Sophie Holt

Experience

• 

  Avon Cosmetics UK

  Jan 2001 - Jan 2007

  Consumer PR Executive

  Managing events such as The Clothes Show and The Vitality Show, national road shows, press launches, conferences and other event strategies for this iconic beauty brand.

• 

  Toyota Material Handling UK

  Jan 2008 - Jul 2011

  Senior PR and Communications Executive

  Delivering PR and communications internally leading on trade shows, press launches and large-scale internal events

• 

  Closerstill Media Healthcare Ltd

  Jul 2011 - Jan 2014

  Group Head of Marketing

  Managing the go-tomarket strategy and launch execution across a portfolio of medical and healthcare events, including The Commissioning Show, Health+Care, Acute and General Medicine, Hospital Directions and Best Practice.The 2013 edition of Commissioning and Health+Care won Best Brand Extension at the EN Awards

• 

  Freelance, self-employed

  Jan 2014 - Mar 2016

  Event Marketing Consultant

  Supporting event organisers to develop robust marketing strategies. Specialising in concept to launch planning, concept evaluation and stress-testing and pricing models.

• 

  Future plc

  Jan 2014 - Mar 2016

  Marketing And Public Relations Consultant

  I work with the Future team supporting marketing efforts on their Photography and Gaming portfolios, helping to create award-winning events for enthusiasts and professionals.PC Gamer Weekender is an exciting launch event which attracted thousands of passionate PC Gamers to East London in March 2016. The Weekender is a finalist in the "Best Launch" category of the 2016 AEO Awards.The Photography Show is a multi-award winning exhibition for anyone passionate about photography and the imaging industry. It's launch edition attracted over 30,000 professional and enthusiast photographers to the NEC and it remains on of the UK's best performing events in terms of delegate and exhibitor experience. Show less

• 

  Explori

  May 2014 - Apr 2024

  Combining my event industry expertise, with my love of launching and scaling new projects, I led the operational teams at event tech scale-up, Explori.I worked alongside the founder to grow the team from the outset, owning all operational functions including research, customer success, marketing, HR and compliance and running the management team. Board member since 2017.• Created a scaled business that could deliver operationally on double digit revenue growth, supporting the CEO across all strategic decisions• Owned annual business planning process, management reporting and cashflow• Coached and developed seven function leads as direct reports• Launched and grew Customer Success and Account Management Teams, increasing NRR and Overall Satisfaction• Supported CFO on institutional and strategic funding raises, leading on the VC pitches• Led the transformation of our marketing approach to encompass growth marketing techniques alongside ABM to support entry into new markets and reducing CaC• Drove our company-wide operational efficiency process ensuring engagement at all levels• Devised and led our appraisal process and communication cadence, including All Hands, reviews and performance management workflows Show less With a background in event and exhibit marketing, I lead the strategic development at event insight specialists, Explori.Explori works with thousands of events, conferences and venues worldwide and we enable them to gain a deeper understanding of attendee engagement, impact, behaviour and sentiment.Having been a founding member of the Explori team; I now work in a broader strategic role as we enter our next phase of growth.My responsibilities include working with clients to identify and nurture growth opportunities, customer success, developing key partnerships and resource planning, alongside our ongoing communications plans.In partnership with the research team at Explori I regularly author white papers and opinion pieces for the industry press and association bodies including the Global Visitor and Exhibitor Insights Reports for UFI and FaceTime research for the AEO. Show less

  • Managing Director

    Oct 2020 - Apr 2024

  • Global Strategy Director

    Jan 2017 - Oct 2020

  • Head of Marketing

    May 2014 - Feb 2017
• 

  GRS Explori Middle East

  May 2016 - Apr 2024

  Advisor

  Focusing on the growing MENA market, GRS Explori is joint venture between Explori and GRS, creating the world’s biggest research network for the expo industry.The partnership provides exhibition and conference organisers and visitor attractions in these regions with reliable insight and scenarios for continuous improvement; helping them to foster profitable relations with their customers and develop their business in a more global context.Together, GRS and Explori further reinforce their fundamental role in the process of value creation as well as the extension and upgrade of knowledge and skills by combining the Explori platform, uniquely designed for the industry and the proven consultancy expertise and local knowledge of the GRS team. Show less

• 

  VSef

  May 2021 - Sept 2022

  Director
• 

  Event Leaders Exchange (ELX)

  Sept 2021 - Apr 2024

  Director

  I'm supporting ELX - the peer-to-peer network for senior corporate event leaders. Fast becoming the most valued event industry network, ELX is on a mission to drive top-down change within the industry.