IMEX Team
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Ray Bloom (Chairman, IMEX Group) has assembled an experienced team of industry professionals to ensure the success of IMEX: |
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Carina Bauer (CEO, IMEX Group) has been involved in the meetings industry since 2002, first as Marketing and Operations Director of IMEX and now as CEO. As well as overseeing the IMEX Group’s operations, Carina has special responsibility over the Group’s marketing and communications mix, specifically concentrating on strategic partnerships, sponsorships and press relations. Carina has served on the Board of the MPI UK Chapter and on MPI’s International Multicultural Committee and as Marketing Chair for the MPI European Meetings and Events Conference in London. Prior to this she held the position of Managing Director of GoodBean Coffee, a family owned chain of coffee shops located throughout the South of England. This business, of 13 operating stores, was sold in December 2001. Carina holds a degree from Oxford University in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. |
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Paul Flackett (Managing Director, IMEX Group) has been involved in the meetings and incentive travel industry for some 30 years, first as an organiser of conferences and events and then in the media field. Paul joined EIBTM at its launch and was managing director until it was sold to Reed Travel Exhibitions. In May 1999 he left Reed to set up his own company pf.redseven and, in September 2001, jointly announced with Ray Bloom the launch of IMEX. Paul has been a Site member since 1988 serving as Site International President in 1995 and Site Foundation President in 2002. He gained the CITE qualification in 1994. He has also served as an MPI Chancellor and is currently Vice Chair of the DMAI European Advisory Council. In 1998 Paul was voted Meetings & Incentive Travel magazine personality of the year and in 2004 received the Moises Shuster award from ICCA in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the meetings industry. He has presented dozens of seminars across the world. |
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Tom Hulton (Director of International Relations) joined the advertising agency Ogilvy and Mather following a short career in the British army. With O&M, he was based in London and Singapore handling a number of hotel accounts. He joined Trusthouse Forte Hotels for a period of eight years as Director of Sales for the Asia Pacific and Middle East. During this time, he was also Director of Sales and Marketing at Grosvenor House Hotel in London. He then joined Supranational Hotels as Managing Director and developed this reservation and marketing hotel consortia into the third largest in the world. Following several years as Secretary General of the International Hotel Association based in Paris, Tom joined the International Congress and Convention Association as Chief Executive Officer based in Amsterdam. In July 2002 and after nearly eight years with ICCA, Tom decided to return to the UK and set up his own consultancy. He currently works with IMEX as Director of International Relations, with special responsibilities for helping to raise the political profile of business tourism within Government circles in Europe by developing the ‘Politicians Forum’ and the IMEX ‘Future Leaders Forum’. tom.hulton@imexexhibitions.com
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Sarah Shepherd (PA to Ray Bloom/Group Travel Coordinator, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in November 2002 as a temp and PA to Ray Bloom and was offered a full time position as Marketing and Promotions Administrator in December 2002, before joining the Hosted Buyer Team in 2003, still maintaining her role as PA to Ray Bloom. Sarah took up her current position in June 2008. Sarah has seven years experience in the hotel and catering industry after gaining a Diploma in Professional Catering. After changing direction Sarah worked as an administrator in both the public and private sector in sales and marketing and customer service. |
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Sales |
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Heather Gough (Sales Director, IMEX Group) has worked in the meetings and incentive travel industry for over 14 years. Her experience includes six years with EIBTM where she progressed from the managing director's PA to Sales Manager. This was followed by 12 months as Project Manager for an event management company, based in Brighton, organising international conferences and incentives, including the International Diabetes Federation Congress for 8,500 delegates in Mexico City. Having joined IMEX as Sales Manager in September 2001, she is now Sales Director. Heather holds a degree from the University of Wales, College of Swansea in French and Italian with Business Studies. |
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Oliver Bailey (Sales and Organising Manager, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in January 2004 from Brighton-based Martlet, where he was involved in travel logistics projects within the medical meetings arena. He also worked for Congress World on the 18th International Diabetes Federation Congress in Paris in 2003. Prior to this Oliver worked as marketing manager for a London-based consumer exhibition and for Meeting Planner magazine. Oliver was promoted to Sales and Organising Manager in July 2006. |
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Faye Bennett (Sales Manager, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in October 2005 and has over nine years experience in the meetings industry. She previously worked for a venue finding agency, responsible for sales and account management and worked on a variety of events including the World Tax Conference, company away days and product launches. Faye was promoted to Sales Manager in June 2009. She was part of the 2010 IMEX Challenge team and will be co managing the 2012 IMEX Challenge.
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Alex Donaldson (Sales Manager, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in April 2010 with over 12 years experience in the meetings industry. Having graduated with a BA Honours degree in Hospitality Management, Alex joined Reed Exhibitions as Sales Executive working on Hotelympia and Hospitality Week. In 1999 she joined Chelsea Village as Sales Manager for Meetings and Events. In 2001 she became Assistant Director of Sales at Radisson SAS Portman Hotel before becoming Director of Sales at the new Radisson SAS Stansted Airport. Before joining IMEX, Alex worked for Chess Partnership, a London-based hospitality recruitment consultancy. |
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Richard Allchild (Senior Sales Executive, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in September 2008. After graduating Royal Holloway, University of London, with a BA History degree he joined Haymarket Business Publications in London where he worked as sales executive on publications inclusing PR Week, Black Book, Conference & Incentive Travel Venue Directory and Incentive Business Magazine. Richard left Haymarket in 2006 to study business management at CCSN in Las Vegas. In 2007 he rejoined Haymarket in their New York office selling for their flagship New York title PR Week, before moving back to the UK to join the IMEX team. |
Hosted Buyer Programmes |
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Nikki Williams (Director of Hosted Buyer Programmes, IMEX Group) joined EIBTM in 1996 assisting with the hosted buyer programme following a career in hotel management and publishing. From March 2001 Nikki held the position of Relationship Marketing Manager working on EIBTM, AsiaPacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) and the International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) to source buyers to attend these shows. Nikki left Reed Travel Exhibitions to join IMEX as Marketing & Promotions Manager. Nikki took up her current position as Director of Hosted Buyer Programmes following IMEX 2003 and holds full responsibility for sourcing and delivering hosted buyers to IMEX. |
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Alan Ford (Operations Manager, Hosted Buyer Programmes, IMEX Group) has worked in the travel industry for 18 years, including seven years spent working in Portugal, Switzerland, Cyprus, Spain, France and Italy as a holiday representative, ski guide and supervisor for TUI Travel Plc. He then worked for First Choice Ski & SkiBound Holidays in the UK in Customer Services, Administration, UK Operations and Sales. For the last six years Alan held the position of Product and Operations Manager responsible for contracting hotels, flights and ski services as well as the overseas operations. Alan joined IMEX in August 2010.
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Malcolm Erskine (Hotel Planning Manager - Hosted Buyer Programmes, IMEX Group) has 20 years experience in the travel industry, working for First Choice Holidays. He started as a resort representative in Greece, before working in France, Tunisia, Turkey and Canada. He then worked in the product department in the Crawley headquarters for seven years, before transferring to the dynamic packaging business unit, heading up the hotels department with additional responsibility for attraction tickets. More recently he worked with the IT department to implement contracts and reservations systems for some of their specialist holiday businesses. Malcolm joined IMEX in January 2011. |
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Sarah Arnold (Account Manager – Hosted Buyer Programmes) began her career as a customer services representative at Air 2000 after completing an honours degree in Hospitality Management. In 1998 she joined the Paramount Hotel Group as Events Manager, based at their Brighton hotel. In 2000 Sarah moved to PAREXEL MMS Europe as Project Manager organising international meetings within the pharmaceutical industry including symposia and exhibitions. Sarah joined the hosted buyer team in September 2005. |
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Annie Speyer (Account Manager - Hosted Buyer Programmes, IMEX Group) has worked in the meetings industry for the past 10 years. She was Event Manager for Medicultura France, responsible for the logistics of the annual conference for the European Association for Hospital Pharmacists. In 2001 she joined PPSI as a project manager, where she managed international advisory boards, symposia, speaker training and stand alone meetings as well as organising the attendance of her clients and their delegates at European and international congresses. Annie joined the hosted buyer team in July 2007. |
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Donna Fung (Account Manager - Hosted Buyer Programmes, IMEX Group) has nine years experience in the meetings and events industry with eight years previous experience in the travel industry. Donna worked as a project executive for Martlet, the conference and incentive division of Sportsworld, for four years. Since leaving Martlet, Donna has freelanced taking on the planning and operation of congress activities, stand-alone meetings and seminars as well as international congress participation. |
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Lucy Dancer (Account Manager - Hosted Buyer Programmes) began her career as a public relations consultant. She then worked for a Japanese government sponsored programme based in Japan, acting as an ambassador of British culture setting up educational and cultural events within the Kumamoto region. Lucy joined IMEX in October 2007. Lucy holds a degree in English Literature, and a Diploma in Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations. |
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Vicky Standen (Account Manager - Hosted Buyer Programmes) has a strong background in customer services and account management. She has worked in a range of sectors, including healthcare where she held the position of Key Account Manager for Covidien UK Ltd, and in the travel industry working for Monarch Airlines. Vicky has over 10 years experience in building and maintaining customer relationships, delivering internal and external training programmes and organising seminars and conferences. Vicky joined IMEX in September 2010. |
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Sally Bates (Account Executive - Hosted Buyer Programmes) joined IMEX in May 2008 after taking a career break to raise her family. Sally has 15 years experience as a customer services manager working in the Card and Financial Services Divisions of American Express, and holds a Diploma in Business Studies. |
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Hayley Clevett (Visa Co-ordinator and Administrator - Hosted Buyer Programmes, IMEX Group) graduated university with a degree in Business. Her career then began as an Office Administrator and after discovering a love of travel, she spent over six years working within the First Choice Travel Group. Roles included Yield Executive and Product Executive where she was responsible for the Canaries product. Moving within the group she more recently worked within the specialist sector of the company in a Yield and Tactical role within Island Cruises. Hayley joined IMEX in January 2011. hayley.clevett@imexexhibitions.com
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Business Services |
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Christopher Perrins (Director of Business Services, IMEX Group) has been involved in event management for most of his working life, encompassing a whole range of activities from rock concerts in the middle of a muddy field, right up to the present day with IMEX. Christopher has worldwide experience, having lived and worked in Australia, Hong Kong, North America, and several European countries. The integration of new technologies, particularly the Internet, as a marketing and communications tool, has been Christopher’s brief for much of his career. Christopher joined IMEX in January 2003, after five years with Reed Exhibitions, and was promoted to his current position in November 2009. |
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David Broadus (Database Manager, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in February 2010. David grew up in sunny California where he embarked on a career in marketing and sales promotion for several department store chains in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. After relocating to New York City he moved into the world of conferences and exhibitions as registration manager for The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, where he worked on many financial conferences throughout the United States. David immigrated to the UK in 2007 and worked as data analyst for publications and exhibitions for Optima Data Intelligence Ltd before moving to IMEX. |
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Marketing |
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Oliver Hone (Marketing Director, IMEX Group) has been dedicated to marketing throughout his career of nearly 20 years. For many years he worked in and ultimately managed the Marketing departments of several of the UK’s and the world’s leading recruitment consultancies, understanding and applying the many facets of marketing to help build and support recognisable brands in this very competitive business-to-business world. In amongst all this, he spent a couple of years agency side to get first-hand experience of both a design agency and the world of PR. In March 2010, attracted by the challenge of a new industry and the success and the growth plans of the IMEX Group, Oliver joined us, and hopes to transfer a wealth of marketing experience as well as relationship building to complement our effective Marketing team. Along with his experience, Oliver has a degree in Psychology from the University of Reading. |
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Sophie
Jackson (Publications Manager, IMEX Group) joined IMEX as Marketing Manager in November 2003
from the communications division of VisitBritain where she held the position
of International Markets Manager leading a team responsible for assisting
the UK tourism industry in developing new business from overseas. Sophie
joined VisitBritain in 1997 from the marketing department of Orient-Express
Hotels.
She took up her current position of Publications Manager in August 2011.
Sophie holds a degree in European Business Studies and an Advanced Diploma in Communication Studies.. |
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Ellie Scott (Marketing Executive, IMEX Group) has worked in the meetings industry for over six years. Starting out as a marketing assistant for Universal Pictures Video, London, Ellie joined the Meeting Services Department of PPSI in 2002, organising congress participation for pharmaceutical clients. She then left PPSI to take a gap year travelling through South East Asia, where she spent six months working in New Zealand. Rejoining PPSI in 2004, she progressed to Assistant Project Manager, organising international stand alone conferences, training meetings and symposia. Ellie joined IMEX in January 2010. Ellie graduated with a degree in Business Studies specialising in Marketing. |
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Teresa Kwok (Marketing Executive, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in July 2010 with six years marketing and event management experience. She began her career in the research department at English Tourism Council on a work placement, as part of her Business and Tourism Management degree. After graduation, she worked as the Communications & Events Executive at UKinbound. Her passion for travel inspired a gap year to South America and Australasia. Teresa has held various marketing roles within the travel and events industry. teresa.kwok@imexexhibitions.com
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Rachel Munro (Marketing Executive, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in March 2009 in the dual role of Office Manager/Marketing Assistant before moving full time to the marketing team in January 2010. She has over 15 years experience in office management, customer service, executive assistant support and marketing administration gained in both the private and public sectors. Rachel was promoted to her current position in August 2011. Rachel took part in the first IMEX Challenge in Warsaw, Poland. The project involved renovating the garden of a foster home over three days with 20 other meetings industry volunteers. |
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Natasha Richards (Marketing and Sales Executive, IMEX Group) previously worked in the meetings and exhibitions industry, most recently organising a stand alone conference for a large global industrial automation company in Paris. She has over 15 years experience in customer service, marketing and online retail with seven years at senior management level as Head of Customer Services at Lookfantastic. Natasha holds a BA Hons degree in International Relations from the University of Sussex. Natasha joined IMEX in February 2011. natasha.richards@imexexhibitions.com
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Events and Projects |
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Dale Hudson (Events and Projects Director, IMEX Group) began her career working for a major meeting exhibition as a marketing co-ordinator before going on to complete a BA Honours degree in Management, specialising in environmental practices within the meetings industry. After graduating she worked as a marketing manager and then as a head of corporate communications within education and then for two of the country's leading incentive houses. During the two and a half years with them, she held the position of Senior Project Manager, responsible for incentive marketing – devising pharmaceutical incentive plans and as Project Manager, organising incentive trips for various commercial companies. Dale is a past Green Meetings Industry Council (GMIC) Board member and Secretary and was involved with the creation of sustainability reporting guidelines through the internationally recognised Global Reporting Initiative Event Sector Supplement. |
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Debbie Woodbridge (Events and Projects Manager) has worked in the meetings and incentive travel industry for 12 years. After working for EIBTM on the hosted buyer programme for six years Debbie left to work as Sales Manager for Martlet, the conference and incentive division of Sportsworld, one of the UK’s leading corporate hospitality organisers. Debbie spent three years at Martlet successfully assisting the company in developing their conference & incentive division to become one of the leading event organisers in the UK, designing and organising highly creative events all over the world for a variety of corporate clients. Debbie joined the Events and Projects team in June 2008 from the Hosted Buyer team where she was Account Manager. Debbie was promoted to her current position in December 2009. |
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Sylvia Taylor (Events and Projects Planner, IMEX Group) started her career with Sportsworld Travel working on the corporate programme for the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics. Sylvia then moved to Martlet as a conference organiser for incentives and medical meetings. She joined IMEX in 2005 from PPSI where she was a Senior Project Manager, responsible for organising international meetings within the pharmaceutical industry including symposia and exhibitions. Sylvia worked initially in the Hosted Buyer team as an Account Manager and then as Hotel Planning Manager before joining the Events and Projects team in August 2010. sylvia.taylor@imexexhibitions.com
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Miguel Neves (Events and Projects Planner, IMEX Group) has produced meetings, conferences and events throughout Europe and North America since 2005. Miguel joined IMEX in August 2011 following a three year experience with SYNAXIS Meetings & Events. An active member of MPI since 2007, Miguel currently holds the role of Director of Online Marketing for MPI United Kingdom & Ireland Chapter. Miguel frequently speaks at industry events on Social Media as well as Generation Y, Return on Investment, Meeting Architecture and Cultural Challenges. Miguel holds a Master’s degree in Conference and Events Management from the University of Westminster. |
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Organising |
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Nalan Emre (Organising Director, IMEX Group) has been involved in the exhibition industry for 12 years, beginning her career as Project Manager for a trade show and special events company based in Munich, Germany. During her six years with the company she planned, organised and supervised trade shows in various German cities. In April 2001 Nalan joined Hall-Erickson in Chicago, helping to organise The Motivation Show, the world's largest incentive merchandise and travel show. When she returned to Germany Nalan became a freelance event organiser based in Munich organising events in Germany. She joined IMEX early in 2002 and was promoted to her current position of Organising Director after IMEX 2004. |
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Mark Mulligan (Senior Organising Manager, IMEX Group) relocated from UBM Aviation in Manchester where he was Senior Operations Manager for Routes events. Since graduating from Liverpool University in 2003 with a degree in Politics and Sociology he took operational responsibility for the growing portfolio of Routes events including World Routes, the world’s largest gathering of aviation industry professionals. His experience to date includes delivery of large scale exhibitions in Sweden, Malaysia, China and Canada. |
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Katharina Elliott (Senior Organising Executive, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in November 2010 after graduating from the University of Passau, Germany with a degree in International Business and Cultural Studies, specialising in Anglo-American countries. As part of her degree she spent one year gaining work experience through work placements across Europe with Culture Team, MK in Milton Keynes, Bertelsmann Club in Barcelona and the International Exchange Organisation AFS in Stuttgart.
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Finance |
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Jo Frost Maidment (Finance Director, IMEX Group) graduated from London University with a degree in Mathematics and Statistics. She later trained with Coopers and Lybrand qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1983. After a number of years working as an auditor with both Coopers and Lybrand and KPMG, she took over responsibility for the finance departments of EIBTM and Incentive World. She has been involved with IMEX since its launch in September 2001. |
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Hilary Burtenshaw (Finance Manager, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in November 2002. Prior to this she worked in accounting roles within the travel, exhibition (Incentive World), retail, utilities and finance industries. Hilary passed the Diploma Certificate Level AAT Accounting Qualification in June 2008 and the NVQ Intermediate Level AAT Accounting Qualification in June 2009. |
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Harriet Fisher (Financial Accountant, IMEX Group) graduated from Middlesex University in 1998 with a degree in Criminology with American Studies and became ACCA qualified in 2005. Harriet joined IMEX in March 2010 from Fender Musical Instruments where she held the position of Financial Accountant. |
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Emma Norman (Office Manager, IMEX Group) has 15 years customer service experience working in the travel, medical and financial industries. She joined the Premier Medical Group in 1998, and progressed through the company to become the Operations Manager for sister company, Rapid Trauma Assessment in 2005. In 2004 she returned to University and achieved a Level 5 Diploma in Management. Until recently Emma worked as a Customer Support Manager for Jubilee Service Solutions before joining IMEX in February 2010. |
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Achilleas Schizas (Accounts Supervisor, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in 2006, initially organising travel visas for international hosted buyers before taking up his current position. Achilleas holds a degree in IT from the University of Sussex and passed the Diploma Certificate Level AAT Accounting Qualification in June 2009. |
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Lorraine Fraser (Accounts Assistant, IMEX Group) has worked in various finance environments over the last 10 years including manufacturing, diagnostics, insurance and education. She passed the Association Accounting Technician Qualification in March 2003 and became a member of the AAT the following year. She has also recently passed Level 2 in Bookkeeping with the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers and become an associate member of the organisation, hoping to take Level 3 in the near future. |
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Roger Lehner (Accounts Administrative Assistant, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in October 2010 as part of an internship before taking up his current role. He has over nine year's experience in banking, having worked as client advisor for different banks in Switzerland. His last role was as a mortgage advisor for Switzerland’s largest sustainable and ecological bank, the Alternative Bank Switzerland. Before leaving his home country he completed nine months Civil Service for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), where he undertook administrative tasks and organised small events. Roger took up his permanent position with IMEX in July 2011.
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Fritha Wood (Accounts Administrative Assistant, IMEX Group) recently graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in Geography (BSc). Fritha joined IMEX in September 2011. |
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Consultants |
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Jon Bradshaw (Consultant, IMEX Group) joined IMEX in March 2004. Jon's sales career began in 1993 in the international publishing division of the BBC. In 1996 he moved to IAPA to work on their membership magazine First Class, before joining EIBTM in 1999. He then spent three years as Sales Director for Premier Global, the UK's largest provider of personal fitness training courses. Jon was IMEX Business Development Director from June 2009 to September 2011. Jon is the founder of Meetings Mindset® and also co-manages the IMEX Challenge. |
