery
Group
and give your teams clarity. With
Covid-19, there are so many potential
outcomes and the timelines are
unknown. It forces a very fluid style
of leadership.
Which initiative from the last few
months have you been especially
proud of.
We implemented the Montgomery
Group webinar series to service
our communities and to help them
navigate the issues that they’re
facing. I would never have believed
that we would have received such
an amazing take up and I feel very
proud of the teams.
How are you keeping yourself
positive and motivated?
I am predominantly surrounded
by positive people who relish a
challenge, and as a business, we’re
focusing on what we can do coming
out of this to make us stronger. I
tend to look at the world day by day,
and the fact that it’s summer here in
the UK and the mornings are light
gives me all the motivation I need.
Montgomery has survived 125 years
with no shortage of hurdles and that
provides a certain level of comfort,
while also inspiring me to continue
building a great business.
How many shows have you had to
cancel and postpone and how have
you tried to keep the communities
together?
We ran our last physical event in the
first week of March and we were due
to run another 11 shows over the
following 10 weeks. These covered
eight different sectors and a diverse
range of territories across Asia, Africa,
and Europe. It really was a case of
firefighting whilst trying to get all our
16 Issue 4 2020 www.exhibitionworld.co.uk