ESSA announced its new board members for 2025/2026 at The Meetings Show, with Lisa Tyson, Deputy Managing Director at Aztec Event Services and Simon Ridout, Commercial Director at Showlite Ltd elected as new members of the board.
Several members of the board were also re-elected, including Andy Hickenbotham, Head of Sales at Tecna, Marija Erzen, Co-founder & Director of Solutions2 UK and Kane Thomas, Commercial Director at Full Circle Events & Exhibitions.
The news comes after an exciting last 12 months for the association, which has seen new initiatives such as the introduction of its Senior Leaders Summit, continued support for members working abroad, as well as lobbying of the government to ensure better representation of the events industry.
Opening the annual general meeting was current ESSA Chair Rob Brackstone, Managing Director at ESM, who celebrated the association’s growing membership and representation, highlighting the news that business events will now have their own select committee due to the continued work with government:
“While political landscapes may shift, our commitment to advocacy remains constant. After our tireless efforts with the support of the Event Industry Alliance and Cavendish Advocacy, business events now have their own select committee – one of only six chosen from over 250 submissions and an important milestone for increased recognition of our industry at the government level.”
Leadership remained a theme throughout the AGM, with a reminder of the success of this year’s inaugural Senior Leaders Summit, which saw senior event professionals gather to assess the needs of their business and work together to create plans to support both their businesses and teams.
Reflecting on the Senior Leaders Summit in particular, Andrew Harrison, Director at ESSA, said:
“We created the Senior Leaders Summit to ensure a safe space for reflection, discussion and development where all of our members feel they can grow as a result.
“As the events industry continues to transform, forums like the Senior Leaders Summit will be essential in ensuring we are all innovating and growing within our businesses.”
A study conducted at the Senior Leaders Summit revealed that two-thirds (65%) of event industry suppliers say international and overseas markets are the biggest growth opportunity for their business.
In line with these findings and other research conducted in the past 12 months, ESSA has invested heavily in its working abroad resources, creating country reports for over 20 different countries that outline the key information required when it comes to working on events abroad.
Concluding the AGM was Noel Reeves, CEO at Rocket Exhibition Services, who summarised the previous 12 months as a year of ‘growth, influence and industry leadership’:
“Thank you for the trust you place in us to drive these programmes forward. Together, we are enabling meaningful change, equipping our people for the future, and laying the foundations for a more resilient, skilled and inclusive industry.
“We are - we always have been - stronger together.”
ESSA 2025-26 Board:
ROB BRACKSTONE – CHAIR - Managing Director, ESM
ALEXANDRA BAILEY – VICE CHAIR - Managing Director, Creative8
MARTIN CAIRNS - Managing Director, Beechwood Events
DAN EDWARDS - Managing Director, Whitespace Group
MARIJA ERZEN - Co- Owner & Director, Solutions2
ANDREW HICKINBOTHAM - Sales Director, Tecna UK
NOEL REEVES - CEO, Rocket Exhibition Services
SIMON RIDOUT - Commercial Director, Showlite
JASON STEAD - President, GES EMEA Exhibitions
KANE THOMAS - Commercial Director, Full Circle Events & Exhibitions
LISA TYSON - Deputy Managing Director, Aztec Event Services
KATIE WHATLEY - CMO, FFAIR
