All Party Parliamentary Group for Events latest, isla’s new CTO, UK exhibitions industry bouncing back, & more

This Monday’s Insights (06 February 2023) feature brings you the latest news from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Events, isla’s new CTO, UK exhibitions industry bouncing back, and more.

Headlines

The shadow culture secretary, Lucy Powell MP, has joined the All Party Parliamentary Group for Events

Powell is a Labour Member of Parliament for Manchester Central and holds the role of Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) is a cross-party group made up of members from both Houses of Parliament, and acts as the event industry’s voice in Westminster.

The APPG for Events provides a forum for the highly diverse and valuable UK events industry in Parliament, engaging with representatives from across the political spectrum, and supports The Business of Events, an independent Think Tank for the events sector.

The APPG plays a key role in keeping the events industry high on the Parliamentary agenda.

Manchester Central has struck up a significant partnership with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce to bolster the region’s business opportunities.

The two organisations have aligned in a bid to connect businesses right across the city region, helping to build networks and add value to firms of all sizes. The new partnership has grown from a collaboration which began in 2019 with the launch of the now popular Destination for Business event series which covers topical themes for Manchester business leaders and help to put the events sector at the centre of conversations.

As part of the agreement, Chamber members will have the chance to get involved with a myriad of events hosted at Manchester Central, while event organisers will also be able to list events on the Chamber’s website, promoting them across the region, and get complimentary access to members’ lounges and workspace at Chamber HQ in the city. Throughout the partnership, there will be joint promotion of events and ongoing collaborations to ensure as many businesses in the city as possible have the opportunity to connect with each other. 

Kickstarting the partnership, the fifth Destination for Business event will take place this Thursday, 9th February, discussing sustainable growth within the city-region. Panellists will include Nick Richardson, founder of The Insights Family; leadership coach and business owner Maria Brycleland, Melanie Yeomans, partner at Ward Hadaway, Patrick Molyneux, co-founding partner at Acceleris Capital and Sharon Amesu, co-founder of She Leads for Legacy. Places are free and must be booked in advance online.

Shaun Hinds, CEO at Manchester Central, said: “Businesses of all sizes are the lifeblood of our regional economy and mutually benefit from connecting with others to grow and develop. We are resolute in our commitment to helping the city’s businesses to thrive. Our partnership facilitates this by creating valuable conversations, opportunities and collaborations which we hope will generate transactions for Manchester and North West businesses.

“Beyond this, we know clients across a broad spectrum of sectors are increasingly keen to engage with local businesses and communities when they bring an event to Greater Manchester. They see the significance and importance of attracting regional audiences to their events and making a positive impact on the region they are visiting. We’re really pleased to partner with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, which will no doubt help to bolster the region’s business community.”

Lewis Crowe, head of membership and commercial at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, added: “It’s incredible to see the city alive again with business events hugely contributing to our regional economy. This partnership allows us to build on this success and we’re looking forward to seeing the great initiatives that are instigated by working together in this way.”

isla has appointed Malcolm Leach as its first Chief Technical Officer (CTO) to develop TRACE – the definitive carbon measurement platform for sustainable events.

Malcolm joins isla from his most recent role as CTO at finance broker Funding Options, and brings with him more than three decades of experience spanning across technical product development, operational transformation and business scalability. 

His role comes at a time of rapid growth for isla and TRACE. He will provide technical leadership and help develop and grow the TRACE team to ensure the platform continues to meet the needs of the industry and the wider net-zero landscape.

As CTO, he will also spearhead new data-driven product features to enable adopters to seamlessly measure, manage and minimise carbon emissions for events of all sizes, engaging their value chain and brand partners along the way.

isla CEO & Co-Founder Anna Abdelnoor said: “We’re thrilled Malcolm is joining the isla team. His appointment marks a key turning point for TRACE as we focus on accelerating event emission reductions and growing our data-led Insights – one of our key business pillars.”

isla CTO Malcolm Leach said: “Tackling climate change has always been important to me in my personal life and I’m excited to bring this into my professional life, joining the fantastic team at isla in their mission to help accelerate the event industry’s transition to a sustainable, net-zero ready future.”

Double Take

UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, says the UK exhibitions industry is bouncing back from Covid-19 and recovering better than many other destinations. 

The UFI’s latest research, covered in Exhibition News, shows that UK exhibitions are performing well but ‘highlight different concerns for organisers here to the rest of the world. 

The biggest pressure for the UK industry for the coming year was the national economy and global economic pressures, whereas worldwide results prioritised issues within management structures and digitalisation.’

Read more about the UFI Global Barometer report and its results, in Exhibition News.