Could you tell us about your beginnings in the gaming industry, and your experience in Clarion Gaming?

My career path started in the exhibitions and trade show industry. I worked with several very well-known companies in the (non-gaming) industries that they covered but when I joined Clarion it very quickly became clear to me that I had found my niche, my home. While working with some really great people I had to learn quickly. As I did that I progressed in the company and that was largely down to the experiences I had and the help of valued colleagues who allowed me to share their knowledge and taught me the skill of making connections and forging relationships. In my time as Managing Director of Clarion Gaming I was both honoured and proud to see ICE in London become the number one gaming exhibition in the world.

2020 was a very challenging year for the whole world, due to Covid-19 pandemic. Can you tell us about Fulwood Media? How have you decided to start this new agency and what are the activities of the agency for the rest of the year?

As you already know, I left Clarion at the end of 2020 but one thing that I definitely did not leave was my love of the gaming industry, its people and the buzz on which the industry thrives. I decided that I wanted to use my knowledge, my skills, my contacts and those wonderful relationships in gaming to be able to focus directly on helping the industry to grow and be ever more successful. This, of course, was in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis and times throughout the gaming industry were, and still remain, extremely challenging. But my concept for Fulwood Media and what I have worked hard for the first half of 2021 to bring to reality, is an entirely new form of information channels specifically aimed at various sectors of the gaming industry: channels that will provide solutions to help reposition the industry towards better times and future growth. The first of those channels will be announced soon, in the next few months, and will mark the way forward for Fulwood Media.

What do you think will be the future trends towards the organization of events in the gaming industry? Will in-person and online events co-exist?

Exhibitions have frequently been correctly described as the ‘lifeblood of the gaming industry’ and so, yes, not only will in-person and online events co-exist, but they will also learn to co-operate, draw on each other’s strengths and build on their relationships to the greater advancement of gaming around the world.

What has been your experience as a leader in a sector that was mainly managed by men? Have you had to face many challenges?

I have faced, and overcome, many challenges in my career to date. I am certain that many more challenges are ahead, but the male/female dynamic comes far down the list. In gaming I have found that your gender is no barrier to success. And success is what really matters, no matter what the issue.

What are your main goals for the near future and how do you imagine 2022 for the world gaming sector?

In these troubled times we have all had to learn to be realistic. On every level, financial and human, the Covid pandemic has hit gaming hard. But we can, and we will recover. The only question right now is ‘When?’ The pandemic will be with us for a long time to come but we are already seeing signs of recovery, the green shoots of better times ahead. We have had to learn to adapt and, inevitably, that takes time. My primary goal for Fulwood Media is to be in a position to help speed the recovery process, to maximise gaming’s strengths and minimize the weakness that the last year and a half have so graphically demonstrated. I am confident of success and I am delighted to say that Fulwood Media has entered into a consultancy agreement with Clarion Gaming, a deal that I believe will help both parties in both the immediate and long term.

In conclusion I repeat that I love the gaming industry, I love the opportunities that exhibitions create for both the buyer and seller sides of the industry and as I continue to develop and soon reveal Fulwood Media’s ground-breaking information and communication channels I wish everyone in the industry, whatever their position, good luck for the future: into 2022 and far beyond.