Back in May the Talking Events podcast welcomed International Live Events Association (ILEA) board members Kevin Jackson and Alistair Turner to talk about the handover from Kevin to Alistair of the association’s presidency. Chatting to the podcast on the 34th floor of London’s Shard, the respected event professionals reflected on the achievements of Kevin during his tenure and the thoughts of Alistair as he prepared to take the reins. They also talk frankly about the change of name from the International Special Event Society (ISES). “The name change was a big thing for us”, Kevin told the podcast. “We shared three-quarters of an acronym with someone we didn’t want to be associated with, but I think it’s much bigger than just changing the name. The change from ‘special’ to ‘live’ better reflects the work we’re doing, and for me, the move from ‘society’ to ‘association’ is far better suited to our world.” Talking about the handover of the presidency to Alistair, Kevin also gave a succinct assessment of how he thinks it should work. “You really need to have an incoming president that really understands knows where you’ve been and is going to come in with their own ideas but also continue to drive that momentum.” Discussing how he hopes to continue the work done by Kevin, Alistair turner explained that he was keen not to change too much. “As a board – and under Kevin’s guidance – we’ve got into a really big habit of talking about growth: the growth of the industry and where those growth points are. What we’ve tried to do is represent this pointy end of the industry that’s trailblazing at the moment. When Kevin talks about the new membership that we’re now getting, it represents this end and the creative content that they produce.”

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.