Exclusive Q&A with NOWIE’s Cat Kevern

Cat Kevern is chair of NOWIE (Network of Women In Events) and last year founded her own agency, Electric Cat Productions. She is set to speak at IMEX Frankfurt this May.

Cat has more than nine years of experience in the live events scene. From festivals to sporting events, her knowledge and expertise span all areas of event operations, planning, and delivery. As director of Electric Cat Productions, she now specialises in in B2B marketing and events, running events for corporate clients in the tech sector including stakeholder and partner events throughout Europe. She also works with an immersive event company, running events for consumers and corporates. 

You’ve just launched the second year of NOWIE’s mentoring scheme, can you tell me more? 

NOWIE’s mentoring scheme, Level Up, is now in its second year. We pair women early to mid-career in the industry, with a mentor in a senior role with relevant experience. These pairings are tailored according to a mixture of factors, from area of work, specialisms, employment status and more.  

Level Up has really taken off and we’ve more than doubled the amount of participants compared to last year. One day I’d like to start a reverse mentoring program that sits alongside Level Up. Many event planners want to know how to engage with Gen Z, the simple answer is to speak with them and learn!  

I’ve been both a mentee and a mentor and have found both experiences invaluable. I’d go so far as to say that my career success to date is a result of what I’ve learned from the mentoring process. From small tweaks to bigger changes – they all make a significant impact. I’ve learned how to negotiate rates, know my worth, keep on top of the detail and approach a project holistically to decide whether it’s the right fit for me. Above all I’ve gained confidence and am enjoying the event prof journey – and that’s what it’s all about, right?  

There are definitely a few people within the industry who‘ve mentored and inspired me such as Clare Goodchild from We Organise Chaos – she’s extremely inspirational and delivers to incredible standards.   

What’s your advice for newcomers to the industry? 

My advice to anyone starting in the industry would be that networking and work ethic is everything. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, take initiative and don’t be shy when approaching co-workers. Most jobs will lead to more opportunities if you play your cards right. 

Aside from mentoring, how can senior event professionals train and engage their new talent?

• Give newcomers a safe space to learn by doing, take risks, take ownership of projects, make mistakes and learn from the whole experience. I think a lot of event profs learn by doing, so let people do the do!
• Encouraging junior team members to go to industry/educational events, attend webinars, have the time to research
• Share knowledge, tell the team about exciting opportunities or upcoming events near them, share your favourite resources (podcast, media outlets etc etc)
•  Give teams the voice and platform to offer improvements, ideas and suggestions. I’m a strong believer that if people enjoy their work, they’ll do well.

What are the current challenges facing event professionals at any level?

Delegates want more from live events and want them to be rewarding on many levels, both professionally and personally. Put simply, events have to worth the effort of travelling from home or the office to attend! 

As event professionals we have a laser focus on what the audience wants and we’re seeing increased demand for unique and remarkable experiences. As a result, we’re always on the lookout for inspiration and we learn from other events we attend, both in and out of work. For example, we recently ran a dine in the dark at a client event. The response was great – it was certainly an unusual and memorable way to round off a sales conference! We’re also excited to try new venues as they give our audience the chance to explore somewhere they won’t have been to before. 

You’re set to talk about women in events at IMEX Frankfurt this year – what’s the most pressing issue here? 

The one change I’d love to see in the industry would be more women in senior management roles. The same goes for diversity in line-ups and headliners – many events are starting to be more inclusive, but there’s still plenty of work to be done back of house and front of house. 

Cat Kevern is set to speak at IMEX Frankfurt 14 – 16 May. Full details of the speaker line-up will be revealed soon.

---

Sponsored Content