We create unforgettable live experiences

Melanie Smith CBE is the CEO of the NEC Group and joined the Group in September 2023.

With a wealth of leadership experience, previous roles have included CEO of Ocado.com, Strategy and Services Director for Marks & Spencer, Global Marketing and Strategy Director at Bupa, Chief Operating Officer at TalkTalk and Partner at McKinsey.

She is also the Deputy Chair of Sadler’s Wells and the Remuneration Committee Chair of SSE and is the founder of the Mokaraka Trust - an education charity that funds Māori women who are pursuing university studies in business.

Paul joined the NEC Group as CFO in October 2023, bringing with him significant experience of the UK and European entertainment and media sectors.

Prior to joining NEC Group, Paul spent 10 years at AEG, where he was European CFO responsible for their venue, ticketing, touring and festival businesses across the region. He has also held a range of senior finance roles in advertising and media at WPP plc and Dentsu. Paul qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC.

As Managing Director for conventions, Andy leads the conventions and conference division of the business based across ICC Birmingham, NEC Birmingham, and the Vox Conference Venue.

With over 30 years’ experience across the events industry, he has worked with exhibitions, conventions, conferences, music and sports content. Prior to joining the Group in 2024, previous roles have included Group Sales and Marketing Director at Stadium MK, Managing Director at the Ricoh Arena and Group Exhibitions Director for IIR Holdings (now Informa Middle East).

With over 20 years of experience, Ian has a wealth of knowledge in the events industry and leads the UK’s leading exhibition venue, the NEC.

He joined the NEC Group in 2014 as NEC Venue Sales Director and oversaw the commercial transformation of the exhibition business. By 2020, Ian had become Managing Director for Conventions and Exhibitions.

Prior to this he was Commercial Director for Marketing Birmingham (now West Midlands Growth Company) and Newcastle Gateshead, driving the cities’ visitor economies, and Head of Conference and Events at Emap.

Jen Mitchell joined the NEC Group in November 2024 and is responsible for both Utilita Arena Birmingham and bp pulse LIVE.

She has over 25 years of experience in the live events industry, working all over the world. From leading the teams at AO Arena Manchester and Leeds first direct Arena, to playing a key role in the 15th Doha Asian Games and F1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Jen is a charity trustee for Kings Place Music Foundation and also sits on the National Arenas Association steering group.

Paul joined the NEC Group in 2013. He is a commercial solicitor who has worked in and led in-house legal teams for the past 15 years and has significant experience across live events, sponsorship, and procurement. In addition to his role as General Counsel, Paul is the Group’s Company Secretary and also has responsibility for the Group’s Insurance portfolio.

Before joining the Group, Paul spent four years at Home Retail Group as Legal Counsel advising UK and Hong Kong based procurement teams for Argos, Homebase, and Habitat, and prior to that he was a solicitor in the corporate/commercial team at The Wilkes Partnership.

Vanessa joined the NEC Group in January 2024. She has extensive experience in driving business change in the FMCG industry, with previous roles as the UK HR Director at 2 Sisters Food Group and People Change Director at ABP.

Most recently, she founded her own business ‘Cultureology’. Aligning business culture to unlock engagement and productivity, she supports businesses to implement large people change programs.

Vanessa is also a qualified solicitor and was Head of Employment at Freeths, Birmingham and Partner at Shakespeares.

She sits as a board trustee for Unseen UK and Non-Executive Director of Impactt.