Following the success of The London Future Forum at the new ICC London ExCeL last week, plans are already gathering momentum for a follow up conference and a CEO level debate within the events industry. The session, a joint initiative of the International Special Events Society (ISES) and the Mayor of London, formed part of the launch activity for the new ICC London ExCeL, attended by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.
 
The forum represented a true who’s who of the event / experience marketing arena and was attended by over 40 Director level representatives from event marketing agencies including; MCI, HRG Worldwide, First Protocol, Zibrant and Jack Morton. The meeting discussed and debated London’s critical position as a centre of excellence for live events and the growing role of London within the global events industry.
 
Alongside Dan Ritterband, Marketing Director to the Mayor, and offering their own insights was a panel of industry experts consisting of Bill Morris, Director of Culture, Ceremonies and Education, London 2012 Olympic Games; Amanda Jobbins, Vice President European Marketing, Cisco; Sarah Wright, Head of Events, Barclays; Richard Foulkes, Incoming President, ISES and Director of The Imagination Group; and Kim Myhre, advisor to the ISES Board and Senior Vice President, George P. Johnson (GPJ).
 
The ISES UK Chapter will again lead future sessions and [Imagination’s] Richard Foulkes, the new president of the chapter commented: “It was a really interesting session and one of the rare occasions where board level agency professionals were able to debate the industry together. We had some insightful and challenging contributions from both the panel and the attendees.”
 
“The gathering of this event industry elite left us very excited about the prospect of repeating The London Future Forum. We already have the support of the Mayor of London's office and we jointly believe this level of high quality dialogue provides the critical input, crucial in dictating London’s strategy in what is a key revenue generating business sector.”