PROFILE
Leading the way Tim Collett is WRG’s first managing director. Here, he explains how the world of events has changed and how he plans to make his mark on the business
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’ve never been one of those people who said: ‘I need to be managing director’ – it’s just something that has happened organically,” says Tim Collett, the newly appointed managing director of WRG, a division of The Creative Engagement Group. In fact, Collett is the global experience agency’s first MD; his role is a completely new one and he will lead a new leadership team, focusing the agency’s efforts on five key priorities; innovation, experience design, sustainability, talent development, and diversity, equality, and inclusion. “Now, more than ever, we need to focus on growth,” he explains. “As an agency, we’ve evolved, our leadership team has evolved, and we needed someone to lead.”
THE WORLD HAS CHANGED
Collett joined WRG in 2017 and was global head of live events at the agency before picking up his new crown. Prior to joining WRG, Collett was VP executive producer at Jack Morton Worldwide. A staunch believer in the power of live events and experiences, he believes that the industry will see a return to live. Hence, he is refocusing the agency’s efforts, and ensuring it is making the most of the best opportunities available. “In 2019, certain events took place in the live environment but have found a better home in the virtual space. This is completely dependent on the purpose of the event, as opposed to the content, and virtual is an important tool, but it mustn’t replace live and human experience.”
However, to achieve the best results, there needs to be a short to medium term adjustment. Industry needs to better understand what now motivates people to attend events. He adds: “There are lots of challenges to overcome. We have all learned a lot in the last two years. I am keen not to look back and recreate events from 2019. That would be wrong. The world and teams have moved on and so we can’t be left behind. Things will be different.”
INSTIL CONFIDENCE
Collett’s new leadership team includes the expertise of Simon Davenport, head of environments, Saira Dickinson, cohead of event production, and David Jones, head of event technical delivery. Together, they will work hard to position the business for future growth. Collett continues: “The live world is centred on human experience so we will have to understand new behavioural motivators and psychological ones. They’ll be costs too but not just production costs, costs to the environment and cost to delegates, their mental and physical health. We’ll have to think of the costs to their lives if we want to fly them round the world. What are we giving people outside of a virtual environment? And I think because of all that, we will have to work harder on experience design.” Collett believes that live events will “kick back in” in the second half of the year. Previously, WRG has helped clients pivot into the virtual world and now the agency is helping clients to pivot back out.
“There is slight nervousness, and we need market confidence before clients commit to projects,” he adds. “I believe now is the most exciting time to be in our industry and part of WRG, as our audiences push us to be more digitally creative and environmentally accountable, and our clients push us to keep innovating and help them create experiences that inspire the lasting change the world needs. To be a success, we must also focus on nurturing the next generation of talent and address the need to be more inclusive as an industry.” Collett will be steadying the nerves and bringing his team together, motivating the next moves. It’s also important to him to motivate the next generation of events professionals to join the sector and create an environment where they can thrive. But what is Collett’s personal leadership style and what does he bring to the new role? “I will instil confidence,” says Collett. “I want to help people to achieve their personal goals. I won’t be leading on any projects, but it’s also important that I don’t lose touch with what’s happening. I will play my part but it’s important that the business is led and that I look ahead and see what innovations I can bring to the table.” Collett concludes: “Our industry is still a key driver for growth, and it is physical experiences that will make our industry. It’s our job to create experiences that audiences want to invest in financially, physically and emotionally and so you have to create the experiences that people want, and provide attendees with real value.”
I will play my part but it’s important that the business is led and that I look ahead and see what innovations I can bring to the table
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