RX wins big for events, culture, and talent

Our events teams and talent have been on fire in the first half of 2024, scooping up awards for sustainability, digital innovation, diversity & inclusion, company culture, sales, organisation, and more! Read on to find out who has been racking up the honours, and why we are so proud of them.

No. 1 for sustainability, innovation and event organisation

Every year in the UK, the AEO Excellence Awards celebrate the top achievements in the events industry. So, RX was thrilled to win three major awards at the 2024 ceremony in London on June 14, for ‘Best Sustainability Initiative,’ ‘Technology Innovation,’ and ‘Organiser Team of the Year.’

RX was singled out for the Sustainability award for making significant progress on our journey to Net Zero by 2040, including initiatives such as our Global Sustainability Council, Roadmap to Net Zero, carbon footprint measurement tools, RX Sustainability Playbook, Sustainable Stand Awards, and customer and contractor engagement. Reflecting on RX’s win, a delighted Helen Sheppard , Global Sustainability Director, said: “Every day I am inspired by the people I work with – their engagement, creativity, adaptability, and determination to make lasting, positive change for our industry and planet. This award is a tribute to them all.”

MCM Comic-Con claimed the ‘Technology Innovation’ award for its ‘Treasure Hunt’ initiative which innovated MCM’s existing mobile app technology to gamify the attendee experience with an onsite scavenger hunt using QR codes, attendee badge activation and an in-app scanner. And to round off a magical night for RX, ReedPop were awarded ‘Organiser Team of the Year’ for their commitment to visitor engagement on a personal level; work with charities such as Make-A-Wish or Hope and Homes for Children; their leadership’s commitment to career development for the team; and the collaborative culture at ReedPop.

JCK wins first BIJC ‘Shining Together’ Award

The JCK Las Vegas team started 2024 as winners of the first ever ‘Black in Jewelry Coalition (BIJC) "Shining Together" Award for their uplifting and inclusive initiatives in the jewelry industry. The BIJC was founded three years ago, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, to promote greater representation for Black professionals within the jewelry industry. JCK’s continuous support of BIJC has been transformative, BIJC said.

“By shining a spotlight on Black gem and jewelry professionals and their work, JCK Las Vegas has helped to create a more inclusive and diverse industry that celebrates the contributions of all gem and jewelry professionals, regardless of their background,” explained Adrianne Sanago, a JIJC Founder. “We hope to see such initiatives more in the future that promote equality and inclusivity in all industries. JCK has set an amazing example and blazed an important trail!” 

Emerging designers within The Black in Jewelry Coalition (BIJC) were once again featured in the Design Collective at JCK Las Vegas 2024, May 31st – June 3rd, where grant funding from the JCK Industry Fund provided attendees with an opportunity to connect with six Black-owned brands exhibiting jewelry and loose gemstones.

ROAR of approval for Team Africa

RX Africa was thrilled to sweep up an incredible eight awards at the prestigious ROAR Awards ceremony, hosted by the AAXO - Association of African Exhibition Organisers in Midrand on 29 February. It was the most for any single organisation and confirmed their commitment to excellence in event organising across Africa. The awards included four of the evening biggest accolades: Best Trade Exhibitions under and over 6000m2, for Decorex Cape Town and Joburg respectively; Best Consumer Show for Comic Con Africa; and Best Launch for Comic Con Cape Town. RX Africa was also recognised for their top-notch Digital, PR, and social media campaigns. Way to go!

RX comes top for inclusion and diversity

At RX, inclusion and diversity are central to our mission and values. So it was with great pride and delight that we accepted the Diversity and Inclusion Award at the 2024 Exhibition News awards for our efforts to improve accessibility at RX events, amongst other inclusive initiatives.

“We’ve spent the past few years building a strong foundation of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at RX, supported by our Executive Leadership Team, and are now entering a new phase of our DEI&B strategy, which is directly impacting our customers and the communities we serve,” reflected Raymond Rhodes , Head of Inclusion & Diversity at RX.

“Many RX events are setting new standards for accessibility and inclusive content” he added. “Last month, we released our Guide to Inclusive Events at RX, which showcases the outstanding DEIB programming in place at our shows and serve as inspiration for our events teams across the globe. These rich insights will inform and advance our accessibility and inclusion strategies for our events in the future.”

Kim Sillo blazes a trail for talent

Every year in the US, Trade Show Executive (TSE) announce the TSE Trailblazers of 2024, highlighting rising talent in the trade show industry. Among this year’s winners in May was Kim Sillo, Marketing Director for our ISC Security events.

The Trailblazers program was launched in 2018 to recognize up-and-comers who are on their way to becoming the future leaders and executives in the trade show industry. Judging criteria include demonstrable excellence in trade show management, innovative contributions and problem-solving. This year, TSE received more nominations for the program than ever before, making Kim’s achievement all the more impressive!

A delighted Kim said: “It was an absolute honour to be recognized as a TSE Trailblazer of 2024 alongside other rising talent in the industry. This award is a source of immense pride and gratitude, and it inspires me to reach even greater heights in the future!”

RX is Best Company for Global Culture, Leadership and Sales

For the third consecutive year RX has been recognised by Comparably as having one of the best global company cultures and leadership teams. We are also delighted to have received our first award for best sales team in March.

Commenting on the accolades, RX CEO Hugh Jones said: “It is our people that define our culture, and these awards are testament to their leadership skills and their dedication in making RX a place where everyone can be authentic, belong and thrive. It is also wonderful to see our talented Sales teams’ camaraderie and commitment to delivering value to our customers recognised.”

Comparably is a leading workplace culture and brand reputation platform that collects feedback and ratings from current employees, based on a series of more than 50 comprehensive workplace questions covering Leadership, Professional Development, Compensation, Work-Life Balance and more.    

Emma Riley - Diversity Hero and Role Model

A collective cheer went up around RX on 20th March when Emma Riley was named ‘Hero of the Year’ at the British Diversity Awards for her campaigning efforts. Thrown out of the Royal Navy in 1993 for being gay, Emma Riley took the UK to the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the decision and helped change the UK law in 2000 to allow gay people to serve in the military.

Today, Emma uses her story to inspire others to stand up as role models, allies, and to show one person can make a difference – including at RX where, as Programme, Governance and Operations Manager, she uses her RX Cares hours to volunteer for Diversity Role Models whose mission is ‘to promote understanding and acceptance of individual differences and end LGBTQ+ bullying in schools.’ Since being named Diversity Hero the Year, Emma has also been featured in the DIVA Magazine Power List 2024 as a gamechanger who is blazing a trail for LGBTQIA women and non-binary people.

PGA Show and Aluminium lead the pack for growth

Seven RX events were honoured in Trade Show Executive's Fastest 50 Awards 2024, which recognise the US events with the fastest growth rates by number of exhibitors, attendees and overall size.

The winners were revealed at the TSE Fastest 50 Awards and Summit in Las Vegas, which culminated in the prestigious Fastest 50 Grand Awards gala on 9 May.

Among them were PGA Show and Aluminium who took home the evening’s top honour - a coveted ‘Fastest 50 Grand Award’ for leading the pack in their specific growth categories in 2023. Other RX events recognised for outstanding growth were Bar Convent Brooklyn, ITS America, Interphex, Vision Expo East and ISC West.

Matt Stratford honoured for digital innovation

One of the awards we value most at RX is the RELX Innovation Honour Roll, awarded each year by our parent company to individuals who have pushed at the boundaries of innovation to benefit our business and our customers.

This year, our very own Matt Stratford , Product Management Director, was honoured for leading the team behind Colleqt QR, a QR code-based solution that allows trade show visitors to collect exhibitor contact details and brochures using their phone’s native camera and mobile web browser. Colleqt QR works by first scanning the visitor's badge to authenticate them and then prompting them to scan QR codes on exhibitors' stands to collect exhibitor contact details and brochures. Colleqt QR also brings value to exhibitors who are passed the details of visitors who scanned their QR codes, creating up to 30%  more leads, as well as saving cost and waste from the production of printed brochures and handouts. Colleqt QR was piloted in 2023 at 11 RX events with a strong positive response and is now being rolled out to the rest of the business.