What I Learned When Building Relationships In Events

Now that Paris Air Show has wrapped up, it feels like the right time to reflect not just on the delivery of one of the biggest shows of the year, but also on the journey that’s brought me here. Working with Qatar Airways has been one of the most challenging and rewarding chapters in my career – one that reminded me that events are always, at their core, about relationships.

Creating, evolving, and maintaining those relationships has been my greatest lesson. And I’ve been lucky to have incredible mentors, clients, and colleagues teaching me along the way.

My first mentor, from a young age, was my dad. He shaped for me the importance of partnerships, trust, and growth. He always fostered an environment where I could dream big. Growing up around his gaming stores and being able to join in on the events we delivered gave me an early taste of what it means to bring people together – lessons that have played a key role in shaping the way I work today.

I joined 2Heads as an Account Executive seven years ago at just 21, fresh from leaving my first role in the marketing & events team with BBF. Before I joined, I was helping run the Bucks Business Awards, working with press, and supporting SMEs with business workshops and training sessions to grow their business. Although this grew my confidence, it wasn’t overly challenging. I craved something bigger and faster-paced. That’s when I got a call to join 2Heads, and I didn’t hesitate at the opportunity.

The company had just won the Rolls-Royce show programme, so I came in to support as AE on that, and within three months I had my own portfolio of clients. With the trust and support of leaders like Hayley Smith, and Faye Goldstraw, I learned quickly that belief in people accelerates growth. My first MIPCOM season instilled that: a last-minute pivot into managing Fremantle’s delivery showed me how a team can rally in the face of impossible challenges. One of my earliest memories was when the Cannes floods hit and, with just a day to turn things around before we opened, everyone pitched in – including the visiting studio teams. I remember delegating areas for completion: build this, lay that out, move this. A gentleman arrived, asking what he could do. I said, “Here is the furniture plan, please lay it out for me and uncover the wrapping,” which he did promptly. It was only at the end of the build that he introduced himself: “Hello, I’m Pepe,” the agency founder. That moment cemented for me everything I needed to know about 2Heads — that there was nothing more important than supporting each other.

The culture of trust and teamwork allowed me to balance clients in media; from Fremantle, Gaumont, Turner, and Red Arrow alongside those in aerospace with Rolls Royce, The Jet Business, and Flight Safety.

After a period of unexpected illness and then Covid hitting our industry, I was forced to pause. But this time away allowed me to broaden my experience as a partnerships manager, leading a growing department, and widening my knowledge in marketing strategy and business development. I had the opportunity to launch the accredited cookery school online for Pru Leith. I didn’t know the food industry, but I knew how to deliver an outcome – and that came from my events experience. I also very much enjoyed the filming days and all the food tasting at the end.

As we started to recover to normality, I missed the thrill of events, so I took a leap into the B2C realm with N2O, supporting the iconic Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour. This was a great campaign to be a part of, but the position didn’t give me much ownership due to the levels of stakeholders. Then, in 2022, I received a call from Paul Godwin: “We are bringing the team back. Do you want to come back as our Global Account Manager?” It was an easy yes.

Returning felt like I’d never been away, but I came back with a wealth of new exposure and outlook for our industry. I took the opportunity to work heavily across new business pitch work and was trusted to become the global programme manager for the CAE account – growing their global presence and leveraging our creative and commercial expertise to build a cost-efficient and scalable system. This strengthened our partnership with the client and allowed us to become a valuable extension of their in-house teams.

Over the years I grew into Senior Account Manager, expanding my portfolio within healthcare, gaming, and aviation with brands like Illumina, Playtech, Delasport, NetJets, and CAE. What carried me through wasn’t just developing my technical knowledge – learning about structures and site builds – but learning how to see the world through the client’s eyes. What do they want to experience? How can we articulate their ambitions through their brand experiences?

January 2024 came with the news of our successful win with Qatar Airways, and within a matter of days, we’d pulled together the Qatar team of experts who could understand the scale of requirements. Each division – commercial, executive, and cargo – brought unique challenges, different cultural contexts, and bold ambitions. Their brief has consistently been about becoming more progressive, and our role has been to help them define what that means. At PAS, this translated into creating an experience that was modern, inclusive, and forward-looking, while staying true to their identity as one of the world’s leading airlines.

PAS reminded me why I love this industry: the complexity of aligning stakeholders, the creativity in turning brand ambition into physical space, and the intensity of delivering under pressure. Most importantly, it reinforced the power of partnership. We succeeded because we invested the time to really understand Qatar Airways – not just their events, but their vision, their culture, and their story. Most importantly, we achieved this through the trust and belief as a team and our partnerships, accelerating the possibilities of our outcome.

So what’s next? The Middle East is becoming a hub for innovation, sport, and culture, and I’m excited to keep exploring how experiential marketing can shape new cities and industries. But my greatest learning and advice to the next generation remains timeless:

• Events are built on relationships. Strengthen those, and success follows.
• Don’t be afraid to bring fresh thinking and advance your generation’s ideas – new ways of thinking keep agencies moving forward.
• And trust the process – with the right people around you, even the hardest challenges can turn into your proudest moments.

About Bhav

Bhav has been a key stakeholder in some of our biggest projects to date at 2Heads, working with clients such as CAE, NetJets and Qatar Airways. With a wealth of experience in managing complex global activations, Bhav plays a pivotal role in bringing ambitious ideas to life.

Her sharp eye for detail ensures that every project not only meets expectations but exceeds them, delivering memorable experiences that resonate worldwide.