Name: Transforming live events: Freeman CEO Bob Priest-Heck
Uploaded: 2024-08-01T10:04:18.051Z
Duration: 637.81

Pod1 v2.mp4

Pod1.vtt

english

{{00:00:06}}
Danica Tormohlen: You
announced your retirement.

{{00:00:08}}
I think a lot of people know,  last
November and I'm kind of curious, you

{{00:00:13}}
know, what have you been doing since then
to prepare your team for your departure?

{{00:00:19}}
You know, you've been there for 15
years and you've served as CEO since

{{00:00:24}}
2018 and also the 1st non family
member to leave the company and only

{{00:00:29}}
it's 4th CEO and it's 97 year history.

{{00:00:32}}
So.

{{00:00:33}}
What have you been doing since last
November to get your team ready?

{{00:00:37}}
Bob Priest-Heck: Yeah, well, so first
of all, Janet Dell, who's taking over

{{00:00:43}}
as CEO in a couple of weeks is awesome.

{{00:00:46}}
And,  she's going to be moving
from the president to CEO position

{{00:00:52}}
and she, she's really wonderful.

{{00:00:54}}
So, if you don't know her,
you'll, you'll get to know her.

{{00:00:57}}
She's really strong leader, and she shares
the same value system that I have that

{{00:01:04}}
I also shared with the Freeman family.

{{00:01:06}}
So,  the continuity should feel very good.

{{00:01:09}}
And I would say that Freeman has
always had a very disciplined

{{00:01:13}}
approach to succession planning.

{{00:01:15}}
So, in fact, we have our board
meeting coming  our summer

{{00:01:18}}
board meeting next month.

{{00:01:20}}
And it's always an agenda item where we
look very intentionally at succession.

{{00:01:26}}
You know, you have a company that's
almost a hundred years old and we have

{{00:01:29}}
a huge responsibility to our people
and to our clients that we always think

{{00:01:34}}
about the leadership of the business.

{{00:01:36}}
And, you know, I think of it.

{{00:01:39}}
You know, in this, in the job at
Freeman, I think of it as not only being

{{00:01:42}}
responsible for our own company, but
having a strong voice in the industry and

{{00:01:46}}
having a perspective and a point of view.

{{00:01:48}}
And so we always think about that.

{{00:01:51}}
We think about succession planning.

{{00:01:54}}
I've been on the road quite a bit in
the last 6 months with Janet, making

{{00:01:57}}
sure that she's introduced all the right
people,   we've built an incredible

{{00:02:03}}
executive committee around Janet.

{{00:02:06}}
So to compliment her skill set.

{{00:02:09}}
And,  yeah, I mean, there's a lot
to do here every day, but, but, you

{{00:02:14}}
know,  I feel really confident in her
ability to lead us and in our approach.

{{00:02:20}}
To getting to this place,

{{00:02:22}}
Danica Tormohlen: Freeman racked up
recognition under your leadership.

{{00:02:25}}
Some big ones,  Forbes recognized Freeman
as number four and best employers for

{{00:02:31}}
women and also the best large employer.

{{00:02:34}}
Ad age listed Freeman as the world's
largest global event marketing agency in

{{00:02:39}}
their world's 50 largest agency company
list, which you were talking about.

{{00:02:44}}
You're more than just a
general service contractor.

{{00:02:47}}
Chief marketer named Freeman to its.

{{00:02:49}}
Stopped marketing agencies list in 2022.

{{00:02:53}}
So how were you able to accomplish that?

{{00:02:55}}
That these are really,  you
know, well known brands that

{{00:03:01}}
are giving you that recognition.

{{00:03:03}}
So, and I'm sure the competition was,
I mean, up at the top of that list, I

{{00:03:07}}
should've looked at the top five of the
other companies on the, on those lists.

{{00:03:11}}
Bob Priest-Heck: Well,
we're in good company.

{{00:03:14}}
I'll joke and say it's easy,  because
we're really building on what

{{00:03:20}}
decades of what people did for
decades before I was even born.

{{00:03:24}}
I mean, this is almost a
hundred year old company.

{{00:03:27}}
Everything we do, we build.

{{00:03:29}}
On the shoulders of the generations
before us, and so,  I can't take credit

{{00:03:35}}
for all that because this has been
building for quite some time, but I

{{00:03:39}}
do believe those achievements,  are
important and, you know, we set meaningful

{{00:03:46}}
goals around all of those things.

{{00:03:49}}
And, you know, we committed to,
you know, To be a diverse company

{{00:03:54}}
that was equitable, that paid
equal, equal pay for equal work.

{{00:03:58}}
We, you know, we did all of that and, you
know, we, we, we report on it every month.

{{00:04:03}}
We report on it in every board meeting.

{{00:04:05}}
We report on it in our shareholder
meetings with the Freeman family.

{{00:04:08}}
And we report on it to
our, to our employees.

{{00:04:11}}
And so we really are transparent
about where we're doing well

{{00:04:14}}
and where we're not doing well.

{{00:04:16}}
And it's my experience that most
people want to do the right thing.

{{00:04:19}}
So if you show them kind of how you're
doing, you provide them with the tools,

{{00:04:24}}
you put the right policies in place.

{{00:04:27}}
I'll use that lately.

{{00:04:29}}
And, you know, you can kind of make
anything possible if you just set the

{{00:04:34}}
right tone and get out of the way.

{{00:04:36}}
So I feel like that's
what we've done here.

{{00:04:37}}
We've stated some things that
were important to us and.

{{00:04:40}}
We've, we've actually prioritized them.

{{00:04:43}}
Danica Tormohlen: Yeah.

{{00:04:43}}
I think transparency is, is critical as,
as you say, you know, like showing where

{{00:04:49}}
you're at and then keeping track of that.

{{00:04:50}}
Bob Priest-Heck: Yeah.

{{00:04:51}}
Yeah, and our, and I'm
very proud of our stats.

{{00:04:53}}
We,  are now about 50 50 men and women.

{{00:04:59}}
We have some work to do in certain
levels of the company because of.

{{00:05:04}}
Just time, but we're, we're, we're,
we're very well balanced gender wise.

{{00:05:09}}
34 percent of the company
and person of color.

{{00:05:12}}
You know, that's significantly higher than
pre pandemic, but it's all intentional.

{{00:05:19}}
You know, we looked for.

{{00:05:20}}
Hey, where do we find talent?

{{00:05:21}}
Where do we find more diverse talent?

{{00:05:24}}
And,  you know, now we're really focused
on thinking about the next generation

{{00:05:27}}
and building university programs.

{{00:05:29}}
We have a class of 38 interns in
right now from all over the country.

{{00:05:35}}
And, you know, we're looking at
trade schools and the Department

{{00:05:38}}
of Labor, because we, we love
college grads and we want to go

{{00:05:41}}
get college grads, but we're also.

{{00:05:43}}
Really interested in trade schools.

{{00:05:44}}
And, you know, my ultimate goal would be
to get to high school DECA program so that

{{00:05:48}}
we can introduce this industry to people
much younger, so they can think like,

{{00:05:53}}
I might like a career like that because
what we do is really, really important.

{{00:05:57}}
Danica Tormohlen: What do you
think you're going to miss

{{00:05:59}}
most about working at freeman?

{{00:06:01}}
Bob Priest-Heck: Oh, well,
by far it's the people.

{{00:06:05}}
And I, I know it sounds very.

{{00:06:09}}
Kind of hokey or cliche as to cliche
ish to say it, but I, the people, the

{{00:06:16}}
people of our industry are phenomenal.

{{00:06:19}}
Like I really genuinely love the people
we get to collaborate with every day.

{{00:06:25}}
And then I don't, and I, you know, I, we
all have friends, we all have, you know,

{{00:06:29}}
I don't think people in our, outside
of our industry necessarily know that.

{{00:06:33}}
And I will, Miss the
Freeman team the most.

{{00:06:37}}
I mean, it is an incredible collection
of people, you know, post pandemic

{{00:06:41}}
wait, we had a 90 percent recall rate on
furloughed employees, which I would put

{{00:06:47}}
that up against anybody in any industry.

{{00:06:50}}
People quit jobs to come back.

{{00:06:51}}
And I think that's because of our
culture and our value system, but

{{00:06:55}}
we also had the largest net new hire
population in the company's history.

{{00:07:00}}
And.

{{00:07:02}}
I was worried about that.

{{00:07:03}}
I was like, gosh, you know, like this
is number one in apprentice business.

{{00:07:08}}
How are we going to teach
all these net new people?

{{00:07:10}}
How are we going to maintain
the culture and the values?

{{00:07:13}}
And, you know, but we did, but
what I realized it's because.

{{00:07:18}}
All of our people that came back and those
of us that, you know, work through the

{{00:07:21}}
pandemic, we saw it as our responsibility
to bring those people along.

{{00:07:26}}
And,  I can tell you that, that
it's almost like nothing's changed.

{{00:07:32}}
And we have, you know, a large
percentage of the population has

{{00:07:35}}
been here less than three years.

{{00:07:36}}
And so,  That's special.

{{00:07:39}}
That's special.

{{00:07:40}}
And I will miss that very, very
much because it's the strength of

{{00:07:44}}
the people here that,  is kind of
remarkable, but it's, it's, it's true

{{00:07:50}}
in our industry in general, but I, I
do think Freeman's a special place.

{{00:07:53}}
Okay, when, when you reflect back on
your 40 years in the industry, do you

{{00:07:58}}
have some advice for the younger Bob?

{{00:08:00}}
Something that, you know, now that
you wish you knew when you, before

{{00:08:05}}
you started in this crazy industry?

{{00:08:07}}
Okay.

{{00:08:09}}
Well, I would just say that this
is an industry built on trust

{{00:08:12}}
and trust is really, really
important in everything that we do.

{{00:08:17}}
So I would say that, you know,  say what
you mean and do what you say, or, or

{{00:08:23}}
mean what you say, maybe is maybe the
better way to say that, you know, say

{{00:08:27}}
what you mean and mean what you say.

{{00:08:29}}
And what I'm really talking about is, you
know, credibility and your word and trust.

{{00:08:35}}
And,  you know, it's good to take risks.

{{00:08:38}}
As long as you're willing to do the work.

{{00:08:41}}
And learn from it.

{{00:08:42}}
But that all comes from
a foundation of trust.

{{00:08:44}}
So what I would just say is, you know,
say what you mean, and mean what you say.

{{00:08:50}}
You give a commitment, keep it.

{{00:08:52}}
or modify the commitment.

{{00:08:54}}
Sometimes I say to people, you know,
things change, especially in our business,

{{00:08:58}}
but then say, hey, you know what?

{{00:09:01}}
I know what we had a plan, but
this has changed, and I need

{{00:09:04}}
to re I need to revisit the
deadline or the commitment I made.

{{00:09:08}}
And I think it's just critical.

{{00:09:10}}
I think it's it's critical within teams.

{{00:09:12}}
It's critical, certainly with clients,
and just relationships in general.

{{00:09:17}}
So when I look back on it, I'm
like, yeah, I'd say most of my

{{00:09:21}}
opportunities were built on trust.

{{00:09:24}}
Like I already said, I was willing
to do the work and I was in the

{{00:09:27}}
right place a lot, but I build trust,
so it's not to be underestimated.

{{00:09:32}}
And it's really hard right now because
we're living in very divisive times.

{{00:09:36}}
There's a lot of conflict, and I
think events even play a role in

{{00:09:39}}
correcting that over time, because
when we show up to produce events,

{{00:09:43}}
when we show up to attend events, we
kind of leave all that at the door.

{{00:09:47}}
Our bias kind of stays, and then we
go work to solve that common problem.

{{00:09:51}}
You know.

{{00:09:52}}
We're heart doctors trying to
figure out how to save lives.

{{00:09:55}}
We're soccer coaches trying to be better.

{{00:09:57}}
You know,  leaders, whatever we're
doing, we're software developers,

{{00:10:02}}
and we're trying to build
technology that improves humanity.

{{00:10:04}}
I mean, whatever it is, we kind of leave
that negativity and we go work together.

{{00:10:09}}
And so I feel like the events
industry can be a role model for

{{00:10:12}}
building trust and really presenting.

{{00:10:16}}
You know, a unified outcome as
opposed to this kind of approach

{{00:10:20}}
that we seem to be surrounded by
today, which is just very divisive.

{{00:10:23}}
So,  you know, if you're in this
industry, realize you have a

{{00:10:28}}
bigger role than maybe you think.

Danica Tormohlen: You
announced your retirement.

I think a lot of people know,  last
November and I'm kind of curious, you

know, what have you been doing since then
to prepare your team for your departure?

You know, you've been there for 15
years and you've served as CEO since

2018 and also the 1st non family
member to leave the company and only

What have you been doing since last
November to get your team ready?

Bob Priest-Heck: Yeah, well, so first
of all, Janet Dell, who's taking over

And,  she's going to be moving
from the president to CEO position

So, if you don't know her,
you'll, you'll get to know her.

She's really strong leader, and she shares
the same value system that I have that

So,  the continuity should feel very good.

And I would say that Freeman has
always had a very disciplined

So, in fact, we have our board
meeting coming  our summer

And it's always an agenda item where we
look very intentionally at succession.

You know, you have a company that's
almost a hundred years old and we have

a huge responsibility to our people
and to our clients that we always think

You know, in this, in the job at
Freeman, I think of it as not only being

responsible for our own company, but
having a strong voice in the industry and

having a perspective and a point of view.

I've been on the road quite a bit in
the last 6 months with Janet, making

sure that she's introduced all the right
people,   we've built an incredible

And,  yeah, I mean, there's a lot
to do here every day, but, but, you

know,  I feel really confident in her
ability to lead us and in our approach.

Danica Tormohlen: Freeman racked up
recognition under your leadership.

Some big ones,  Forbes recognized Freeman
as number four and best employers for

Ad age listed Freeman as the world's
largest global event marketing agency in

their world's 50 largest agency company
list, which you were talking about.

You're more than just a
general service contractor.

That these are really,  you
know, well known brands that

So, and I'm sure the competition was,
I mean, up at the top of that list, I

should've looked at the top five of the
other companies on the, on those lists.

Bob Priest-Heck: Well,
we're in good company.

I'll joke and say it's easy,  because
we're really building on what

decades of what people did for
decades before I was even born.

I mean, this is almost a
hundred year old company.

On the shoulders of the generations
before us, and so,  I can't take credit

for all that because this has been
building for quite some time, but I

do believe those achievements,  are
important and, you know, we set meaningful

And, you know, we committed to,
you know, To be a diverse company

that was equitable, that paid
equal, equal pay for equal work.

We, you know, we did all of that and, you
know, we, we, we report on it every month.

We report on it in our shareholder
meetings with the Freeman family.

And we report on it to
our, to our employees.

And so we really are transparent
about where we're doing well

And it's my experience that most
people want to do the right thing.

So if you show them kind of how you're
doing, you provide them with the tools,

And, you know, you can kind of make
anything possible if you just set the

So I feel like that's
what we've done here.

We've stated some things that
were important to us and.

I think transparency is, is critical as,
as you say, you know, like showing where

you're at and then keeping track of that.

Yeah, and our, and I'm
very proud of our stats.

We have some work to do in certain
levels of the company because of.

Just time, but we're, we're, we're,
we're very well balanced gender wise.

34 percent of the company
and person of color.

You know, that's significantly higher than
pre pandemic, but it's all intentional.

And,  you know, now we're really focused
on thinking about the next generation

We have a class of 38 interns in
right now from all over the country.

And, you know, we're looking at
trade schools and the Department

of Labor, because we, we love
college grads and we want to go

And, you know, my ultimate goal would be
to get to high school DECA program so that

we can introduce this industry to people
much younger, so they can think like,

I might like a career like that because
what we do is really, really important.

Danica Tormohlen: What do you
think you're going to miss

Explainer

Bob Priest-Heck joined Danica Tormohlen at Trade Show Talk to discuss his tenure as CEO of Freeman, a privately owned global events company with over 4,500 employees. Priest-Heck stepped down from the role at the end of June 2024, after 15 years at Freeman and six years as CEO. Speaking just two weeks before leaving, Priest-Heck reflected on the risks and rewards throughout his 35-plus-year career in the events industry.

This episode was originally featured on Trade Show Talk Show.