Working in the events industry for just shy of nine years, Emma’s career so far has been like a revolving door of learning experiences. From the lasting impacts of the pandemic to consumer curveballs, it’s an ever-changing industry that always keeps event professionals on their toes. “Experience helps you grow” she shares, and that mindset was planted from day one at RGU.

Making the Conference News 30UnderThirty list in 2022 and, more recently, this year’s C&IT Corporate A-list, it would seem that a career in events was always in her stars. However, her start in events was somewhat unexpected.

As she was approaching her final year at secondary school, Emma didn’t have a clear plan of what she wanted to do next - “It all came about by chance,” she says.

“My friend was going to an open day event at RGU and I decided to go along. There were a few guest lectures happening across the day and there was one on events management. I sat in and after a few minutes I thought ‘now this sounds like something I could do’. It just sounded like something I’d be really good at and I didn’t have a clue that you could get a qualification in it. Shortly after, I submitted an application.”

Emma joined the course in 2011 and, at that point, the course was just two years old. Joining other Scottish universities in offering an events course, RGU’s offering really stood out to her. 

“It was the courses focus on event management as a whole that really attracted me to the course. You get the likes of events and sports management or festival management and I really didn’t want to focus on one niche of events. I wanted a full overview of events management and that’s exactly what I got at RGU.

“Within the course there was a variety of modules covering all aspects of working in events and I thought having that insight would pay off in the future. There was also no placement year but instead, a focus on getting 100 hours of work experience each year. From first year, our lecturers really encouraged us to get out there and make contacts.

“I worked up my experience and exposed myself to different events and teams. Having such a focus on practical work experience early on in the process really gave me that head start and built my confidence - I wouldn’t of had it any other way.”

A big part of that confidence building was an internship in her first year which saw her work as part of a charity committee. Tasked with planning an end of year dinner for Young Enterprise Grampian and working alongside a band of volunteers, it was their task to not only plan a successful event but raise substantial funds for charity. The experience gave her an early taste of working in the industry and a portfolio of skills in fundraising - something she would lean on in the future.

“In my final year at uni, I worked as a duty manager for Aberdeen Performing Arts and worked across its three venues in the city.

“While I was there, my role evolved to work as a development executive which focused on raising capital for the redevelopment of the Music Hall. A big part of the role was partner and sponsor management which saw me working with different companies to pledge money, working with the public and running a fundraising campaign. I learned so much but having the portfolio of experiences I built up throughout my studies definitely gave me that boost.

“By graduation day, I had a bank of skills and exposure to different events. It was then that I decided I wanted to move to London to find an events role down there.”

With eyes set on big city life, it wasn’t long until Emma landed a role as a venue finding associate with Banks Sadler – one of the UK’s largest event management firms. It was a full-on job that opened her eyes to the scale of the event industry. “The event industry in the UK is absolutely massive” she adds.

“You forget that football games, concerts and even the King’s Coronation are all events and have hundreds of people working behind-the-scenes to make it all happen. Whether it’s production companies, AV, venue sourcing, project managers, stage managers – the amount of roles the industry produces is huge.

“Even in my role with Moody’s, on face value you wouldn’t think an integrated financial risk firm would have an events team but here I am. I’ve been with the company for four years and my role involves me overseeing our global event strategy for our financial institution groups.

“A big focus for me is figuring out how we use events and outreach as a tool to meet our objectives. In addition to that, I can be running anything from internal events with our executive leadership team to investor roadshows – there’s lots of opportunities and never a dull moment.

“My to-do list gets longer by the day but it’s fun at the same time. It’s all part of the challenge. With events, regardless of the industry you’re working in, it’s always going to be fast-paced and ever-changing. That’s why I love it so much.”

And on the topic of ever-changing environments, the conversation soon moved to impacts. The Covid-19 pandemic undoubtedly incurred huge changes to the events industry seeing events move online in their entirety before becoming hybrid as restrictions eased. Now audiences have the best of both worlds - join in person or join from home - and adds to the list of hurdles for event organisers.

“It’s a huge benefit to offer two joining options but with hybrid events, the management of the event experience can become difficult. You’re essentially running two events simultaneously and trying to keep two different audiences engaged. There’s a place for hybrid events but not all events suit the format.

“We’re seeing more conferences move completely online as a result of less people travelling. That may be down to company budgets or people being more aware of their carbon footprint, but as event organisers, we have to roll with the changes and make those challenges work to our benefit.

“Before the pandemic, an evening event on a Thursday would guarantee high attendance but now with home working being more common, we’re having to figure out people’s schedules to make sure the date chosen gets the best turn-out. It has definitely been trickier.

“Even in terms of supply chain, the knock-on effect to the hospitality sector is still ongoing. Venues and catering companies are facing big staffing issues which in-turn means that quotes are coming back slower which can then cause impact our relationship management with clients. The pandemic might feel like a distant memory, but its impacts are still there for sure.”

But regardless of the impacts, Emma says “it’s all part of the job” and shouldn’t make any budding event manager cautious of working in the industry.

She elaborates: “A career in events is amazing and there’s so many different roles, opportunities and the learning behind-the-scenes is invaluable.

“It’s a friendly industry and especially in a city like London, there’s a real sense of community. There’s so many networking events, groups and social media groups to join to meet new people and continue your learning. A big part of working in events is sharing knowledge and helping each other. It’s a tough career with long hours, curveballs and high stress but it’s a very rewarding industry to work in. 

“Regardless of where you are in your career, never stop learning. I learn from my colleagues in the industry every day and that’s what makes you better.

“Just because you’ve finished university doesn’t mean the learning stops – especially in an industry like this.”