Our People

An Interview with Yancy Weinrich, President of North America

An Interview with Yancy Weinrich, President of North America

Tell us about your background?

I started at Reed exhibitions 18 years ago. I started out in Sales on the jewelry portfolio, and prior to joining Reed, I was actually an Exhibitor at one of the Reed jewelry shows.  With that background as an exhibitor, I like to believe that I am able to look through the customer lens when developing strategy and problem solving.  During my time at Reed, I evolved to take on more shows including the golf portfolio, then the optical portfolio, and from there I was promoted to Chief Growth Officer where I oversaw all 40 b2b events. During the pandemic, we reduced that number of events, leaving me with 25 to oversee – I was ultimately responsible for the strategy, structure, delivery, sales, marketing, and digital, to get us through the pandemic . . .so much fun and what a learning experience!

I came to CloserStill in May of this year, and felt thrilled to be here. When I first started talking to CloserStill, I must be honest, I didn't really know who they were! The more I got to know about the people and the company, it became more and more intriguing. I could see that CloserStill has a really good reputation and I liked where the business was going as far as their growth plans. The company had some great qualities, in that it was agile, with a deep-rooted passion for pushing the business where they want it to go. I see it as being part of a company that has the best of both worlds – embracing new people and new ideas, as well as maintaining a strong foundation built from the founders and many folks, who have been here since the beginning. 

 

What makes you passionate about the Events Industry?

Great question - I love it! I've been saying this for years, you could ask anyone I worked with, I love helping small businesses build and grow their business. I've seen small 100 square feet stands on our show floor, go to 2,000 square feet because they've grown their business based on what we've provided at our events. It is great to bring buyers and sellers together - I guess I am a bit of an entrepreneur at heart. Being able to help small businesses grow their businesses on the backs of what we provide at our events, is what gets me up every day.

I also, of course, love the people. I think people that are in the events business are passionate, hard-working, we have a lot of fun, and we are problem-solvers. I also enjoy working all year long to see an event come to life! When we deliver a really great event one year, and have to challenge ourselves for the next year, and say, how are we going to do better next year? I believe we should always challenge ourselves to get better and better for our customers. For me, this industry, really suits my personality.

 

What made you want to be a part of CloserStill?

I feel like CloserStill has so much opportunity, because their shows are still relatively small compared to a big organizer, and they are in strong, growing industries.  I feel like here we can really deliver on ROI for our customers.  I like the model of content and exhibits on the showfloor itself, and I love a good challenge. When Gareth said, ‘we're trying to double our business in the US over the next couple of years’, I thought that sounded like a really great challenge that I could get my arms around. 

 

Tell us something interesting about yourself or what you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside of work, I work out, I play a lot of golf whenever I can, I swim, I read, and I have a daughter, who I love to spend time with!

 

What are you excited for in the coming year at CloserStill?

I'm excited to see the US business grow, both from the current US portfolio and through acquisition. I think it's going to create opportunities for people to open up their career journeys. As we develop our US business, it gives people an opportunity to move into different jobs and learn - so I'm really excited to see how that all comes together. I'm also excited to bring new people into the business and deliver for our customers. I believe that we have a lot of opportunity in the US thanks to a good foundation being laid before the pandemic. The pandemic slowed us down a bit, but I'm looking forward to seeing those seeds that we’re planted before my arrival, grow!

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