Making a show of it

I arrive from my home in Hampstead Garden Suburb at my office in Earls Court by 8.15am. If it's dry, I come in by scooter - which is great for getting to appointments later in the day in London's West End. Otherwise, I use the car, but it takes much longer.

I check all my e-mails and respond immediately where possible, and then look through my electronic schedule so that I can prepare and plan for any meetings that day.

I then spend a bit of time on a thought for the day, concerning a specific issue or problem that may be taxing me, and with luck come up with a solution. By 9am, I'm ready for the day ahead.

My role is split in two - as chief executive of the conference venues at Earls Court and Olympia and as managing director of the event organising company, Clarion Events.

When we bought the business just over a year ago, we took on 770 staff, but immediately decided to focus on the two core businesses that we knew best and sell off the other elements. Among the departments that have since been sold are catering, now run by Beeton Rumford, and building maintenance, which Drake & Skull now operates.

I like to ensure that there is sufficient space between meetings and appointments for time to take a breath and think. If the diary is utterly congested, then everything becomes task-oriented and you don't move ahead.

I'm also very much into prioritising. Paperwork can cause huge levels of stress so I put it all into piles, with the least important furthest away from me. All journals, trade papers and daily newspapers are in another pile, and I read through those over lunch.

I like to keep the number of meetings to a minimum and the length of them short. Wherever I'm sitting in my office, I have sight of the clock and I make sure they don't run over time.

My priority as chief executive is to be accessible - I like anyone who wants to see me to have the opportunity to do so. Every two weeks, I host a lunch in my office at which eight members of staff from different departments provide feedback from the grass roots, particularly relating to people issues.

I also like to walk about as much as possible, observing and meeting people. When a show is on, I spend lunchtime in one of the high-street catering brands we've introduced - Soup Opera, Pràt à Manger or Costa Coffee - and chat to visitors, exhibitors or delegates and listen to their views about what we're doing. They just think I'm another visitor.

We're spending £60m over five years on improving facilities. Work has already been completed on new WCs and air-conditioning, as well as improvements to the arrivals experience in the foyer.

If I haven't got an industry dinner, then I try to get back home to eat with my wife Jennifer and three children, Amy, Sophie and Ben, by 7.30pm. Sitting down with the family every day is very important to me.

Interview by Janet Harmer