Joining the Event Technology Awards judging panel for 2018 is Mathys Taekema, Business Development Manager at RAI Amsterdam.
Mathys has worked at RAI Amsterdam Convention Center for more than eight years. He started his career upselling stand construction and Exhibitor Services to show organisers. An important part of these services has always been the technology solutions for lead generation.
For the last four years Mathys has been responsible for Business Development and in this role he’s attracting international tradeshows to the venue. In his role he travels a lot to meet clients, visit and exhibit at tradeshows so he is familiar with using event technology from different angles.
- How did your career lead you to your current job?
10 years ago I worked as a Sales Manager for an Amsterdam based event company and in that role I was responsible to decorate corporate events. From furniture to decoration and entertainment and lighting. In that period I also did some work at the RAI and I really liked the International ambiance and attitude in the venue so I applied for an open position. The first four years I worked as Account Manager for the Exhibitor Services department and in that role I was responsible for the upsell of our in-house services including the stand construction. The last four years I’ve been working as Business Development Manager focussing on bringing in International Tradeshows.
- What events have you been involved with recently and in what capacity OR which event is your favourite event to work on and why?
I’m really focusing on the stage before the event is taking place so I’m actually not working on the event itself. Off course I do see a lot of interesting events in our venue and one of my favourite events is the annual Integrated Systems Europe. At this show products are presented that are not available to the consumer yet. For example the curved screens that are now available where presented at this show like 6 years ago.
- What type of event technology would you like to see improved or developed and why?
Matchmaking and lead retrieval. I’ve never experienced a good event matchmaking/lead retrieval app at an event and I believe this should be spot-on to guarantee a great networking and lead sourcing experience to maximize the ROI.
- Is there a particular piece of event technology that has impressed or inspired you?
I love anything that has to do with Augmented Reality and I’m seeing more and more of this integrated at events which I see as a great feature. This could also influence the traditional trade show business we’re in so in some way I also see it as a treat. For example exhibitors now take-up 200 sqm to showcase that huge new machinery but in the future it could also be a choice to present the same machine via AR technology.
- What technology do you think is overhyped?Â
I don’t feel like a specific technology is overhyped however I do think that what we do with the collected data is overhyped. The term Big Data is still a much-discussed topic but nowadays I don’t see a lot being done with it while I think there is a huge potential.
- What professional experiences can you draw on to judge the Event Technology Awards?
In our venue, we work with in-house technology partners who offer us great solutions so I do know a bit from working with them. Besides that, I’m visiting and exhibiting at multiple, International events each year so I think I know what works and what doesn’t.
- What are you most looking forward to as an Event Technology Awards judge?
This is going to be my first ETA so I’m looking forward to a great evening of networking with Industry colleagues and celebrating with the winners.
- Name one app you cannot live without and why?
I’m not a person that uses a lot of apps but the ones I use I use them every day. It was difficult to mention just one so I would say; WhatsApp and Strava. The first app to communicate with colleagues, friends and family and the second app to track all my bike rides.
Entries are open now until May 31, the ETA salutes the achievements of companies designing and delivering solutions across the gamut of live events, from festivals to exhibitions, brand activations to conferences. CLICK HERE for the categories and register to enter.
The awards ceremony returns to Troxy on November 7, between the two days of Event Tech Live 2018.
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
