The AEO Council has elected Damion Angus, managing director of Montgomery, as AEO chair, and Austen Hawkins, managing director of f2f events, as vice chair of the association.
This year’s appointments were voted at the AEO Council meeting ahead of the AGM on 6 September.
Angus, who has held the position of vice chair of the association for the past year, commented: “The AEO is going from strength to strength. During the last 12 months, we’ve welcomed 15 new and very different organisations into membership which is testimony to AEO maintaining a fresh approach.
“I’m looking forward to chairing the council and spearheading the fantastic work the association is doing in representing the events industry as a whole. I’m particularly proud of the progress the Talent Working Group is making to attract and retain the best talent in the industry.”
Austen HawkinsAusten Hawkins
Commenting on his new role, Hawkins, managing director of f2f events and a past chief executive of AEO, said: “I’m delighted to be elected Vice Chair of the association this year. There’s a clear vision across all workings of the association and I’m particularly interested in insight and making sure that all action has strong research behind it.
“It’s important that the industry identifies where progress can be made and how we can all work together towards achieving common goals.”
Following on from the election, Paul Byrom has assumed the role of past chair.
Board members
AEO has also welcomed two new members to its council: Emma Barrett, director of Broadway Events, and Emma Cartmell, CEO of CHS Group.
As is customary, one third of AEO board members are required to stand down by rotation based on length of service, with four seeking re-election. Paul Michael from Quartz Business Media and Peter Hall from Informa have taken the decision to step down from the council this year.
Chris Skeith, chief executive of AEO, commented: “I’d like to personally thank Paul Byrom for his help, support and drive as chair over the last year, and am delighted that Damion and Austen, who both have a strong heritage with the AEO, will be playing such an integral part in lead ing the association going forward. It’s important to have continuity within an association but we also embrace change.
Skeith said this year AEO benefitted from the introduction of the Development Board which has added a new dynamic to its governing team and has enabled the AEO Council to focus on representing the wider industry. “New additions from Emma Barrett, who joins the council from the Development Board, and Emma Cartmell, whose organisation has recently joined the AEO, will bring a new perspective and different experiences to the team,” he said.
“I’d also like to personally thank Paul Michael who has served on the Council for over 20 years and was a former chair as I joined AEO, and to Peter Hall who sat on council for seven years, for their contributions. It’s a big commitment for council members to give their time freely to help run the AEO and we greatly appreciate it. We wish them both continued future success.”
