Our board members and mentors

James is Managing Director at Clarion Events and Vice-Chair of the Development Board at the Association of Event Organisers (AEO). He's an experienced leader in the events industry with a track record of developing people, teams and businesses internationally. Previously James has held management roles at UBM and Informa and sits on cross-association working groups with venues and suppliers so has a clear view of how organisations work across the entire events ecosystem. Since 2006, James has successfully led and transformed a range of event/digital businesses by taking a customer-centric approach to strategy. Staying closely in tune with customers and markets has delivered double digit growth across multiple sectors, most notably in Technology and Life Sciences. Portfolios have spanned Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. A strategic thinker and highly motivated commercial operator, James excels at designing and delivering growth strategies that exceed business expectations. He's a serial launcher and innovator with a track record of developing new propositions and brand extensions across exhibitions, conferences, awards, media and digital. 4 x Winner at The Conference Awards and The AEO Awards. James' biggest passions are talent mapping and leadership and he plays a key role in the 'Talent' initiatives at the AEO whose remit is to attract, retain and promote people in the right way for their career development in the events industry.