Entering the events/leisure sector in the mid nineties via technical sales and project management roles, a directorship to safety/ops specialists SMS Group in 2006 extended Lee’s knowledge and competency within the wider operations arena.
Now, as a full member of the Institute of Operations Management and a Technician member of IOSH with degree level exams in health and safety under his belt, he is retained by the three principle exhibition industry trade associations (for organisers, venues and supply chain businesses) and is also contracted to ops projects by other event businesses that value his technical knowledge and commercial background.
Lee’s work involves him in an unusually broad range of operational management areas. His role for ESSA, AEV and AEO enables him to attend industry conferences, AGM’s and board meetings, keeping him in the thick of key industry activity and from time to time enabling him to contribute thoughts and solutions. He helps facilitate official industry working groups for Health and Safety, Sustainability, Operations, Security and Food and Catering and within this remit has acquired a good understanding of each area, establishing relationships with key bodies including the HSE (Health and Safety Executive), SAGE (Safety Advisor's Group in Entertainment, the UK's largest specialist Safety group in Events), WRAP (the Waste and Recycling Action Programme), BRE (Building Research Establishment), NaCSTO (National Counter Terrorism Security Office), and the SIA (Security Industry Authority).
Lee coordinated one of the industry’s first successful certifications to BS8901 in 2008 and has since contributed to the BSI committee migrating the sustainability British Standard to an ISO, ready for 2012. Lee has had articles on health, safety, sustainability and operational efficiency published in StandOut, Exhibition Bulletin, Exhibition News, Association Management and, in July 2011 in the Guardian national newspaper.
