Face to Face
“Just own it! People get drawn to people with confidence …”
Wendy Holloway, CEO of ISUOG, the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, knew she wanted a career in events at the age of 12 …
JL Your route to association leadership came from the operations side of event planning. Was there a grand plan all along?
WH I have never consciously built my career, so to speak, but I knew what I wanted to do from the age of 12. My mother was a treasurer and vice president of an organisation called the Women's Travel Club (the Singapore Chapter), which was a global association of women who worked in the travel and travel-related profession, and often when she attended their conferences around the world, I was her ‘accompanying person’.
I went with her to all these parties in Singapore, at fancy hotels, with large attendance, and I just knew from those experiences and that time I wanted to be in events.
That said, I didn't choose my degree, which was in management and marketing, on that basis. I knew what I wanted to do, but I never consciously thought about how I would do it. After I graduated, spending all day relaxing on the sofa, my mother came to me one day and said, “Enough of this! I've got you an interview with Aunty Janet”. And that's how it all began …
JL Aunty Janet?
WH Janet Tan-Collis – co-founder of East West Executive Travellers Singapore. She was my first employer in events, my first ‘real’ job. Her company had gone into partnership with the now non-existent Congrex Holdings to open Congrex Singapore, and I was, from what I understand, their first employee. I straddled working both for East West and Congrex Singapore initially until Congrex Singapore got up and running properly. Oh, and just so you know, Janet wasn’t my real aunt, of course. Those reading this from Asia will know the term is a mark of respect.
JL What were you doing in Singapore?
WH I'm the product of a mixed marriage. My father, from England, born in Newcastle, ventured to Africa and Asia as a young engineer and met my mother in Kuala Lumpur. They got married, turned up in Singapore, realised they liked it, moved, and that's where my siblings and I were born and raised.
JL Tell me a bit about your early life …
WH I am the middle child, one of three with an older brother and younger sister. All three of us had what I call a ‘privileged’ upbringing in what was then (and probably still is now) a safe, open, respectful environment. I went to an amazing International School in Singapore, the United World College of South-East Asia, a school that follows the educational philosophy of Kurt Hahn. If you look up Hahn, you will see that his vision centred on bringing together young people from diverse backgrounds to foster understanding and collaboration, to promote peace and a sustainable future. The emphasis on giving back to the community (or otherwise) is central to my belief system.
JL So it gave you an early sense of civic-mindedness?
WH Absolutely, well, I’d like to think so. I did the International Baccalaureate, and one of the requirements is that you must do social services. I started to appreciate that there was more than just the four walls that I was protected within, with the drivers taking you to and from school, and the home help looking after you and cooking dinner.
Whilst lucky with all of that, it was important to open your eyes, to see that society was about much more than that, the other side of the coin, an alternate truth. Growing up, as kids, we saw so much of the world; my parents worked and travelled a lot, and my mother never travelled without us. We saw so much of the world. I had no clue at that young age that all of this would influence what I did in my life …
JL But it sounds as though it did …
WH It totally did … and with all these experiences, when I sit in my ISUOG ‘chair’ and I think about the initiatives that we're developing and delivering, trying to, for example, our Outreach programme, my focus consistently centres on the patients that we, directly or in-directly, ultimately serve. In the end, it is imperative to ensure whatever we're doing as a society is meaningful and is working towards our ultimate vision, to ensure every woman in the world has access to ultrasound and that every scan provider is competent. Ticking the boxes of ISUOG’s mission and vision is everything … I know, sounds cheesy, but I truly believe that.
"The work-culture, when I worked in Singapore, was very pressured … I worked around the clock, sleeping under my work desk for a couple of hours and then carrying on."
JL But you always wanted to be leader?
WH I think I’ve always had leadership thrust upon me! When I first joined Congrex Singapore, I was given the title director of sales and operations. I officially questioned this and was told I needed the title to get through the ‘doors’ to start selling and promoting the company. So, I found myself saddled with this very serious job title that I didn't quite understand, and with no training. Nevertheless, my parents were business owners, directors, and I'd seen them in these positions of leadership, and I was lucky they coached me offline and said, “Just own it, just go in and look like you know what you're talking about”. I’ve done this throughout my career. I do believe people are drawn to people with confidence …
JL But a lot of pressure for someone in their mid-Twenties?
WH It was. I was straddling sales and operations, trying to be all things to all people. Of course, there were other staff to support some of the operations, but ultimately, there was a huge responsibility layered on my shoulders and looking back, I was probably on the way to burning out early on in my career …
JL It got that far?
WH The work culture, when I worked in Singapore, was very pressured. I remember getting up to leave at the end of a workday and being asked, quite seriously, “Where do you think you are going, the boss hasn’t left yet?” I’d done my work; tomorrow was another day. There was even an occasion on one project where I worked around the clock, sleeping under my work desk for a couple of hours and then getting up and carrying on. Dedication or stupidity? My poor mother even came to hand me a pillow and an ironed shirt. Safe to say I’ve done it all!
Eventually, I resigned and moved to England, and to cut a long story short, Congrex recognised my value and organised for me to interview with Concorde Services, a UK-based PCO. I got the job, was there for eight years, thrived on working on all sorts of medical association events and loved it.
JL And by this point you were strictly operations?
WH Actually, no! On several occasions, I was brought to Concorde’s sales pitches, nerve-wrecking at the time as I didn’t see myself as a salesperson at all, frankly, thought I was terrible at it. However, on reflection later in life I wonder whether it was because I have always been passionate about my work and never entered a conversation to consciously sell anything, rather I talk about what I know, what we can do, what we can achieve together.…and before you know it someone is asking to buy something off me! Hilarious, really, but the lesson for me as I grew and expanded the depth and breadth of my career was only do what you really love and believe in, otherwise you’re only defrauding yourself.
JL But you were really getting to know events …
WH Yes, every nut and bolt. I travelled the globe to run events, and depending on the event or client, I took on a variety of roles. The stories I could tell. In the moment, the focus is on delivery; then as you progress, you realise your career has enjoyed such a diversity of experience and it is more than events, for example, planning, organising, managing people, managing crises, controlling, and of course, leading.
Most importantly, my career in events taught me about the importance of being solutions-focused, understanding the problem, outlining options, the feasibility of each option, how to communicate to get the right outcomes, etc. Events are all about people, so understanding relationships and how to manage these to achieve the end goal has always been a focus for me, even if it's just working out the best way to give a badge out at a registration desk, there is a lot to think about. Concorde Services, and the fabulous women who I worked with and looked up to, laid the groundwork and gave me the opportunity to employ all of these management skills, skills I didn’t know I had… until I did!
JL I think what people find daunting about the idea of the C-Suite, particularly CEO, is this idea that there's just too much to handle. But you obviously have had a career where that was second nature to you for quite a long time …
WH For many years, ISUOG’s activities have been centred around its flagship event, its World Congress. Our year is largely planned around the events cycle, and that has typically put a lot of pressure on teams to align their activities with the event. Historically, the ethos was that most staff would one way or another be involved in the Congress, so staff who struggled to adjust to that cyclical and event pressure on occasion didn’t last long at the society.
We’re evolving now, we’ve diversified our activities and have and continue to grow our staff base to address these realities. Of course, the current economic climate layers pressure on operational budgets, and ISUOG with its ambitious strategy and fundamental belief in quality, has to juggle rising costs, the right staffing levels, consider the market conditions to achieve maximum outcomes … doesn’t sound too different from an event, and we are constantly pivoting to try and get it ‘right’.
"Only do what you really love and believe in, otherwise you’re only defrauding yourself."
JL You became CEO of ISUOG in November last year, having been at the organisation for 15 years. What was top of your ~To Do list?
WH Everything! The future is exciting, and if I could wave a magic wand, I would, as there is so much to do, so much to achieve, so much to pick from; however, probably the most transformative of priorities we have forged ahead with is a systems improvement project. The ISUOG trustees have demonstrated how progressive and supportive they are by approving generous budget, an investment in overhauling our systems and key tools we use to deliver our operations – a new CRM and website are on the near horizon and whilst a huge amount of work for our staff teams, they are excited about the operational efficiencies this project will deliver and how it will support the scalability of how and what we deliver to our community.
Another important focus has been educating and re-energising the staff around the organisation's strategic plan and goals. In my new leadership position, I have taken a critical look with the Trustees and staff at our strategy, sense checking if it remains fit for purpose, and does the organisation structure directly supports the achievement of the goals we have set ourselves? It’s a work in progress; however, I now have the clarity I need to restructure areas of the business that require it, and I presented this to the Trustees in March.
JL Right. So, you're promoting from within?
WH ISUOG employs intelligent and good people, and I want to invest in them. I enjoy working with the team here at the society, and I believe in upskilling where appropriate. This approach has been a philosophy I have embraced throughout my career, to invest in the people you work with and do the best you can to make them the best they can be.
JL So your focus has been internal until now?
WH Yes, and right now, internal is where my focus is most needed. Early on in my transition into this leadership role, I had my doubts, seeing other CEOs on planes and trains constantly. In the end, the valuable leadership coaching I received put a lot of things in perspective for me and helped me to rationalise what the priorities at the Society were and are. The Trustees need me to steady the ship, the staff need me to set an example, to lead them and to focus on the infrastructural pillars that will ultimately make a difference in all we do.
JL How big a role do events play in terms of in terms of the revenue picture?
WH Our congress income, whilst mission critical and a decent slice of the income, is also a decent slice of the expenditure, too. I am sure other societies will have the same reflection - catering, audio visual, accommodation, social, transport – the costs are climbing all the time, and at ISUOG the congress must contribute to our surplus to fund our charitable activities that are non-revenue generating. The money must come from somewhere, and as negotiation becomes more challenging year-on-year, we must get creative or consider what we change to ensure the viability of the event we deliver. The congress isn’t the only event, we have education courses too, and these complement our income strategy, of course.
JL Your annual congress is in Mexico, in September. Are you seeing any impact from the new Trump administration on your events?
WH Where we're seeing the impact is in our sponsors and our exhibitors. Many are device manufacturers, and some export to the United States and may take a ‘hit’ so-to-speak. We’re keeping a close eye on the news … it’s early days. I am sure we will be impacted in some way, likely from an income perspective, we’re not sure about expenditure yet, but initial discussions imply not. It’s hard to predict currently what impact this will have on final attendance, but the feedback so far is that this could be one of the better-attended congresses we’ve ever had. We are keeping our ear to the ground to monitor what, if any other news or decisions might come that could impact us, but for now, we are full steam ahead to deliver a successful event.
JL And what’s your plan for the next five years?
WH Sky's the limit. I want so much for ISUOG, and whilst what you want now may be different in five years, ultimately I hope for a systems transformation that actually transforms how we work and what we do, positively; I want a happy and healthy staff, Trustees and volunteer community; I want our membership and community to have access to complete training opportunities online; I want to see our capacity development in outreach restructured and delivering programs in the most underserved regions of the world; I want to see our Journal scaling new heights in research and science; I want our events to provide a platform for excellent education, science and networking; I want to ensure as a Society we remain relevant to our community and that in the pursuit of doing this we do it deliberately, with passion, generously and meaningfully.
