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Claire Saunders, managing director of New Events, talks to Steve Rogerson in our series of interviews for CIEonline. The woman behind National Electronics Week in the UK and South Africa, Claire started her career in 1991 with VNU Business Publications working on computer magazines as well as in customer hospitality, sales and marketing support. In 1993, she joined Stonehart Publishing as a sales manager working on sports titles and event publications for exhibitions.
National Magazine was her employer from 1995 to 1996, where she was a sales manager on titles such as Good Housekeeping, Country Living and Cosmopolitan. She then joined Reed Exhibitions in 1996, working on the electronics exhibition Nepcon and involved in the Nepcon Ireland events. In 2007, she became managing director of New Events. The company was formed by Claire and Rob Saunders, both of whom have had a combined experience in organising events around the world for more than 40 years. This year’s National Electronics Week runs from 12th to 13th April at the NEC in Birmingham.
1. Starting a new company is always a brave move. Why did you do it?
It was more to do with getting the right event for the industry. I’d worked with the previous Nepcon show and I felt that wasn’t going in the way I wanted. I looked at other options but they were not interested in developing the show in the way I wanted.
2. Where you surprised at the initial success of the South Africa event?
We were surprised. We knew the market out there was hungry for knowledge and wanted new ideas. We were happy with the support from the exhibitors and international visitors. It all started because we went out there on our honeymoon and we saw there were things going on in the manufacturing sector. We investigated further and made links with the trade associations. They hadn’t had an event like this for many years. There was an apathy in the market and this has now worked out very well. We are going to run this show every couple of years.
3. How disappointed were you at having to cancel the North Africa event, in Tunisia and what will be the future of that?
The North Africa event has been postponed due to the unsettled problems. We are hoping to run it in June. The situation is a lot more stable. We were disappointed because it is a new market and people there are hungry for knowledge. But it is definitely not cancelled; it is postponed.
4. You enjoy travelling. Where is the most interesting place you have been?
Probably India. It was a bit of a culture shock. I’ve been to most places in the world, but the vast differences between the poor and the wealthy and how it is all mixed up into one was shocking to me. In other countries, such as China, these areas are separate. It was also interesting to see the culture of how Indian people try to work with English people in business. There is still a link there from the colonial days. A lot of people think it is easy to set up business there, but it is not. There are a lot of internal politics and dodgy dealings. The most beautiful country in the world is South Africa.
5. National Electronics Week is still seen primarily as a production event. What can you do to change that perception?
From the launch of the event, we have tried to change that. We have worked with a lot of trade associations and trade magazines. In the early days it was still dominated by the production companies. We have worked with other companies and we have now got Arm as an exhibitor and sponsor. We are getting more embedded companies and component companies coming in, so the message is getting out there. You can see that from the exhibitor list. There is a much wider variety of exhibitors. Our aim is to have a more encompassing event. We are asking people to look again at what we are doing and not to be blinkered.
