94 A DECADE OF INNOVATION
As he announces his departure from the role of IBC Chairman, Tim Richards tells David Davies about a decade of rapid technological change, the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the enduring strength of the IBC team
Looking through the credits of Tim Richards’ multi-decade career, it’s not hard to form the opinion that he is a genuine media renaissance man. Having started his career as a freelance photographer and independent producer, he went on to complete a 10-year stint as Executive Vice President for Walt Disney Television International and three years as a COO for the international Hallmark television business. He is also co-owner of business
improvement consultancy Ravensbeck and in, February 2024, moved from the role of COO to CEO of precision timing technology company Hoptroff. But towards the end of this year (the exact date is still to be determined) he will relinquish another role that he has held for the past decade – as Chairman of the IBC Partnership Board.
Asked why he considers now the right time to step down, Richards says: “It’s approaching my 10th anniversary in the role and it has been incredibly enjoyable and very rewarding, but I came to the conclusion that it’s probably the right time for a change. There are also some changes in terms of the partner make-up of the board, so it’s probably as good a time as any for a transition to the chair as well.”
‘TREMENDOUS’ TECH CHANGES “There have been some tremendous changes,” observes Richards when refl ecting on his decade-long tenure. “If you think back through all the new technologies we have seen, from 3D TV to HDR and AI, we have been reminded again and again that the industry is constantly evolving, and although ideas sometimes come and go, the industry keeps pushing ahead.” He implies that two of the current trends – the migration to the cloud and the adoption of AI – are likely to be among the most signifi cant the industry has ever faced. “The moving of ability to the cloud has been a huge transition for the industry. And now, over the past year or so, we have seen this incredible focus on AI, which is going to be one of the big stories of the show this year.” The rise of remote and hybrid production has been another signifi cant trend over the past few years, and at the height of the pandemic there were some industry commentators who wondered whether the long-term future of in-person events was now in serious doubt. However, the surge in visitor numbers
Tim Richards
since the fi rst post-Covid show in 2022 has confi rmed that such claims were ill-founded. Not surprisingly, Richards nominates his involvement in steering the event to recovery as one of the proudest achievements of his 10 years as chair.
“One of the things that is social about IBC is that we have permission from the industry to foster collaboration in a way that otherwise doesn’t tend to happen”
“Getting the show through the pandemic years was a bumpy road – as it was for every business and, frankly, every person – but I think we’ve now come out of the other side, and that’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” he says. “In fact, it also started to infl uence my decision-making in terms of stepping down from the role because we’ve now had a couple of years of the show being back and moving at full-strength.”
FACE-TO-FACE VALUE Ironically given the dramatic evolution of technologies that facilitate virtualised events, media trade shows have overwhelmingly resumed the in-person format they had beforehand. “I think what was fascinating, and really gratifying, to see with the fi rst show after
the pandemic was that everybody was so keen and enthusiastic to get together in person,” says Richards. “The whole aspect of face-to- face contact is a function of who we are as human beings, and the more spontaneous conversations you get at IBC – less agenda- driven but where you are exploring new ideas – are really important. One of the things that is very special about IBC is that we have permission from the industry to foster collaboration in a way that otherwise doesn’t tend to happen.”
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Whoever is ultimately appointed as Richards’ successor will undoubtedly have some profound shifts in the industry to contend with – many of them likely to be connected in some way to AI. But whatever the future brings, he says that the next IBC Chair can always take comfort from the capabilities of the IBC management team and board. “There’s great strength there,” he confi rms. “Michael [Crimp, CEO], Drew [Englebright, CFO], Steve [Connolly, Director] and Tamsin [Christofi des, Director of Operations] are a great leadership team within the business, and they’re supported by some really strong partners who have their fi nger on the pulse of the industry.
“IBC as a business is very well-positioned to continue to listen, learn and grow as the industry evolves over the coming years.”
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