COMMENT LIFE AFTER REED...
Meetings industry stalwart Paul Kennedy MBE reveals how he is about to take his successful consultancy firm to the next level
You are an influential person in the meetings industry with contacts worldwide; how are you capitalising on this? I have been fortunate to build these con- tacts over some 20-plus years in the indus- try, whilst being very active in trade bodies and professional associations [former board director of MPI and chairman of the Meet- ings Industry Association] as well as speak- ing and presenting. I also enjoy writing for industry magazines. I strongly believe that earning profes-
sional respect is the key to being able to utilise any network for professional or business benefit.
How did you find the transition from working for a large multinational company like Reed Travel Exhi- bitions to running your own consultancy business? The transition was easy. Firstly I enjoyed my job with Reed Travel Exhibitions immensely. We grew the meetings portfolio massively, I led a great team, and at one point, there were staff in six countries (there still are). Secondly, I did not specifically leave to
set up a new business; I needed to take a break because of the almost constant inter- national travel. I had not sought any outside involvement at the time of my leaving the EIBTM portfolio. The transition sorted itself really as I have been incredibly lucky to have been approached to undertake strategic business consultancy. I believe there is a great deal of business
development opportunity in the global meet- ings industry as it gains political and com- mercial sector recognition and investment at a rapid pace.
What contracts/business have you secured since setting up the firm? I am currently working on projects either for destinations or events, in countries including the UK, Belgium, Germany, UAE, Saudi Ara- bia, Italy and Slovenia. I have also worked on other projects in the UK and in the USA in the last 12 months.
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I BELIEVE THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY IN THE GLOBAL MEETINGS INDUSTRY AS IT
GAINS POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL SECTOR RECOGNITION
KENNEDY’S CV
Paul Kennedy MBE is director and owner of Kennedy Integrated Solutions - a meetings industry consultancy that focuses on destination, event and venue strategic business development. His client list is principally international.
Kennedy is non-executive director of the Centaur Travel Group, which organises business travel and meetings shows in the UK, UAE and Germany.
Kennedy is very well known throughout the global meetings industry having been group exhibition director for Reed Travel Exhibitions’ global portfolio of meetings and incentive events.
As non-executive director of the Cen-
taur Travel Group I am reviewing the strat- egies for existing shows such as Business Travel & Meetings Show London, Busi- ness Travel Show Middle East (BTSME) and Business Travel & Meetings Show Dusseldorf. There is a serious gap in the UK market [for meetings industry related shows] and I have no doubt that Centaur could be a major player in this market.
What are your plans for expanding the business? The question is timely as I am in discus- sions to establish a number of new areas of the business including event management, business development, sales training and marketing and PR. At the moment I take on mentoring
projects for individual meeting profession- als who want to learn from someone who has more experience. This will now become a commercial undertaking as part of the business expansion. I will also continue with my speaking, presenting and writing engagements.
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