Women in Exhibitions, the organisation committed to empowering women working in the exhibitions industry and promoting female leaders, will be running a ‘speed mentoring’ session when International Confex returns to ExCeL London on 1-2 September.

Members of Women in Exhibitions include global event brands such as Clarion Events, Montgomery Events, Informa Market, dmg events and Nineteen Group in addition to a large number of exhibition professionals with individual memberships.

The organisation provides resources for both men and women in the exhibition industry, offering educational and professional development programmes, mentoring, networking events, talks, career support and more.

Soraya Gadelrab, MD of Venn Media and Women in Exhibitions Board Member, commented: “It’s fantastic to be coming back to International Confex this year after all, this is where Women In Exhibitions UK really began in March 2020. This year I’m excited to be taking part in the Speed Mentoring sessions and I look forward to meeting the next generation of leaders in our industry and helping to nurture the next steps of their personal journeys.”

The session, which takes place on Day 2 of International Confex at 12:30-2pm, will enable exhibition industry professionals to sit down with experienced industry leaders for short, ten-minute mentoring sessions.

The mentors are:

• Chris Skeith, AEO
• Suzanne King, CloserStill Media
• Laura Shapiro, Closerstill Media
• Simon Foster, Arc
• Rachel Swann, dmg events
• Jeremy Rees, ExCeL London
• Sophie Holt, Explori
• Kate Chambers, Fulwood Media
• Jason Stead, GES
• Ellis Tomkins, Human Built
• Simon Burns, ICHF
• Anna Knight, Informa Markets
• Stanislava Blagoeva-Duschell, IPR Events
• Simon Albert, Messe Frankfurt
• Damion Angus, Montgomery Group
• Soraya Gadelrab, Venn Media
• Sophie Ahmed, Virtual Events Institute
• Ed Tranter, Seventy Three Media
• Jennifer Phipps, RX
• Esha Bark-Jones, Workspace Design Show
• Katie Morhen, 52eight3
• David White, Clarion Events
• Naomi Barton, Clarion Events
• Stephanie Selesnick, International Exhibition Consultant
• Kate Simpson, The BDC
• Mark Eddy, Istoria Group
• Kim Barnes, Clarion Events
• Oana Cipca, MECC Maastricht
• Duncan Kirk, Roar B2B

Mentor Jennifer Phipps, Operations Director at RX, commented: “I am really looking forward to the Speed Mentoring at International Confex. I wish this opportunity had been available to me when I started out in my career, and I can’t wait to talk with and support women in the industry work towards achieving the goals”

Explori Managing Director and Mentor Sophie Holt added: “I know that traditionally, mentoring is about someone with experience sharing that with someone who is earlier in their career. But I'm so excited to hear from the next generation of talent in this industry. What are their challenges and fears? What are they passionate about? How do they want to shape the future of the industry? I see this as a speed LEARNING session as much as anything.”

Find out more about Women in Exhibitions at womeninexhibitions.co.uk and to take part in the speed mentoring contact nicola.macdonald@montgomerygroup.com.