An Interview With ASN's Director of Sponsorship, Nitesh Patel

Tell me a little about your role at ASN Events. 

My current role is Director of Sponsorship, which mainly entails managing the Sponsorship Team, as well as working on certain conference sponsorship campaigns myself. I provide support and training for the Sponsorship Team and make sure they are happy and confident with their own campaigns and exhibitions.  

Did you always see yourself working in this area or was it a job of convenience at the time?  

From university I played cricket as my main profession. I’d done some event work and website work while in England. I initially came to Melbourne for a Summer to play cricket and travel. I knew Jim (Jim Fawcett, now Project Director at ASN Events) through the cricket club, and he introduced me to ASN. I came into the regional Balnarring office to assist with some tasks and, after a couple of weeks Mike asked me to stay on for the whole Summer and that’s where it all started. At the end of the 6 months, things were still going well and Mike offered to sponsor me to move out to Australia! So, I’d like to say everything I’ve learnt about conferencing has been while at ASN. It has been great to work my way from no experience in conferencing to leading the Sponsorship Team.  

You are originally from England, what motivated you to move to Australia? Was it always the plan to stay here long term, or did you start with a holiday like so many seem to?  

It was a working holiday and for playing cricket at North Balwyn Cricket Club (2013-2014). But no, I actually turned Mike down initially! After 6 months in Melbourne, I was going back to England to play professional cricket that Summer. However, I wasn’t really enjoying cricket back at home even though I was in a good position, so I reconsidered and called Mike to ask if the offer was still available, which it was. Circumstances changed and I realised Melbourne was where I wanted to be more long term, maybe not for the rest of my life (which is what it has turned out to be), but wanted to give it a try. And I’m still here! 

You got married last year!  

Yeah exactly, to an Aussie, so I’m settled here now. Back then, it was a big decision to pack up to move to the other side of the world. But I’ve found a great life here and I don’t regret the decision at all. 

We really enjoy having you as part of the team! What do you think is the most valuable or unique thing you bring to the office?   

The most valuable thing I think I bring is perspective, rationale and level-headedness. I may not be as vocal as everyone else, but I certainly listen hard and the advice I give I well received. I like to think that I am approachable for everyone at the company so they can talk to me at any time. I make a conscious effort to do that.  

What is your greatest Professional Achievement?  

I don’t think I can pick an individual conference as such, but my biggest achievement has been my continuous growth through the company – starting out from scratch with no understanding of the conferencing industry, being able to work well consistently, then being pushed into roles with more responsibility. I guess I’ve proven I can do well in those roles, which in turn has propelled me further, and quite quickly, which I have absolutely loved.  

You have had many different roles at the company, where would you like to see yourself next? What areas of your career do you want to expand upon?  

In terms of development, for me it’s now about developing the sponsorship team as a whole. I have a good knowledge base now so I want to upskill the rest of the team, helping them develop their professional careers individually and supporting them with anything they need. It’s important for me to make sure they progress as quickly as they can so that as a team we are firing on all cylinders and producing the best results for our clients.   

We are currently presented with some unique challenges to running events. What do you think will be the biggest challenges and learning experiences for our industry once we are back up and running events again?  

I think it’s fair to say the event industry will be changed forever. For conferences, which we specialise in, it is working out whether a hybrid model of face-to-face and virtual will be the best way to go, or will clients want to go completely virtual or back to completely face-to-face. Everyone is looking at ways to make that work for their clients. But it is so individual to the clients' needs that conferencing of the past is going to disappear, and it will be case-by-case specific. That will be challenging in many ways, but there will be a massive sense of achievement when we get it right. There is so much opportunity to grow in this industry as individuals and as a company which is really exciting. I’m looking forward to the challenge!