Keynote speakers announced for The Meetings Show

A digital pioneer and former SAS operative have been named as the keynote speakers at The Meetings Show 2019.

The show’s education programme will open with a fascinating talk from Colin Maclachlan, star of Channel Four’s reality drama ‘SAS: Who Dares Wins’ and Channel 5’s ‘Secrets of the SAS’. Colin will be using the experience he’s gained over an exciting and varied career to talk about security and risk, as well as the importance of emotional resilience, leadership, teamwork, motivation and performance.

Speaking about the relevance of his experience on the battlefield to the meetings industry, Colin said: “You would be surprised at some of the similarities, like working in teams, working to certain objectives, fear of failure, the constant strive to improve, etc. My talk will be a whistle-stop tour of my life and adventures, and the message I hope people will take away is that we can improve constantly and that mental strength isn't something we're simply born with, we can train our minds like we can train our bodies!”

On the second day of the show, pioneering technology researcher Carl Miller will be taking to the stage to talk about ‘The Changing Digital Landscape’. Co-founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos and author of over a dozen major reports on how the digital world is changing society, politics and policing, Carl is an expert in the influence of digital technology on modern society.

Carl said: “I’m going to be talking about what really shapes our lives in the digital age; the businesses we work in, the media we read, the politics we have, how warfare is fought, the crimes we experience. Event professionals have the most astounding opportunities fizzling at their fingertips; this is a moment full of potential and wonder, you just need to reach out and grasp it.”

Colin Maclachlan’s talk will take place at 9.50am on Wednesday 26 June, and Carl Miller’s will take place at 9.50am on Thursday 27 June.

Both Carl and Colin’s, arranged in partnership with Speakers Corner, talks will form part of the ‘Bigger Picture’ stream of the education programme – one of the seven stages of the complete event planner journey which this year’s education has been based upon, following feedback from last year’s attendees and input from The Meetings Show’s advisory board of industry experts.

The seven stages are: Sharpening Your Event Skills, Creating and Communicating the Vision, Textbook Planning, Making Your Events Memorable, Getting People There, The Bigger Picture and The Pat on the Back. This year, the education sessions will also be delivered in a wider variety of innovative formats, as well as featuring keynotes and one-on-one advice sessions with experts.

The Meetings Show takes place on Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 June at Olympia London. To register, visit www.themeetingsshow.com/register.