Goal getter

Fairs & Exhibitions CEO Clive Richardson talks about exploring exhibition opportunities in Dubai and tactics in securing new business.

What is your overall goal in your new role?

This is my second time with F&E and the big difference is that it is effectively owned by Tarsus Group and that's changed the dynamic.

It's opened up more opportunities for the company so I want to build on what we have achieved so far.

There are also some key shows, the packaging and printing technology show, they both moved on and I would like to make sure that what we have is very much built on.

At the same time I want to look for opportunities for the company to grow.

Here in Dubai, I would say the exhibition and conference business is fairly mature and it's matured in a relatively short period of time.

I think in Dubai there are always challenges to develop, but in the wider Middle East region we need to be open and sensitive to opportunities.

Tarsus have operations all over the worlds and, while we have no particular intention of doing business beyond the Middle East, who knows?

The relationship with Tarsus is young and they are a fast developing company so that in turn may give F&E some inverse opportunities.

What are your tactics for getting new business?

The first thing I intend to do is to get to know my team in the UK and here.

It is very much a team effort and I'm looking forward to understanding the strengths of my team.

I have met some of them, but now I will have a chance to work with them and hopefully get the best out of them.

As a starting point I would like to utilise the strengths of the team and their awareness and contacts.

We have some very good people based in Dubai. Equally, Virginia Kern as our chairman is somewhat of an institution and I've never underestimated the strengths of her contacts and positioning.

I want to spend some time with her and understand the dynamics of where she has been and what the Tarsus takeover means to us and our ability to develop.

I shall be picking up on some of my former contacts, but also making a lot of new ones - I want to spend as much time as possible networking with key people in the region.

An organiser can make a mistake by taking a decision to launch or buy something without doing a lot of checking and researching. There is no point in wasting a lot of time and money without knowing that there is a need for something.

I think there are too many organisers that don't do that and that is going to take me some time to do.

Finding the right niches is a careful process and I don't want to get it wrong.

Is getting your first move right your biggest challenge?

I think so. The big challenge is developing business in a very dynamic market. On the one hand you might think that would be easy, but competition is fierce.

READERS' COMMENTS

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM