Programme

Meet Pragmatiko;

Mark Eddy

Mark Eddy is a founding partner at The Pragmatiko Partnership, specialising in simplifying complex challenges, unifying teams, and driving results. A respected figure in the exhibitions industry, he has deep expertise in commercial strategy, operational efficiency, and leadership.

With extensive experience leading internationally based, diverse teams, Mark fosters collaboration across cultures to drive growth and innovation. Previously Chief Commercial Officer at GES, he united global teams and delivered significant revenue growth.

His industry knowledge, leadership, and ability to align international teams make him a valued partner for businesses seeking strategic and commercial success.

Christine Martin

Christine has 20+ years of board-level leadership, including MD roles in UK publishing and events businesses. She excels in fast-moving industries, leading high-performing teams through market volatility and driving transformational growth. As a successful entrepreneur in her own right, she also understands the grit and grind of startup life, offering empathy and hard-won strategic insights to her founder clients. Immediately before launching Pragmatiko, she was Executive Director of Marketing & Customer Experience at GES EMEA, where she partnered with Mark to modernise the GTM strategy, optimise sales and marketing, and drive scalable revenue growth across multiple products, customer groups, and territories.

Analysis of current trends, challenges, and opportunities in the UK exhibition and events sector

Strategy is often misunderstood as a rigid plan or a series of goals. In reality, strategy is about making deliberate choices to position your business for success in a constantly changing environment. Without a clear strategy, efforts in growth and leadership lack direction and coherence

• Why Strategy Matters: A well-defined strategy sets the foundation for every decision a business makes. It clarifies priorities, aligns teams, and ensures resources are focused where they can deliver the greatest impact. Getting strategy right is crucial because it informs how organisations adapt to market changes and outpace competitors
• Introduction to 3 Strategic Frameworks (sources: Traction, How to win, No Bullsh*t Strategy)
• Interactive group work on applying a strategic framework to real-world business scenarios
• Reflection/discussion on aligning strategy with growth initiatives and leadership actions

• Setting goals: the three year plan for revenue + profit
• Deep dive into Ideal Customer Profiling and buyer personas to create scalable lead generation and drive conversion
• Introducing the ‘Pipeline Configurator’ to align sales and marketing teams and improve forecasting and cash flow models
• Group activity: Introduction to the '4 x 10' model for identifying marginal gains
• Reflection/discussion on tracking progress and sustaining growth

• Exploration of the link between authentic leadership and high performing teams 
• Communication, culture and clarity: building trust and belief
• Decision-making and delegation strategies for empowering teams
• Developing a 30-day leadership commitment for immediate impact
• Reflection/discussion on leadership challenges

• Current and future political landscapes impacting the exhibition industry.
• Strategies for proactive leadership in response to policy shifts
• Q&A/Discussion 

• Group reflection/discussion on key takeaways
• Setting personal and organisational action steps