A Day in the Life of a Pharma Event Director

The Day in the Life of series has covered most of the pharmaceutical supply chain looking through the eyes of the people working in the different fields, from R&D to manufacturing. What we haven't seen yet, is the role that non-pharma companies can play. 

Could you please outline your background and the career path that's led you to your current position?

I started off my career in children's publishing and had always thought I wanted to be an Editor – I had studied English Literature, and it felt like a natural path. My first publishing job was actually in Foreign Rights, which is essentially selling book rights to foreign publishers. It was a really nice role in that you get to travel, visit exhibitions, meet lots of international clients, and sell creative products that inspired people. I really loved that role. Then I moved into an editorial role, which wasn't dynamic enough for me in the end. There's a lot of time spent behind a desk, focusing on just one project for an extended period of time, and I felt like I wanted something a little bit more fast-paced.

After that I did a year abroad in New York and was placed with an events company, where I started developing very niche conferences across Latin America – working on agendas, recruiting speakers, doing the overall event management. Again, it wasn't a job that I knew existed, but it really suited my personality. When I moved back to London a year later, I carried on in the same company, producing conferences across the EMEA region, and then was offered a job in Amsterdam with Informa, which is where I'm working now, almost 10 years later.

What would be the perfect start to your day?

For me, every day needs to start with a cup of amber nectar. Yorkshire Gold tea. And a healthy breakfast, as well as a dog walk. It really gets you going in the morning, helps to clear your mind, and prepares you for the day ahead.

Could you describe a typical day in your role?

Every day looks quite different, which is a really nice part of the role. I work with a lot of different teams on several projects, so it can be getting through emails, being in meetings, attending other events or going on a site visit. We work on several events in parallel, each with different formats or in different regions, so a large part of the role is making sure everything is on track for each event to be a success. Essentially, we're always looking at what we can do to improve our event offerings and processes, to help the pharma community to have the best experience possible at our events. How can we deliver against the goals of our exhibitors and attendees, and provide not only a brilliant business platform, but a memorable event experience overall.

What do you like most about your role?

I like the diversity of tasks, no two days are the same because there's so many different projects that you're involved in, and you're working with different teams, different groups of people. One of my favourite things about working at Informa is definitely the people that you interact with. We have a really fantastic team at Informa, it's a lot of fun coming to the office and catching up with colleagues. 

Working on the content side, we have great proximity to the market so I regularly get the opportunity to have really interesting conversations around where pharma is heading, different trends, different developments, and how that's affecting the community; that's a really exciting part of the role for me.

What are the biggest challenges you face in your role? 

The biggest challenge is rather a nice challenge to have, we're always looking at how we can innovate, what we can do differently, what we can do better within our events and the industry.

It's exciting to work on the show because every year you start right from the beginning and have to think what we want to achieve, what the experience should be, and how we want people to feel when they're on site. That's more from the brand side, but from the content perspective, we ask the same questions when we're thinking about the kind of topics and information that we're presenting on site.

We're a huge event, we have a great, solid history, but you can never rest on your laurels. We’re always thinking about how we can continue to be a market-leading event, what is going to set us apart, and most importantly, how we can continue to serve the needs of the community we're in. 

What are you most proud of?

Being a people manager was not necessarily something I dreamed about for my career, but I am very proud of the team that I created and that I get to work with on a day-to-day basis. We have a really talented group of individuals and everybody supports each other both personally and professionally. It’s so important to have that set-up in a team, and it creates such a nice working dynamic – particularly as working in events can be intense.

What advice would you give to other people aspiring to your position or getting into the field?

I would encourage everyone to not be afraid about making their voice heard, because everybody's opinions are valid. It doesn't matter how long you've been in an organisation, or how old you are. It's important to have different perspectives and different viewpoints, it’s what helps a company – especially one in such a dynamic field – thrive, so my advice would be to speak up. My own manager encouraged me to do this and it was quite pivotal for me. There's not always a right or a wrong answer, it's good to put yourself out there and be confident in your work and in your own abilities.

How can people in your position better support each other?

I think that having an awareness that people have very full and busy lives and that you might not always know what else everyone is dealing with or going through. Being compassionate and understanding about people’s lives goes a long way to supporting your colleagues. So when you can, lead with kindness and respect, I think that is really important.

Like next career aspirations, what do you think your next steps will be?

Currently, I'm holding an interim role that encompasses my previous Content Director role with a Brand role, which is essentially looking after the overarching event strategy and the commercial aspects of the CPHI Europe event. This is an exciting opportunity for me to think more strategically about the running of the event and the long-term vision. For example, what new initiatives could we introduce, where do we see growth coming from the market which should be mirrored in our strategy? It’s particularly exciting to be able to work on a brand like CPHI, which is now in its 35th year and is so well respected by the industry.

Is living sustainably important to you and how do you incorporate being environmentally friendly into your day, whether it's in your personal life or work?

Sustainability is hugely important to me, both personally and through my role at Informa Markets, working with the pharma community. We're always looking at what we can do to advance sustainability as an events company, but also in our role in supporting the pharmaceutical industry to be more sustainable through new initiatives, and the sharing of best practices.

As an events company, we enact several initiatives that support our three main focus areas of running an environmentally responsible event, running a socially responsible event, and inspiring sustainable development. We have implemented a Better Stands Initiative, to reduce single-use stands for exhibitors, and our events are powered by 100% renewable energy. We encourage more sustainable travel options where possible, and our content on-site features sustainability tracks, where leading experts can share their knowledge. It is an aspect where we are continuously looking to improve and develop. 

On the personal side, I live in Amsterdam so I'm quite lucky to be able to cycle everywhere, which is really important to me; not needing a car is a luxury in that respect and I love being on my bike.

I'm also trying to consume less. For the first 3 months of this year I didn't allow myself to buy any new clothes, which was a bit of a stretch for me, but I think it's an important lesson in trying to avoid over consumption. 

How do you incorporate well-being into your day? 

For me, being active is really important, I try and make time to go to a gym class or I walk my dog or, luckily, being in Amsterdam I can cycle everywhere. Personally, I find having the opportunity to exercise is a key way to decompress and let your mind go quiet for a little while, so I try and do something every day.

CPHI Milan is taking place 8–10 October in the Fiera Milano, make sure to visit the content theatres showcasing all the hottest topics in the industry while on site!