Our 2022 Judges

Sharon Azam

Commercial Director, GovNet

Sharon Azam
Commercial Director, GovNet

Sharon Azam has more than 15 years of experience working across the events sector, playing a key role in GovNet’s ongoing growth and development. During this time, she has worked across a variety of managerial roles, most recently being appointed Group Commercial Director. Her remit includes working with the Executive Team to build a community offering that incorporates a portfolio of face-to-face conferences and exhibitions, as well as virtual events. Sharon possesses substantial expertise in launching and growing events across multiple industry verticals, including technology, justice, finance, education, infrastructure, and sustainability.
David Ball

CEO, Brandfuel

David Ball
CEO, Brandfuel

David is the CEO and Founder of award-winning creative experience agency, Brandfuel.

From small beginnings with three people working from Pink Floyd’s old recording studio in Britannia Row in 2005, the agency set out to become a specialist in supporting the expansion of high growth global tech companies, while building a strong community of highly skilled freelance talent and a hugely loyal supplier base.

Brandfuel has won more than 70 awards for sustainability, creativity, production expertise, exhibition design and conference production, including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade in 2021.

David and his team continue to work with many of the world’s highest value tech, finance and energy companies, creating and delivering events that enhance their brand and reputation at moments that matter most to them, occasions such as Mobile World Congress, the World Economic Forum and the United Nations General Assembly. The agency, now over 60-strong, is focused on driving towards net-zero and delivering all events in the most sustainable way and has set itself a goal to be a leader in net carbon neutral experiential event delivery.
Amanda Barnes

Chief Executive, Faversham House Ltd

Amanda Barnes
Chief Executive, Faversham House Ltd

Amanda’s experience spans publishing, digital media, events, conferences and exhibitions. She led a management buy-out of Faversham House in December 2010 and subsequently bought out her private equity partners in 2013. With her fellow directors, she has been responsible for repositioning the company as a multi-media business information provider building on the company’s strong brands in utilities, sustainability and visual communications.
Robin Booth

Managing Director, Emap

Robin Booth
Managing Director, Emap

Robin joined EMAP in 2018 and is Managing Director of a portfolio of construction, engineering and public sector brands. Robin was Group General Manager at Aspermont Media between 2014 and 2018 running the UK, Australia and Brazil offices of an International natural resources media company, including one of the world’s oldest magazines Mining Journal. Prior to that Robin was Group Publishing Director at Incisive Media working across a range of industry sectors – technology, legal, finance and institutional investment.
Con Bridgeman

CEO, Trinity Events

Con Bridgeman
CEO, Trinity Events
Nadim Chaudhry

President & Founder, Green Power Conferences

Nadim Chaudhry
President & Founder, Green Power Conferences

I founded Green Power Conferences in 2003 after growing concerned about climate change and believing that renewables were coming of age (I was probably 10 years early). We have since successfully run over 450 conferences, exhibitions and training courses in 37 countries, spreading best practice and connecting businesses. We are now firmly focused on scaling up the size and impact of our commercially focused platforms for deal making, due diligence, project best practice and showcasing innovation. Attendees greatly value our portfolio, our attention to detail and the work of the research team and their ability to accurately map out the future contract opportunities available in the markets we serve.

I am a passionate advocate of new technology, renewable energy and the positive benefits of the transition of our transport, energy and industries into truly sustainable and highly efficient new energy systems. In 2007 we launched the Green Power Academy to provide strategic business training to equip global executives with the technical knowledge and detailed market understanding to compete in the new energy paradigm.
Nigel Clear

Commercial Director, Conferences, Elsevier

Nigel Clear
Commercial Director, Conferences, Elsevier

Nigel Clear is Commercial Director at Elsevier responsible for the growth and management of their global scientific conference business which has quadrupled in size during his stewardship. Nigel has over 30 years’ experience in publishing and events and has spent most of his career serving the information, finance and scientific sectors.
He has a strong track record in launching new events and is passionate about the customer experience and how technology, underpinned by meaningful, data-driven insights, can augment this. A strong advocate of inclusion and diversity Nigel has doubled the number of female speakers at Elsevier’s events over a three-year period, and has been instrumental in launching societally important events in areas that have been underserved, most recently the inaugural World Forum on Climate Justice.
Mindy Emsley

Joint Managing Director, Smarter Shows

Mindy Emsley
Joint Managing Director, Smarter Shows

Mindy became Joint Managing Director of Smarter Shows in 2017 and oversees a portfolio of industry-leading conferences and exhibitions across the advanced manufacturing, aerospace, automotive and materials industries. Mindy has over twenty years’ experience in B2B conferences and exhibitions and has led the strategy and execution of highly successful events across a range of industry sectors including telecoms, finance, banking, energy storage and oil and gas. Prior to joining Smarter Shows in 2012, Mindy held conference production and event director positions at organisations including Informa Telecoms, IQPC, TM Forum and Eurofinance.
Orson Francescone

Managing Director, FT Live

Orson Francescone
Managing Director, FT Live

Orson Francescone has worked in the b2b media and events industry for over 15 years. He has led global conference and exhibitions businesses for Euromoney Institutional Investor, the Daily Mail Group and Haymarket Media. Since November 2019 he is Managing Director of FT Live, the global event business of the Financial Times. Throughout his career he has specialised at enabling publishers to monetise their audiences and drive high margin revenues via all formats of events. From conferences, to awards to large scale exhibitions and trade shows and more recently through digital events. He has launched and run some of the world’s most successful and award winning events including Gastech, the Festival of Work and, more recently The Global Boardroom . He is an Irish Italian national and an economics graduate of Trinity College Dublin.
Michael Gietzen

Managing Director, Identity

Michael Gietzen
Managing Director, Identity

Over the last 13 years, Michael has spearheaded the incredibly successful growth and reputation of Identity, to now be one of the largest events agencies in the UK and Europe. Formerly a chartered accountant, Michael oversees Identity’s strategic vision and the delivery of major high-profile events. He has worked on public and private contracts with a number of prestigious clients, including Google, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Siemens, Dell and Apple. As well as being a Forbes featured entrepreneur and international speaker, Michael is a trusted judge and expert voice within the events industry.
Simon Hambley

CEO, Strata

Simon Hambley
CEO, Strata

With over 30 years’ experience delivering corporate live events and brand experiences, Simon has worked across a multitude of brands and industries throughout that time including Microsoft, PSA Groupe, and many more.

After forming his own agency which later merged with others, Simon is now CEO of Strata. A leading brand experience creative agency with offices in Soho, the Midlands and Europe.

At the heart of everything he does is a passion for creative communication experiences and striving to deliver excellency. After the recent challenges, Simon is excited to see what 2022 brings for the industry and the growing Strata team.
Ian Hemming

Managing Director, Economist Impact Events

Ian Hemming
Managing Director, Economist Impact Events

Ian has 29 years events industry experience. Ian was CEO of Informa’s Telecoms & Media division for 11 years. In 2016 he became a consultant advising events providers and private equity investors. In 2019 Ian was appointed Managing Director of Events at The Economist Group.
Rosalind Irving

CEO FPS Events, EuroMoney

Rosalind Irving
CEO FPS Events, EuroMoney

Ros joined Euromoney in 2009 and is the Divisional Director for the Telecoms Division. Over 25 years, Ros has worked for IIR, Eurofinance and Risk developing events businesses in many different markets including derivatives, treasury, energy, architecture, telecoms and technology across many different event models from training courses to large-scale annual conferences and trade exhibitions. Ros has a degree in Anthropology from the University of Durham and recently completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Michaela Jeffery-Morrison

CEO, Founder of the Women in Technology World Series, Ascend Global Media

Michaela Jeffery-Morrison
CEO, Founder of the Women in Technology World Series, Ascend Global Media

Michaela Jeffery-Morrison is Founder & CEO of Ascend Global Media and Founder of the Women in Technology World Series; the world’s largest events series focused on women in tech and the only B2B company dedicated to improving diversity and inclusion in business. Since its creation in 2015, Maddox Events, now Ascend Global Media, has exploded in popularity. In just five years, the Women in Tech World Series, has grown from one event in London to seven globally, while attendance has risen from 300 to more than 6,000. Ascend Global Media delivers content, opportunities, inspiration and knowledge to the women and businesses that make up the technology sector through a series of live events and attracts hundreds of speakers from the world’s most innovative companies and tens of thousands of attendees from across the globe.
Karen Kadin

Managing Director | Partner, Brands At Work

Karen Kadin
Managing Director | Partner, Brands At Work

Karen is the co-founder and joint Managing Partner of the award-winning experiential communications agency, Brands at Work. We unleash the power of experience to create trust and loyalty between brands and the people that matter to them.

Brands at Work was named Challenger Agency of the Year by EVCOM in 2020 and was crowned Agency of the Year in 2021 by both C&IT and the Micebook V Awards.

From live, virtual and hybrid events and brand experiences to employee engagement and cultural change programmes; Karen has over 20 years’ experience leading transformational communications campaigns. She has had the privilege of working with leading multinational corporations across a diverse range of sectors including Healthcare, Financial and Professional Services, FMCG and Tech. Her passion is to help companies become better storytellers and in so doing, build vibrant brand communities from the inside out.
Colette Leong-Son

Managing Director Events, Infopro Digital

Colette Leong-Son
Managing Director Events, Infopro Digital
Rohan Marwaha

UK Managing Director, RX

Rohan Marwaha
UK Managing Director, RX

Rohan is currently UK Managing Director for RX’s real estate event division. A veteran of the events industry with 23 years in exhibitions, conferences, digital subscriptions and communities, he has considerable experience in geo-adapting events, transformation programmes and M&A.

Over 14 years with Informa plc, Rohan led multiple country offices and most notably created and developed a business unit that was one of the most profitable and fastest growing in the group for several years. He has launched over 30 exhibitions and 60 conferences in the US, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Fiona Miller

BU Director Events & Marketing Solutions, Wilmington

Fiona Miller
BU Director Events & Marketing Solutions, Wilmington
Jennie Moss

Founder & Managing Director, Rethink Events

Jennie Moss
Founder & Managing Director, Rethink Events

Jennie founded Rethink Events in 2011 and led the launch of the World Agri-Tech, Future Food-Tech and World Water-Tech summits, which are now the industry’s leading events in Europe, North America and Asia.
Jennie has over 20 years’ experience in B2B conference production and marketing, managing the Middle East division at the CWC group in London, before setting up the Finance IQ team for IQPC in New York. After developing renewable energy events for a series of clients including the FT and Green Power Conferences, she founded Rethink Events to pursue her passion for innovation in energy, food and water.
Lisa Moyle

Co-Founder, VC Innovations

Lisa Moyle
Co-Founder, VC Innovations

Lisa Moyle is a co-founder and chief strategy office at VC Innovations, an innovative marketing services agency.

She is also a regular contributor to a number of publications and a speaker/commentator on the UK and international fintech industry. She sits on the judging panels for the Banking Technology (Europe and USA) and PayTech Awards.

Additionally, she is a co-founder of the Fintech Cocktail Club, sits on the Advisory Board at FT Cambridge and is a trustee for a number of charities.
Previously, she was director of strategy, fintech, at Informa where she established and led a portfolio of global fintech events and activity. She also worked at techUK, where she was head of the Financial Services and Payments programme and contributed to a broad range of policy initiatives in support of financial services innovation.

Prior to that, she was programme director at the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, a leading financial services think tank.
Dale Parmenter

CEO, drpg

Dale Parmenter
CEO, drpg

Dale has been in the presentation and communication industry for over 40 years. He left school with one goal to run his own business, after just 3 years the opportunity arose and Dale took it, operating at first from a small outbuilding at his parent’s home as a filmmaker.

Today drpg is recognised as one of the leading integrated, full- service presentation and communication groups, winning agency of the year multiple times. The drpg team comprises of over 380 specialists across seven locations in Worcestershire, London, Windsor, Leeds, Manchester, Germany, Ireland and the USA.

drpg designs and produces communications solutions globally. Working with a wide range of clients to effectively communicate to internal and external audiences, all through award-winning film & video, events, experiential, print, design, digital, exhibition and creative solutions.

Dale is past Chairman of EVCOM and he is actively involved with key corporate clients, he works at a senior level assisting in the development of communication strategies and creating presentation vehicles.

Clients find his wealth of experience and knowledge invaluable in creating solutions that are bespoke to an organisation and are effective. Using his production and broadcast background, Dale has been able ensure DRPG’s 25 year virtual and hybrid offering has expanded to cope with the demand brought about due to Covid.

Dale is passionate about nurturing new talent and putting his people first. drpg has appears in the Sunday Times best 100 companies to work for list at number 16 and in 2020 has been awarded the Investors in People platinum standard, one of only 70 companies in the UK. In 2015 he was presented with the events industry personality of the year and in 2016 honoured with a fellowship award for services to Communication, presented at the House of Lords.
Isobel Peck

Chief Marketing Officer, Informa Connect

Isobel Peck
Chief Marketing Officer, Informa Connect

Isobel has moved between central and operational roles for the Informa Group working across publishing, exhibitions and conferences & training before joining Informa Connect as Chief Marketing Officer in 2014.

Having managed marketing, sales and customer service functions, Isobel became the business sponsor for Informa Connect’s digital transformation programme with the objective of moving the business from a transactional outbound marketing model to a customer experience led digital inbound model.

Her role is focused around establishing a strong digital presence for Informa Connect’s events, products, services and communities and designing a 365-day engagement programme for its customers marrying valuable, rich and compelling content with cutting edge, market-driven face to face meeting and learning opportunities for high calibre decision makers.
Liz Quinton

Senior Director, Global Event Management & Meeting Planning, CWT Meetings & Events

Liz Quinton
Senior Director, Global Event Management & Meeting Planning, CWT Meetings & Events

Liz joined CWT M&E in 2011. She has over 30 years’ experience across the Meetings & Events industry in a variety of roles and M&E verticals.

Liz is a multi-functional Global leader with strong skills in operations, account management, technology, implementation, change & project management.

Based in the UK, Liz oversees the 400 strong Global Event & Meeting Planning teams, with a focus on creativity, strategy & efficiency.
Sandeep Saujani

CEO, Contentive

Sandeep Saujani
CEO, Contentive

Sandeep Saujani, CEO at Contentive started his career in risk management consulting at MMC group and then worked his way up to Head of Americas for Ascend, a PE backed B2B information business based in New York. After this, he joined Econsultancy to grow the B2B Enterprise subscriptions service in digital marketing. He then went on to becoming a MD at Centaur Media, a UK based media and events provider. After leaving Centaur Media, Sandeep went on to lead Contentive in 2016 where he is currently the CEO. Contentive is a global B2B media and events business that connects buyers and sellers in B2B markets. Sandeep specialises in B2B information, analytics and advisory and has an Executive EMBA from Columbia University and London Business School.
Rick Stainton

Founder & Group Executive Director, Smyle Group

Rick Stainton
Founder & Group Executive Director, Smyle Group

Founder & Group Executive Director – Smyle Group

Founder – One Industry One Voice

Rick, 47, oversees the growth strategy of Smyle Group. It owns leading creative agency Smyle, that delivers live, hybrid and virtual experiences for some of the top global brands and organisations in a range of sectors including IT, Telco and Media. It has won UK Event Agency of the Year award a record 7 times in last 13 years – including in 2020/21 at the Campaign Experience, DRUM, EVCOM and C&IT awards – a first for any agency.

Smyle has also been recognised as one of the fastest growing leading agency in the UK Events industry through its entry in The Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 in December 2018 and The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 in 2019 & 2020.

Rick founded the One Industry One Voice coalition in August 2020 that aims to use a clear unique mandate of cross representation and collaboration across all the core sectors of the events industry, for the first time – Business Events, Exhibitions, Music, Sport activations, Arts/Charity/Cultural events, Festivals/Shows and Weddings. It has the support of all the main industry associations and businesses of all sizes and sectors as well as the various current campaigns aligned to OIOV, including #WeCreateExperiences B2B campaign launched on 7^th December 2020 and the B2C campaign in March 2021. This positive messaging campaign aimed to remind and inspire the business event decision makers, public and national media about the power of events and their true value to society, our well being and the wider economy. It delivered over 150 PR broadcast/print pieces across the Four Nations, and the campaign videos have received 1 million views and over 3.5 social media impressions to date.

The campaign also focused on reassuring and inspiring messaging content, that showcases the UK events industry’s world leading expertise in audience management and logistics that enables it to deliver safe events in 2021.
Ben Turner

Managing Director, Wonder

Ben Turner
Managing Director, Wonder

Over the last 20 years, Ben has delivered world-class events for some of the biggest brands, launching his own agency, Wonder London in 2012. Now a 42-strong team across in-house Creative, Production and Project Management, Wonder deliver events around the world for the likes of Google, PlayStation, BT, Nike, and Skoda.
Sean Willis

Managing Director, Terrapinn

Sean Willis
Managing Director, Terrapinn

As Managing Director of Terrapinn’s London business, Sean directs the creation and execution of B2B events across a range of industries, markets and geographies. He also serves on the group’s board of directors.

He joined Terrapinn as a conference producer in 1997 and has worked in production, sales, general management and has previously managed Terrapinn’s South African business, the launch of Terrapinn World Congress, and a range of events across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.
Tim Willoughby

Managing Director, Mark Allen Exhibitions

Tim Willoughby
Managing Director, Mark Allen Exhibitions

Tim Willoughby is the Managing Director of MA Exhibitions.

Tim joined Mark Allen in 2020, having previously been the COO of Ocean Media Group. He has over 20 years of experience in media and events with a strong track record of building business success through the creation and continued development of high performing teams within entrepreneurial and motivational cultures. From Education and Law to Technology and Retail, Tim’s career has spanned many sectors, and he has worked for FTSE 100, P.E. backed, and privately owned businesses.

Judging Information

The Conference & Events Awards will be judged independently by an esteemed panel of conference, event & venue professionals across a wide range of market sectors.
The scoring will all be conducted online, without any reference to other scorers and based solely on the submission of the entrant. This will ensure the scores are unbiased and judges are not swayed by the opinions of other panel members.
Each entry will be scored by at least 4 judges in total. The organisers will collate the individual scores and use the average marks given to initially decide the finalists and ultimately to determine the award winners. Where the average scores are so close that it is too difficult to determine a winner, then other judges will be asked to evaluate these entries as well in order to make a final decision.
The information provided to judges will be used solely for the purposes of assessing the entries. Potentially sensitive information will not be made public.
Judges will absent themselves from any discussions where they have a vested interest.
The judges’ decision is final, no correspondence will be entered into and no reasons given for decisions.
If you need help with your entry or require any clarification, please contact Sian Jones on 020 8788 3710 or via email sian@globalconferencenetwork.co.uk.