The AEO Partnership Summit was created to give private organisers the tools they need to get their businesses in the best shape and fit for the future, exploring how event businesses are balancing risk, leveraging partnerships, and adapting their models to drive sustainable returns in a shifting market
Risk, return & reinvention
Location: Olympia London
Date & time: Wednesday 22nd April - 12:00pm - 5:05pm
Audience: Members of the private independent equity (PIE) and UK and international organiser focus groups (invite only)
Cost: Attendance to the summit is a complimentary member benefit.
Speakers from:
Welcome from AEO & Olympia
Human connection in a digital era: The new trust economy of events
1:00pm - 1:20pm
As audiences spend more time in digital environments and AI reshapes how content is produced, organisations face a growing challenge of how to build genuine trust at scale. Emerging research from Cvent highlights a clear shift, showing that while digital engagement continues to rise, face-to-face experiences remain one of the most trusted ways to build relationships, credibility, and long-term loyalty. In this session, Cvent’s Marketing Director for Europe, Felicia Asiedu, will share insights from their latest research on trust and audience expectations, and explain how organisers can design events that prioritise meaningful human interaction while also delivering measurable business value.
Ditch the clipboard: The business case for digital rebooking
1:20pm - 1:40pm
This session will outline the business case for modernising your revenue strategy. It will show how manual workflows create hidden costs through double bookings, errors, and heavy post-show administration.
The session will also explore how CRM-integrated digital systems perform under show floor pressure, and how real-time stand locking protects inventory. In addition, it will explain how embedding sponsorship and upsell opportunities into the contracting process helps capture more value during the critical 48 to 72-hour window.
Ultimately, it will demonstrate how even small improvements in booking rates, driven by a more structured and streamlined approach, can deliver meaningful growth.
Moving the needle on value: How to improve your core KPIs and scale faster
1:40pm - 2:10pm
This will be a practical, data-led session featuring Andy White and Pauline Coulter. They will use the latest findings from Collingwood Advisory’s Events Benchmarking Report to showcase how organisers can improve quality of earnings and revenue per head. This data will be paired with real-world client case studies to make the insights tangible for independent organisers in attendance.
Refreshment break
Will the way you run your business serve you moving forward? AI, quality and the future of events
3:30pm - 3:50pm
This session challenges how event businesses think about growth, productivity and the role of AI, built around a central question: as AI tools become widely accessible, will the habits that got you here still take you forward.
Drawing on real patterns observed across the events sector and aligning with the day’s themes of research and industry direction, it offers an honest look at current habits. It shows how the default of volume, speed, and pressure is likely to be amplified rather than solved by AI.
It also reframes success by highlighting that organisations will stand out by using AI to produce better work, rather than simply more of it. Finally, it provides a practical starting point by outlining what must be in place for AI to deliver real value, including clear direction, proper learning, and a strong culture of quality.
Refreshment break
SASIE and current industry report
