XSEM, the brand engagement agency, has announced that it is significantly increase its capabilities in dedicated venue finding services with the appointment of an industry specialist.
The Leeds-headquartered agency, who has been delivering events and brand experiences for more than 20 years has named Kristy Hogan as its new head of venues. Hogan brings more than 20 years of years of event and specific venue finding experience from roles at Hotel Desk, Team Spirit and Black Book.
Hogan said: “I’m really pleased to be joining an agency that has a great collective energy and a natural determination to make partners, suppliers – and importantly own team – happy. There’s an amazing culture here that I’m ready to play my part in contributing to.”
She added: “My career path has crossed numerous times with XSEM and their professionalism is stand out. I’m really excited to be in a position to help grow the team’s capabilities in creative engagement solutions with some well-considered venue solutions of my own.”
Dan Bardgett, XSEM CEO, said Hogan’s appointment will now help the agency drive long-term plans to grow venue finding as a specific service. It comes off the back of increased demand from XSEM’s current clients. He said: “Kristy’s always been known in industry circles as the best of the best, so we’re thrilled to have her on board. Her contacts, relationships and knowledge in venue sourcing are second to none.
“She approaches her profession in a way that’s in keeping with the positive culture here at XSEM and we’re really excited to see the new levels Kristy will take us to when it comes to sourcing and managing specific event-led enquiries.”
The addition, and new service offering, comes quickly after XSEM’s prior announcement of their new pharma division, and a reshaping of its c-suite, with Caroline Medcalf joining co-founders Dan Bardgett (CEO) and Michael Gwilliam (CCO) as chief operations officer on the board.
Dan Bardgett added: “We’ve enjoyed consistent growth in recent years and that’s given us a solid platform to explore new opportunities. We want to make sure our team as well as our client partners have absolute clarity in XSEM’s direction and growth, where our current and future revenue opportunity lies and how our day-to-day performance and delivery sits against the standards we set ourselves.”
Bargett and Gwilliam started the agency originally as a dedicated sports event marketing agency. But since then, the organisation has evolved into a creative brand engagement agency executing for large scale clients in FMCG, retail and construction. Outside of pharma, it counts the likes of Co-op Wholesale, PPG and Arla as long-term partners.
