In 2011 as a recent graduate, Garry Tyson applied and interviewed for a telemarketing role he spotted in a job centre. He was not offered the job straight away, but he kept calling.

Two weeks later, CloserStill Founder Phil Nelson called him back.

“He said, ‘Garry, I admire your tenacity. Can you start on Monday?’”

15 years later, Garry is still at CloserStill - and he is far from alone.

Across the CloserStill Group, more than 90 colleagues have spent over a decade with the business, or with brands that have since become part of it.

The number is impressive, yet the years behind it are even more so. They contain unexpected career turns, ambitious launches, international expansion and more than a few moments that nobody could have predicted on day one.

No two journeys have followed the same route, but one idea connects them all: staying here has never meant standing still.

Meet some of CloserStill’s 10+ Club:

	Alice Ibidunni | Marketing & Content Director | UK | 13 years What began as a temporary telemarketing role became a career spanning editorial, conference programming, content and marketing. Almost 13 years later, Alice leads teams across the European technology portfolio, shaping its continued growth.
	Andy Kiwanuka | Managing Director | Singapore | 14 years Andy arrived in Singapore as CloserStill’s only employee in Asia and built its regional presence from the ground up. Over 14 years, he has grown a one-person operation into a multi award-winning business with events in leading positions in their markets.
	Sandra Reis | Group Event Director | Germany | 13 years From Project Assistant to Group Event Director, Sandra’s career reflects the vast growth of Zukunft Personal itself. Today, she oversees the delivery of the entire portfolio, managing the teams responsible for bringing some of Germany’s top HR events to life.
	Garry Tyson | Event Director | UK | 15 years Within three months of joining telemarketing, Garry became the first colleague to progress into a sales role. Fifteen years later, he has played the key leadership role in the success of The Pharmacy Show while consistently encouraging and nurturing his team.
	Louise O’Connell | Senior Operations Manager | UK | 12 years With more than two decades of experience in exhibition operations, Lou has spent the past 12 years helping deliver some of CloserStill’s largest UK shows. Her expertise has shaped safer, stronger events, and continues to support the next generation of talent.
	Mark Britz | Conference Content & Programming Director | U.S. | 10 years A former teacher and learning and development leader, Mark has become a driving force behind The Learning Guild’s content and programming. Today, his expertise shapes major conferences, research and digital publishing, helping anticipate the ideas transforming workplace learning.
	Adrien Collilieux | Group Event Director | UK & France | 11 years Adrien joined CloserStill after leading the commercial direction of nine events across Asia, taking the opportunity to expand his expertise across every aspect of event delivery. He has been instrumental in the development of PharmagoraPlus, one of France’s most established pharmacy events, guiding its evolution through profound market change.

 

A Business Transformed

The early days some colleagues remember feel a world away from CloserStill today. Smaller teams, exceptionally long days and the inevitable messiness of building something from the ground up made it intense, but also brilliant. That entrepreneurial energy remains, but today it is backed by greater investment, international growth and a business operating on an entirely different scale.

Few stories capture that transformation better than Andy Kiwanuka’s beginnings in Asia. He moved to Singapore at the end of 2012, at a time when CloserStill had no footprint outside of Europe.

"It was literally just me getting out there and trying to build a business! By the end of 2013, there were only three of us: myself, one marketer and a salesperson" - Andy

Fast-forward to today and that three-person operation has grown into a team of more than 50, delivering the hugely successful Tech Week Singapore, launching Tech Week Shanghai, preparing to debut PTE Asia and soon expanding Data Centre World into new Asian markets.

"We had a vision of what we wanted to create, but I'd be lying to you if I said that we had any idea that it would grow to the size and scale it has done" - Andy

The change is visible not only in where CloserStill operates, but in how the work gets done. Tasks once completed manually by entire teams have been replaced by technology, automation and greater specialist support.

“Gone are the days when I’d be in the office at ten o’clock at night, stuffing a thousand envelopes with the team to get a floor plan mailed out to clients!” - Garry 

The definition of success has evolved too. Alice saw the business move beyond a focus on attracting the largest possible audience towards understanding who was attending and the value they brought. The expansion of CloserStill’s central data, digital and CRM teams made that shift possible. 

“It’s now a conversation about seniority, quality and value. And that really was a pivot” - Alice 

Growth is only one form of transformation. CloserStill’s events have also had to change with the industries they serve, and Adrien Collilieux has spent the past 11 years navigating exactly that challenge.

Across his time leading PharmagoraPlus, France’s pharmacy profession has faced rural closures, growing economic pressure and the merging of independent pharmacies into larger groups.

“It’s our job to give pharmacists the knowledge, expertise and tools to adapt to the market. You cannot simply reapply the same model every year. You have to keep reinventing it, and that has kept me motivated” - Adrien 

Adrien’s experience reflects one of the clearest themes across these careers: longevity is not about preserving what worked before but continuing to understand what is needed next.

 

Becoming Part of Something Bigger

Joining a larger business can open doors, but it can also raise difficult questions. What will change? Will the work still feel the same?

Sandra and Mark’s careers began at Zukunft Personal and The Learning Guild respectively, before  either became part of CloserStill. New systems and processes followed, but so did new colleagues, ideas and opportunities.

For Sandra, the answer to those early questions came quickly in her team’s first introduction to the wider Group.

“We were made to feel like we belonged right from the start. We were invited to visit Learning Technologies UK in London, and it showed us just how dynamic and agile the trade show organisation at CloserStill is” - Sandra 

Mark’s answer arrived at 5.30am one morning in Orlando.

He had been leading an early-morning running group during an event when Yancy Weinrich, President, North America, joined him. After the run, still in their workout clothes, they walked around a lagoon while Yancy asked how The Guild operated, why it made certain choices and what its community needed.

“It was clear that Yancy really wanted to learn the business. I thought at that moment, ‘this is respect’, and I’ve always since appreciated that” - Mark 

It was a small encounter, but it represented something bigger. Today, both Sandra and Mark describe the value of gaining the scale and connections of a larger Group while retaining the core qualities that first made their brands successful.

From Lou’s perspective, every new team adds another source of experience, contacts and ideas that can travel across the Group.

“It’s just one great big knowledge share. If something works really well at one show, we immediately tell each other and try it on the others. There’s no point in holding onto it" - Lou 

 

The Moments That Mattered

A milestone moment does not always arrive on a packed show floor. Sometimes it happens at your desk or behind the scenes in the organiser’s office, where success is measured by how smoothly everything runs.

One of Singapore’s earliest breakthroughs came from refusing to recreate what already existed in a saturated Cloud market.

“We brought a model that was unheard of in Southeast Asia: making the event free to attend for senior enterprise IT buyers. That was our big disruptor” - Andy 

That decision helped lay the foundations for the business that followed. Years later, the arrival of a Senior Minister of State to support Tech Week Singapore and deliver its opening address signalled how firmly the team had established itself within the country’s events industry.

That instinct to spot an opportunity ahead of the curve also shaped one of Mark’s proudest achievements. As AI began moving up the learning community’s agenda, he proposed the first AI for Learning Summit at DevLearn - nearly 200 people registered for the one-day event.

“I remember thinking, ‘I’ve captured the zeitgeist!’ By the time we launched it, it was the 100% the right move, and it really set the tone” - Mark 

Lou’s proudest milestone is less visible to attendees, but crucial to the successful delivery of her events. As CloserStill’s largest UK shows expanded, their existing build schedules were pushed to the limit. Lou championed the need for additional tenancy time, despite the complex negotiations involved.

Once secured, teams gained the time and space to build increasingly ambitious shows, creating an operational foundation that would support their growth for years to come.

“It completely changed everything about the biggest UK shows. It made the build so much safer and released so much pressure” - Lou 

Adrien’s proudest achievement was not the year PharmagoraPlus delivered its best-ever results. It came afterwards, when worsening economic conditions across France’s pharmacy sector caused the show to lose ground. Reversing that decline required Adrien and his team to rebuild momentum together.

“We turned it around, and that’s what I’m most proud of. It wasn’t just me; my team were on board throughout. It was difficult for them, but we did it - and that’s the best feeling ever” -  Adrien  

Defining moments also revealed themselves when years of work suddenly became visible all at once. In 2024, Sandra led Zukunft Personal Europe for the first time.

“As I walked through the still-empty halls shortly before the opening, I felt so proud of what we had created together” - Sandra 

Starting as Project Assistant 11 years earlier, the scene held far more than the achievement of delivering one event - it captured the scale of Sandra’s own progression and everything her team had built along the way.

When Alice and Garry reflected on what made them proudest, they looked beyond their own careers.

“It’s not just about where we’re going with our products - I’ve seen some truly amazing progression within the teams themselves” - Alice 

That progression reflects a culture where people are encouraged to stretch themselves, trusted with new responsibilities and supported as they take the next step. Alice and Garry both echo that success is seen not only in stronger products, but in the people now ready to lead them.

It’s become clear that the moments people remember are not just the biggest public successes. They are also the problems solved behind the scenes, the ideas given room to grow and the colleagues who became more capable and confident along the way.

 

What Has Stayed Consistent

Ask what has changed and the answers stretch from acquisitions to evolving industries. Ask what has stayed the same and every conversation returns to the same thing: CloserStill’s entrepreneurial spirit. The instinct to move quickly, back ideas and give people ownership has only grown alongside the business.

As Alice put it, "What hasn’t changed is change."

For Garry and Mark, that spirit comes down to personal ownership and the belief that ambition will be rewarded.

“You’re in charge of your own destiny. The more you put in, the more you’ll get out, and that is absolutely true at CloserStill” - Garry 

“People are willing to try something different. Nobody is afraid to put an idea out there, and the leadership want to listen” - Mark 

Lou describes the appetite for change as what keeps CloserStill unique. Her role may have remained rooted in Operations, but the work itself has never stayed the same. New shows, acquisitions and increasingly ambitious ideas continually create different challenges to solve, and one shared goal to aim for.

Across every event, she recalls seeing people in very different roles pull in the same direction, supporting one another and taking collective responsibility.

“The business is getting bigger, but I don’t think it has lost that ‘we’re all in it together’ feeling” - Lou 

 

So, what makes people stay?

There is no single answer, and that may be the point.

Thirteen years and countless show days later, Sandra still talks about events with the energy of someone discovering them for the first time. What has kept her is not familiarity, but the opposite: every edition brings a new set of challenges and possibilities.

“We can prepare everything down to the last detail, but the magic doesn’t begin until the doors open and everyone involved comes together. For me, that’s the special appeal of the trade show business” - Sandra 

Her anticipation has never worn off, and neither has the importance of the people around her. Sandra describes colleagues who step in when the pressure rises, find reasons to laugh on difficult days and celebrate together when the doors finally close.

That combination of great people and trust also anchors Lou. She has found a role that suits her, a team she loves working with and the autonomy to deliver. Even after 12 years, the cycle never feels repetitive.

“I think I’ve found the perfect spot for myself. The team I work with are brilliant, the shows are fun, and I’m trusted to get on and do my job” - Lou 

“It has always been the people. I’ve loved the people since day one. We’ve seen each other change our lives, get married and have children. I’ll always cherish those moments” - Adrien 

Adrien’s sense of connection to his team extends to his show. He describes leading PharmagoraPlus as an honour, bringing both responsibility and a strong sense of purpose. Staying has allowed Adrien to keep evolving an event he cares deeply about, alongside people who have become an important part of his life.

Garry arrived at CloserStill without a defined career plan and found a business where effort produced visible results. As his responsibilities grew, so did his sense of investment in the success of The Pharmacy Show and the people around it. He values a culture with little red tape, where people can be curious, speak openly and take charge of their own progression.

“If you ask questions, stay inquisitive and want to grow as the company grows, you can definitely succeed” - Garry 

Mark describes himself as an optimiser, always drawn to the problems that remain unsolved. Emerging trends, changing audience needs  and products with untapped potential continually give him something new to tackle.

“Every time, at every turn, there’s an opportunity to make something better. It’s not the same old, same old, where you put yourself on autopilot” - Mark 

That same pull towards reinvention runs through Alice’s career. Moving from telemarketing into editorial, conference programming, content and marketing, each transition opened up another route she had not originally imagined.

“CloserStill hasn’t stood still, and neither have I. We’re constantly looking on the horizon. That’s a pace I really love and need in my career” - Alice 

For Andy, the past 14 years have been defined by the ambitious people he has shared the journey with. Together, they have built brands, challenged expectations and continued to raise the bar for the industries they serve. Each success has strengthened the team’s belief in what they can achieve next.

“The opportunity to keep creating groundbreaking products and brands with fantastic people is really what’s driven me. I’ve seen a family growing together and evolving together in this business. And that's been by far one of the most exciting parts of my career here” - Andy 

 

A Message for Day One

More than a decade of experience has given each colleague a different piece of advice for the person they were on day one.

For Alice, three words perfectly capture the pace, spontaneity and excitement of everything that followed: "Hold on tight!"

Sandra would remind herself that even the best-prepared plan can change: "Stay calm, take a deep breath and find a solution. The show must go on."

Adrien remembers his early years at CloserStill as intense, unpredictable and among the most memorable of his career. He would tell his himself to: “Enjoy it and live it 100%. Be glad you’re putting in the hard work, because it pays off.”

Mark would be more forgiving of early mistakes. Things don’t always go the way you intended, but those around you will help put it right. His phrase, which he now shares with his own team, is: "Ain’t nobody gonna die."

Lou would tell herself that it is all right to enjoy the work and to be herself, while learning to pick the battles that genuinely matter. "If you  feel something needs to change, make sure it’s something you really believe in. Decide what you can control and what you don’t have to. It gives you back a bit of autonomy."

Garry would pull his younger self’s attention away from the future, and back to the day in front of him. “Focus on being the best possible version of yourself. Learn from your mistakes, don’t take yourself too seriously, hold your hands up when you get something wrong, and always be kind”.

Andy would encourage himself to believe in how far the vision can go, be patient, and enjoy the journey. “Keep learning and above all, surround yourself with talented people. Listen to the local market, and invest in relationships - in Asia, relationships are everything. Bring great people with you, give them the opportunity to grow, and together you’ll build something far greater than you could ever have imagined on day one.”

Looking back across seven very different careers, there may be no single formula for long service - yet each reflects a lasting passion for the industry, the people around them and evolving alongside the business.

And, more than a decade in, nobody speaks as though their story is finished.

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Have a CloserStill story to share? Contact Olivia at o.mezza@closerstillmedia.com