Rising Stars of the Event Sector will guarantee a Bright Future

As we reach the final straight of what can only be described as an extraordinarily tough year, it is important to sit back and take stock of our achievements as a sector. In the face of adversity, event professionals continue to work incredibly hard, think outside the box, and push the boundaries in order to create exciting products fit for the “new world”.

At GovNet, we, as a team, have done our very best to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down, and deliver engaging content and virtual events to help our communities tackle their own individual challenges. Since lockdown, I have been particularly impressed by not only how our younger colleagues have taken this seismic shift in their stride, but how they continue to strive for excellence in everything they do.

Therefore, I was extremely proud to hear that two of our younger GovNetters have been recognised for their excellent work in the sector. Firstly, Millie Savage was named in the illustrious “30 under 30” list put together by Exhibition News, whilst Callum Clark made the equivalent list compiled by Conference News.

EN 30 Under 30 / CN 30 Under 30

Millie is one of our brilliant Content Executives who works within our HETT team. For our last show, Millie managed, liaised and nurtured sponsors who were delivering content, ensuring all case studies were effective and delivered the biggest impact. The results were excellent, with the 21 sponsor-led theatre sessions onsite averaging live attendance of 110, and five of them achieving over 150-200 live attendees. This was a big contributing factor to HETT 2019 achieving an exhibitor satisfaction score of 4.08, placing it in the top 10% of events measured globally by Explori. Millie also chaired our Content Working Group for Virtual Events, looking into new content channels, and has been heavily involved in the social committee during her time here.

Callum Clark joined Inside Government (IG) in August 2016 as Programme Assistant and has since been promoted to Head of Programme – the youngest ever person to hold this position at our company. During this time, he has shown himself to be incredibly proactive, calm, self-confident, and comfortable making important decisions, which help to ensure our portfolio of events continue to go from strength to strength. Callum is definitely “one to watch” for the future because of his unwavering commitment to creating events that will positively impact a wide range of communities across the UK. He is already an inspiring leader and an accomplished programme manager, who will go on to achieve great things within our industry.

I’d like to congratulate Millie and Callum for their awards, and I’d like to extend this to many others who continue to go the extra mile in very difficult times. If you can take one positive from this crisis, it is that event professionals are demonstrating a huge level of maturity to drive forward – and that we are in good hands for the future.