John Beattie is Director of Membership and Operations at the Employee Ownership Association (eoa), where he leads strategic initiatives to enhance member engagement, learning, digital capability, and operational excellence. The eoa champions employee ownership as a force for powering fairer livelihoods, stronger businesses, and a people-powered economy.
At the eoa, John has developed data-led approaches to understanding member behaviour and value delivery, including engagement scoring models that inform retention, growth, and service design. His work supports the eoa’s mission to empower businesses on their employee ownership journey, while ensuring the association remains responsive, relevant, and resilient.
With a rich background spanning marketing, innovation and development, and learning across the arts and culture sectors, John brings a human-centred approach to membership strategy. He is passionate about social justice and lifelong learning, and has previous led impactful projects in literacy, storytelling, STEM, and well-being.
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https://employeeownership.co.uk/
:
johnbeattiefcmi
20. From Instinct to Insight: The EOA’s Journey to Smarter Member Retention using Engagement Scoring Tuesday @ 12:15 PM
Michelle is an experienced marketing strategist with a focus on brand development, content, and product marketing. Holding a Master of Science in Marketing Practice, Michelle has a strong international background in education and technology, working with global K-12 educational publishers, universities, learning technology companies, and associations. Throughout her career, Michelle's collaborative approach has enabled her to develop successful partnerships and prioritize the sharing of ideas, knowledge, and experience to help education providers and mission-driven organizations to achieve growth and success.
Though based in Dublin, Ireland, Michelle is an active member of the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE) and Professionals for Association Revenue (PAR) and has travelled extensively in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia, giving her a global perspective on the trends and challenges facing associations. As an experienced public speaker and facilitator for executive audiences, Michelle shares ideas, knowledge, and strategies to help associations and non-profit organizations develop successful initiatives that deepen member engagement, strengthen sponsor relationships, and drive revenue generation.
15. Transforming Association Education into a Strategic Revenue Engine Tuesday @ 9:30 AM
Co-founder of HBM Advisory, a strategic consultancy that helps organisations unlock the full potential of their content businesses.
He works with publishers, both traditional news and information businesses and their challengers, to align products and content to the needs of their users; he advises on how to optimise customer journeys and build successful monetisation options; and share his experience on how to transform businesses to take full advantage of the digital revolution.
His experience at some of the world’s leading digital news publishers allows him to make sure clients have all aspects of their business focused on the right goals.
Michael Brunt is also a NED and advisor for SaaS start-ups.
He was formerly General Manager of Times Newspapers Ltd, with responsibility for the financial performance of The Times and The Sunday Times and for setting and implementing brand strategies for long-term cross-platform growth.
Prior to managing The Times and Sunday Times, Michael was Publisher and Chief Operating Officer of The Economist.
13. Creating Valuable and Reliable Content with AI Monday @ 2:35 PM
He has worked across sectors representing engineering, consultancy, construction, manufacturing, and education – bringing a unique blend of policy understanding, commercial thinking and sector-wide perspective.
He has worked for: Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE), Environment Industries Commission (EIC), Build UK, CNBC Catalyst and the British Woodworking Federation, as well as other organisations.
17. A Modern Membership Proposition – Designing Value that Delivers Tuesday @ 9:30 AM
Lisa has been building powerful networks and communities for over 25 years, ensuring the groups she works with thrive and grow. After a flourishing career working for a variety of associations, membership bodies and not for profit organisations, Lisa launched her own agency, Dovetail Creative Ltd, in 2021 and now supports a variety of organisations with all aspects of community, member and customer forum engagement, events, marketing strategy, and consultancy.
Lisa is a frequent speaker and moderator at industry events and is on the board for RISE and Trade Association Forum. In addition, Lisa is involved in several mentoring programmes enabling her to pass on skills and knowledge to help others grow. Lisa has a passion for ESG initiatives and is co-producer of the Media Tech Sustainability Summit and Corporate Star Awards.
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https://www.dovetailcreative.co.uk/
:
lisaibbotson
4. Making Membership Matter - The IMPACT Framework for Growth, Retention & Engagement Monday @ 9:30 AM
Rob Eveleigh is Managing Director of Brightelm, an award-winning event services company specialising in working with membership organisations and government.
Rob has over 25 years of experience in the industry, having started his career in hospitality operations, then sales and marketing, the last 12 of which have been spent as a professional conference organiser.
Rob’s areas of expertise include process, sales, and marketing strategy, and effective implementation of technology to support events. He is currently a board member of ABPCO, the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers, and a member of the PCMA.
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https://www.brightelm.co.uk/
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robeveleigh
12. Successful Outsourcing of your Conferences & Events Monday @ 2:35 PM
Sasha Frieze FRSA FCIM is an award-winning event strategist and consultant, who’s delivered 1,000+ events in 30+ years, and is the author of The Chief Event Officer’s Playbook – how to create transformational events,
Sasha has worked for decades with clients across associations, media owners, conference and exhibition companies, corporates, and non-profits including: the United Nations Foundation, The Guardian, The BMJ, the Open Data Institute, the British Society for Immunology and the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
Sasha is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and The Royal Society of Arts, a Trustee of the British Society for Haematology subsidiary enterprises company and a visiting lecturer in event management at The University of Westminster.
:
https://thebusinessnarrative.com/
:
sashafrieze
14. Keynote: Launch of "The Chief Event Officer's Playbook" Tuesday @ 9:00 AM
16. The Event Transformation Blueprint: 10 Steps to Transform Your Association Event Strategy Tuesday @ 9:30 AM
Sergio has worked at The BCI since 2017, where he leads the planning and delivery of the BCI World Hybrid Conference & Exhibition. His responsibilities include end-to-end project management—developing the event programme, managing budgets, sponsors, venues, suppliers, and logistics across both in-person and virtual platforms. He also delivers the BCI Global Awards and supports regional awards and community events.
With first-class degrees in Chemical Engineering and a Nonprofit Management Master’s, he brings a strong background in operations, strategic insight, and hands-on experience to every stage of event delivery.
Outside of work, Sergio is an avid traveller and lifelong learner who enjoys sports, films, languages, and spending time with his son.
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https://www.thebci.org
:
@sgallegoschmid
21. Creating an Effective & Profitable Hybrid Conference Tuesday @ 2:00 PM
13. Creating Valuable and Reliable Content with AI Monday @ 2:35 PM
:
https://www.associationexecutives.org/
:
damianhutt
:
@DamianHutt
1. Plenary: Opening Session Monday @ 9:00 AM
24. Closing Plenary: Vision to Impact Tuesday @ 4:05 PM
In a time where all the content we read seems to be pumped out by AI, I still manage to have a job as a Communications Officer. What can I say? My knack for storytelling is my remaining lifeline. Jokes aside, I geek out during the communications strategy process. Let’s have a two-hour meeting discussing the different audience personas for our organisation. I share bits about the higher education sector in Canada and the United Kingdom.
:
https://www.amosshe.org.uk/
:
julia-jean-baptiste
7. From Strategy to Reality: AMOSSHE’s Digital Transformation with ReadyMembership Monday @ 12:15 PM
Alan King leads ITAA.ai, helping organisations redesign their operating logic for the age of intelligence.
A recognised voice in AI strategy and organisational transformation, witth years of expereince in large international and UK associations, he bridges human, data, and system perspectives to deliver measurable outcomes.
Author of Harnessing the Power of AI in Organisations and Global AI Association Strategy Director, Alan guides leaders in moving beyond pilots to build AI-native, ethical, and adaptive organisations that thrive in a rapidly changing world.
2. Harnessing the Power of AI in Your Organization Monday @ 9:30 AM
Laura is currently a Managing Director & Google Ads Strategist at YBA PPC (Your Business Angels UK). Laura brings experience from previous roles at YUnique Marketing Limited, Tech Angels UK, T-Mobile and Adecco UK. She holds a 1995 - 1998 BA Hons in Leisure Studies at Leeds Beckett University. With a robust skill set that includes Google Adwords, Google Adwords Professional, Strategy, Online Marketing, Public Relations and more.
Key points about YBA PPC:
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https://www.ybappc.co.uk/
:
lauramoxham
10. Driving Member Benefits: How to help members win more business (at no cost to you) Monday @ 12:45 PM
For the past six years at SocialB, Edwina has enabled their clients to create better business connections through effective strategy and campaign execution. Edwina delivers a range of courses from campaign planning to digital strategy, content marketing, and social media. With her vast background and experience in senior marketing roles, Edwina has a unique ability to deliver training courses at every level, from the top-level strategy, through to the hands-on implementation and measurement of marketing activities. Edwina's training style focuses on her delegates. Specific requirements, and she endeavours to create solutions within training sessions that are bespoke to the situation, bringing concepts to life for each attendee.
Edwina combines her role as a trainer with SocialB with an in-house marketing role, enabling her to stay up to date with the latest trends and understand the pressures of delivering campaigns. She is currently the Head of Marketing for an engineering technology company and is also a marketing consultant and strategist for the innovation arm of the business. Before her current roles, Edwina worked as an Account Director for a B2B marketing agency and lead the digital strategy for the leading agricultural technology company Syngenta, among various other marketing roles.
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https://socialb.co.uk/
:
edwinamullins
22. AI to Enhance Your Event Digital Marketing Tuesday @ 2:00 PM
Linda is passionate about associations and is particularly active in the professional associations in her own field. She is also a consultant to a variety of associations. In 2008 she was considered one of Portugal’s five most influential people in the conference & events industry and received the education award from IAHMP.
Respected internationally as a speaker Linda has lectured in countries such as Italy, Spain, Russia, Egypt, Cape Verde, United Kingdom, Dubai, Spain and The Netherlands. In 2009 she received the medal of honour for positive entrepreneurship in Portugal for her commitment to promoting culture and heritage and for CSR initiatives.
:
http://www.cplevents.pt/
:
linda-pereira-phd-68a36a8
3. Sponsorship & Partnership Strategies for Event Growth & Revenue Monday @ 9:30 AM
Simon has been working with associations for over 15 years, supporting them to tell their stories through video. He was the founder and leader of the multi-award winning Programme Partnerships at BBC Studios, developing a unique team creating extraordinary content and campaigns for organisations across the world.
He currently holds a senior executive role at Hi Impact, a fast-growing media company with a global reach. Hi Impact are creators of the COP29 Daily Show, broadcast on over 50 TV networks and FAST channels worldwide, working in partnership with LinkedIn News and YouTube to make the climate conversation accessible and relatable. Hi Impact works with a range of partners to bring the most compelling stories to screen, stream and broadcast them to wider audiences; doing so in a style demanded by modern, discerning viewers.
6. It’s good to talk: the AI Event tool that gathers collective wisdom and conversational intelligence Monday @ 12:15 PM
Alex is the co-founder and CEO of Pixl8 Group – a global digital technology group that has developed a suite of scalable cloud-based software designed to deliver intuitive, personalised and valuable member experiences which includes their market-leading platform, ReadyMembership.
With a combination of his in-depth technical knowledge and years of experience in the membership sector, Alex is uniquely positioned to create solutions specifically designed to support the unique needs of membership organisations. His passion has led Pixl8 to building trusted partnerships with over 200 associations, institutes, not-for-profits, and charities. In his spare time, Alex enjoys travelling and getting onto the water – whether sailing or diving.
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https://pixl8.com/en/
:
meta-alex
8. Transforming member experience through AI Monday @ 12:45 PM
I look after the leadership activities for the AAE. This involves chairing the Leaders Forums at the UK and the World Associations Congresses, as well the Leaders Summits and identifying other opportunities to support association leaders, for example new programmes and forums to bring Executive Heads together.
I have been working on the AAE leaders events for eight years, contributed to the leadership aspects of all AAE's activities, and have an Executive Masters in International Association Management from Solvay Business School, Brussels.
Get in touch if you would like to hear more about our leadership activities at AAE or if you would like me to put you in touch with a trusted advisor or another executive director with experience of a particular issue.
:
https://www.associationexecutives.org/
:
cecilia-spoor-a30956
Ben has worked closely with Membership organisations for over 20 years, spanning many sub-verticals within this field, leading and supporting on digital transformations for many membership organisations.
With this wealth of experience he launched Chrysalis Digital in 2015, drawing upon the deep understanding and unique challenges within membership organisations. Ben creates and leads digital strategy transformations enabling membership organisations to achieve successful digital outcomes.
:
https://chrysalisdigital.co.uk/
:
bensturt
11. Building Your Capacity for Successful Digital Projects Monday @ 2:35 PM
