Here’s the confirmed lineup of people and companies for our Monetising B2B conference in London on 20 May.
Industry leaders across events, information and data will be sharing their experiences, strategies and ambitions with delegates, armed with our exclusive eBook of case studies. It will be a uniquely stimulating Flashes & Flames day of learning, networking, debate and creativity for B2B executives.
We’ve grouped our program of interviews and panel discussions under the following six headings, not in the order of the day’s schedule:
Transformation
How RELX transformed the largest B2B publisher into a global data business
Interview: Mark Kelsey, CEO, of Lexis-Nexis Risk Solutions, joined what is now RELX more than 40 years ago. The parent company now has a market value of some £80bn. Kelsey’s division is the largest and fastest growing in RELX, accounting for more than 35% of total revenue. It does business with 92% of the Fortune 100; 84% of the Fortune 500; nine of the world’s top 10 banks and 21 of the world’s top 25 insurers. Its LexisNexis Digital Identity Network analyses more than 300mn transactions daily and more than 100bn transactions annually. The world-class business is the result of a 13-year journey that began with the divestment and closure of more than 150 B2B magazines in the US and UK and the £343mn acquisition of the US-based Accuity payments data service (which absorbed the long-established print directory Bankers Almanac). It was expanded in 2018 with the £580mn purchase of the ThreatMatrix digital identity network. It’s a dramatic transformation of a business that had been a longterm market leader in B2B print and has since become a pacesetter in data and analytics – under the same CEO. What are the lessons learned and standout achievements? How does he see the future opportunities and threats for B2B information and media?
How William Reed morphed from a UK, print-centric B2B
Interview: Charles Reed and Tracy De Groose, respectively chair and CEO of William Reed Group. The 163-year-old, £80mn-revenue, family-owned company was long best known for The Grocer flagship magazine, but it has diversified into international events and information services. Its £82mn revenue in 2024 was some 50% up in five years, propelled by events (64% of the total) and digital (24%). Its remaining print magazine, The Grocer (which in 2018 had generated 11% of total revenue) was half that (but still soundly profitable) in 2024. The company’s c50% of revenue from outside the UK has been boosted by the stunning success of ‘The World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ global awards. How did the veteran B2B publisher achieve the momentous shift from predominantly print magazines in the UK to, primarily, events and digital worldwide? What comes next?
Evolution
How (and why) exhibitions, conferences and other B2B events are changing
Events Panel Discussion: Philip Soar (Chair, CloserStill Media and Nineteen Group), Lisa Hannant (CEO, Clarion Events), Greg Hitchen (CEO, Terrapinn), and Paul Miller (CEO, Questex) together account for some £1bn of events revenue. Trade shows have rebounded (almost everywhere) from the pandemic paralysis. Now the challenges for traditional exhibitions may include the growth of new formats like festivals, One2One meetings, conferences and data services. Are they threats or merely opportunities for industry leaders? Who (and what) will be the event winners in, say, five years?
Data and tech
AI: the practical (and profitable) opportunities
AI Panel Discussion: moderated by Paul Hood (digital media specialist, Flashes & Flames contributor and former executive of News Corp and Dennis), with Adriana Whiteley, Director, FT Strategies, and Amir Malik, managing director, Alvarez & Marsal and formerly in digital transformation roles for Accenture, Daily Mail Group and Trinity Mirror. How can AI be directly profitable – even for medium-scale B2B information and events companies? What are the vital strategies for companies large and small?
How proprietary data can transform B2B values
Data Panel Discussion: Neil Bradford (CEO-founder, General Index), Charlie Kerr(CEO, With Intelligence), Mariana Valle (CEO Insurance Insider), and Leon Saunders Calvert (president, Economist Intelligence). Moderator: Rory Brown (Chair, Realfin and former CEO-co-founder, Agribriefing). The panel discussions about the soaring importance (and value) of proprietary data are likely to include: General Index’s launch as a challenger Price Reporting Agency, the value creation plans of the pe-owned Insurance Insider, With Intelligence’s classic story of layering data services onto what was previously an ads-supported media business (perhaps building another Preqin?), and the data growth strategies of Economist Intelligence whose £50mn revenue – from the Economist Intelligence Unit, Corporate Network, and Clearstate – help clients to navigate the political, financial and policy risks, and business opportunities.
Seizing the moment
The Accidental Entrepreneur
Interview: Mark Allen, Founder-Chair, Mark Allen Group (MAG).The former journalist, who had once been tempted to pursue a career in social work, became an entrepreneur almost by accident, when his employer closed the healthcare B2B magazines he had been hired to manage. The magazines became his severance payment. Forty years later, the family-owned MAG is a £70mn-revenue company immersed in information, events and (still) print magazines. How did he do it? What are the lessons? What comes next?
Digitalisation
The 21st century lessons of B2B information and events
Interview: Hugh Jones, CEO of the £1.3bn-revenue RX (formerly Reed Exhibitions) and former CEO of Accuity Inc (acquired by RELX for £343mn in 2011), and Global Managing Director of Reed Business Analytics. What are his lessons learned about managing information and events companies in the 21st century? What digital learnings has he brought to the events market and with what results?
New opportunities
‘How we became ‘TripAdvisor’ for scientists
Interview: Kerry Parker, CEO of the UK-based SelectScience with an audience of more than 3mn scientists who share product reviews and resouirces with their worldwide peers. It has been compared to ‘Trip Advisor’. How does the £10mn-revenue company make it all work and could it work in other markets? What’s special about the process?
‘How my M&A curiosity became a member-based information business’
Interview: William Jefferson Black, chair and co-founder of Transaction Advisers Institute, who switched from being a consultant to creating a membership organisation for deal-makers and their teams. Is this training and consulting service a role model for others? What are TAI’s 10 do’s and don’ts for M&A dealmaking?
How The Business of Fashion upstaged the legends
Interview: Nick Blunden, president of the 11-year-old, £20mn-revenue The Business of Fashion in which the Financial Times is an investor. How did BoF upstage the likes of longtime trade journal Drapers and even Vogue to become, arguably, the ‘Bloomberg of fashion’? What’s the strategy now? What was different about the BoF approach to a B2B sector?
What’s so special about Cannes Lions?
Interview: Philip Thomas, Executive Chair of Informa Festivals whose portfolio also includes Money 20/20, GDC and London TechWeek, a division of the £3.5bn Informa Plc, one of the world’s largest business and professional media groups. What’s the ‘secret sauce’ of Cannes Lions, the multi-channel annual event and marketing services which in 2024 generated revenue of some £140mn. Can the model of an advertising-marketing-tech festival in Cannes be applied in other places and markets?
Book now…
The maximum capacity for Monetising B2B is just 200. To ensure you do not miss out on the B2B event of the year, you are advised to book soon, via the following link, either for individual bookings or corporate discounts for group bookings.
Please note that the EarlyBird 14% discount will be available only until 20 February.
“Monetising B2B Information and Events” is presented by Flashes & Flames, on Tuesday 20 May 2025 at Stationers’ Hall, Ave Maria Lane, London EC4M 7DD. Confirmed speakers include: Mark Kelsey, CEO, RELX Risk; Philip Thomas, Chair, Informa Festivals; Leon Saunders Calvert, President, Economist Intelligence; Kerry Parker, CEO, SelectScience; Mariana Valle, CEO, Insurance Insider; Charlie Kerr, CEO, With Intelligence; Rory Brown, Chair, Realfin, co-founder, AgriBriefing; Tracy De Groose, CEO, William Reed; Hugh Jones, CEO, RX (Reed Exhibitions); Charles Reed, Chair, William Reed; Paul Miller, CEO, Questex; Philip Soar, Chair, CloserStill Media, Nineteen Group; Neil Bradford, CEO-founder, General Index; Mark Allen, Founder, Mark Allen Group; Greg Hitchen, CEO, Terrapinn; Adriana Whiteley, Director, FT Strategies; William Jefferson Black, co-founder, Transaction Advisors Institute; Paul Hood, digital media consultant; Lisa Hannant, CEO, Clarion Events; Natasha Christie-Miller, Chair, Sifted, Advisor, The Economist and Senior Advisor, TED Conferences; Amir Malik, managing director, Alvarez & Marsal; and Nick Blunden, President, Business of Fashion.
For information on the commercial opportunities, group booking rates and sponsorship options of Monetising B2B, please contact: colin@flashesandflames.com
