Tom HallLeading events industry publisher and event organiser Mash Media has announced the appointment of Graeme Barnett as chief operating officer of Mash Media, effective 1 April.
Barnett has been working in a consultant/advisory capacity on International Confex since October but has been increasingly focusing on the operational aspects across all segments of the publishing, exhibitions and events business.
“Graeme has made a real impact in his short time with us and has demonstrated a wide range of leadership skills which will be invaluable in helping develop Mash Media Group for the future,” said Mash Media MD Agostini, announcing the news. “Graeme is a highly professional operator with an ability to add value at both strategic and operational levels and is someone in whom we have great faith. “This is the first time that we have appointed a COO but we felt strongly that in order to take the business to another level, we needed a transformational leader that could help shape the business for the future and drive initiatives that would benefit not just our business but our customers. We have exciting opportunities to develop our business and Graeme will lead that development and we look forward some exciting times ahead.”
Barnett (pictured) added: “I am genuinely excited to taking on this newly created role where I can fully utilise my wide range of skills, knowledge and experiences gained at working in high profile roles across the industry for the last 25 years. The opportunity to work with Julian, Liz and the team for the last five months has given me access to every aspect of the business and I look forward to working with the Board and the team to inspire and lead the next phase and evolution of the Mash Media business.”
Barnett joined Mash Media Group as Consultant Advisor in October 2018, having spent 20 years at Reed Exhibitions where he became Senior Exhibition Director on ibtm world.
During his time at Reed, Barnett worked on high profile events such as World Travel Market, leading the event’s relocation to ExCeL London in 2002, moving to the ibtm events portfolio in 2006, launching events in Abu Dhabi and Beijing, as well as leading teams in North America and Mexico City.
Barnett lead Reed Travel Exhibitions flagship Meetings event ibtm world, Barcelona from 2010 – 2017 as well as joining the Reed Exhibitions UK Senior Leadership team in 2015.