How to get ahead in trade shows and events

Honing transferable skills, being adaptable and willing to embrace new challenges are essential to growing your career in face to face events and trade shows. We spoke with three RXers about their unique career journeys, how RX has supported them, and their advice for those who want to get ahead in events.

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Erin Schenck, Conference Director, USA

Finance graduate and MBA Erin Schenck had a successful career in finance before she decided to step back from work to look after her two children. She kept up to date with fintech programming and software and in 2019, when she was ready to return to work, secured a job as Finance Manager for RX US.

The role at RX appealed to Erin because it offered a chance to apply her financial expertise in a more dynamic and engaging environment. But after four years, she found herself at a crossroads: “I loved the company, loved the people, but found myself ready for a new challenge. I knew I wanted to manage people and to be more involved in strategy, and so I started looking outside the finance box to see how I could make that happen.”

Working in finance gave Erin insight into all areas of the business, and it was conferences that piqued her interest most. Having spoken with her HR manager and learning about the company’s plans to drive growth and engagement by expanding and centralising its conference programmes, she saw an opportunity to align her career aspirations with RX’s strategic goals. In January 2023 she was appointed to the new role of Conference Director.

Erin’s transition from finance manager to conference director might seem like a dramatic shift, but she found that many of her skills, such as project management and analytics, were directly applicable to her new role. And sure enough, her ability to dive into data, understand systems, and derive actionable insights has proven invaluable in understanding attendee behaviour and preferences, and growing audiences.

For those considering a career in events but lacking specific industry experience, Erin offers encouraging words. She believes that event experience isn’t necessary, but curiosity is, with RX willing to teach new hires what they need to know.

She is also a great believer in the idea that you make your own luck. Her advice is to “understand your strengths, focus on what you enjoy, and don’t get bogged down in titles and job descriptions. Keep your eyes open to opportunities, and be prepared to take them, not least by keeping your CV up to date.”

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Carlos Abreu, Director of Operations, LATAM

A graduate in Computer Science with an MBA in Big Data, Carlos worked as a business consultant and then in technology for over 20 years across various industries before being appointed IT Director for RX Americas in 2020. He was responsible for managing the adoption of global technology solutions, including developing solutions for online and onsite registration. This significantly increased his attendance at events and deepened his passion for being more closely involved with them.

In 2023 he took the leap to become Director of LATAM Operations (Brazil and Mexico).

He now applies his technical knowledge directly to the physical planning and execution of our events, driving innovation and operational effectiveness for the benefit of our customers.

“Back in 2018, when I was first interviewed for the IT role at RX, I made a point of asking how closely connected IT was with the business,” said Carlos. “Did it work in the background on the business systems, or was it directly involved in driving business innovation and growth? When I was assured of the latter, I knew that this was the company for me. To be happy in my career, it’s essential for me to do something meaningful that aligns with the company’s strategy.”

During his time in IT, Carlos was given the opportunity to expand his scope from Brazil to the Americas, and then further afield to France, gaining fresh insights into RX and the events industry from his colleagues around the world. He realised how much he loved working with people, and determined to find a role that involved him even more closely in the business.

“I shared my ambitions to work in operations with my manager and senior directors and they were incredibly supportive” he explained. “Of course, I had to wait for the right opportunity and go through the regular interview process, but I benefitted from their respect and guidance along the way.”

Asked what he enjoys most about his role as Director of LATAM Operations, Carlos responded, “the projects and the people. I spent many years as a business consultant and project manager, always passionate about understanding clients' needs and providing effective solutions. In operations, I can do this daily. Additionally, developing my team members, not only learning from them but also fostering their professional growth, is the icing on the cake.”

So, what advice would he offer someone who is setting out on their career today? “Find something that is meaningful for you, that you really enjoy, and create a path towards this goal. As Confucious said, ‘choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life!’”

Sophie Gilligan, Portfolio Marketing Manager, UK

RX is part of RELX, the global provider of information based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers, where many RXers hone their skills and careers before succumbing to the lure of the exhibitions division. Sophie Gilligan started as a marketing executive for LexisNexis in 2014 and enjoyed an 18 month secondment at Elsevier before moving back into a marketing management role at LexisNexis. Having joined RX in 2023 as Product Marketing Manager for London Book Fair, with responsibility for driving visitor attendance and engagement, she was recently promoted to Portfolio Marketing Manager within the central UK marketing team.

“I have always been keen to keep pushing my career forwards and have found that gaining experience across three divisions of this huge company has helped me do this,” Sophie explained. “The secondments and career moves have given me experience in product, educational, digital and events marketing which enabled me to step up into my latest role on the marketing leadership team at RX.”

As product marketing manager for London Book Fair, Sophie was responsible for driving visitor attendance and engagement, liaising with key stakeholders in the publishing community, and supporting the wider event team. In her new role she now supports marketing managers at a portfolio level, driving consistency and best practice across shows and helping to build an insights and data led organisation.

Asked to describe the unique challenge of event marketing, Sophie said, “it provides you with a tangible ‘product’ that you experience alongside your customers which is very different from any other product you might work on (be it a book or anything else). You get to see your planning, decision making, and hard work come to life, and experience the good and the bad outcomes in real time!”

Alongside her day job, Sophie is a Mental First Aider, part of a team who act as?a first line of support for colleagues who are experiencing adverse mental health?or emotional distress. “I am passionate about championing mental health and wellbeing in the workplace and I’m proud to work for an organisation with an open, inclusive and compassionate culture,” she said.

So, how would she sum up working at RX for anyone who might be considering a career move? “Collaborative and exciting,” Sophie replied. “If you love engaging with people and creating market leading events this is the place for you!”

If you are ready to make your next career move, and are excited to apply your sales, marketing, IT, finance or organisational skills to the dynamic and ever-evolving world of events, head over to our website for more information on RX and our current vacancies.