How one leader discovered that success in events comes from embracing learning, vulnerability, and the power of human connection
When Hannah Ware joined RX eight years ago as an Event Executive, she had no idea that her career would take her from managing exhibition logistics to leading digital projects across a global portfolio of 350 events spanning 41 industry sectors. Her journey exemplifies what makes RX a uniquely rewarding place to build a career, regardless of your background.
Today, as Head of Performance Optimisation, Hannah leads digital product performance initiatives for RX’s global business units, helping customers maximize value from cutting-edge tools and technologies. But her path to leadership wasn’t linear, and that’s precisely what makes her story so compelling for anyone considering a career at RX.
The Foundation: Learning from Strong Leaders
Hannah credits much of her growth to being “lucky” to always be surrounded by really strong leaders at RX. Early in her career, she recognized a gap in her skillset: she didn’t know how to provide effective feedback to others – a critical leadership quality. Her first manager didn’t just tell her how to improve; she invited Hannah to shadow meetings, participate in training sessions, and learn by observation.
“She was a brilliant teacher and coach,” Hannah recalls. “She also connected me to the mentoring network that we have available within RELX.”
That introduction to RX’s formal mentoring platform opened doors Hannah hadn’t imagined. Over the years, she’s worked with mentors across the World, including executives in strategy and commercial teams. One of her first mentors recently became her current manager, a full-circle moment that speaks to the lasting relationships built at RX.
The mentoring platform matches employees across RELX’s global footprint based on complementary strengths and development areas. Hannah has mentored colleagues in the US, France, Philippines, China, and UK, while also maintaining informal mentoring relationships that provide mutual support and learning.
“I personally blend both,” she explains. “I like to have some formal mentoring opportunities at all times and also some informal ones at all times. Our culture is very people-oriented, which makes it very easy to do that.
One piece of advice from that first mentor still resonates six and a half years later: “She encouraged me to not put so much pressure on myself for everything to be 100% perfect all the time. It’s okay for things to be 80% done, and your 80% can actually be other people’s 100% anyway.”
Hannah also draws inspiration from a deeply personal source, her late father, who was an Executive Director leading over 1,000 people at a well-known public company. He served as her personal coach, helping her navigate challenging situations and build confidence as a woman in leadership. She notes how he constantly challenged her thinking and would purposely provide opposing views to help her develop and refine her thoughts – a quality that she deeply respects and encourages.
The Skills That Transfer: It’s Not About Events Experience
One of the most important lessons Hannah has learned is that success at RX isn’t about having an events background – it’s about bringing the right mindset and transferable skills.
“I personally credit a lot to what I would call soft skills,” Hannah explains. “Being able to build relationships, to communicate through storytelling, being able to be honest, to be vulnerable. Showing that vulnerability and humility goes a really long way in building trust and relationships around you. None of us are perfect and we’re all figuring something out and building our own personal journeys.”
For Hannah, fairness stands out as perhaps the most critical leadership quality. “If you’re leading a big team of people, it’s so important that you treat everybody in the same way, you communicate the same message to everybody and you’re giving everyone the same opportunities to succeed and develop.”
She’s also learned that not everyone wants the same things from their career, a revelation that surprised her early in her leadership journey. “Seven years ago, when I first stepped up to lead my first team, I genuinely thought everybody wants to do really well and climb the ladder because that’s what I wanted,” she admits. “Not everybody wants that. Some people absolutely love what they do and they want to keep building on that for as long as they can and others want to delve into one specific niche further or even do something completely different. Everybody’s needs and goals are so different and that is one of the most challenging areas of leadership, to ensure you’re giving the right opportunities in line with those goals and hitting the business targets – but it’s also the most beautiful thing. To have a dynamic and unique team around you with new ideas, opinions and innovations and creating a space for all to thrive.”
Understanding what truly motivates each team member whether it’s money, recognition, travel incentives, or upskilling opportunities has become central to Hannah’s leadership philosophy. “Everybody receives these things super differently and the importance varies from person to person. Being able to actively listen, communicate well and truly care are essential skills.”
Why RX Welcomes All Backgrounds
RX’s commitment to inclusion goes beyond words. The company has established robust employee resource groups covering diverse communities, including groups focused on Black professionals, LGBTQ+ employees, women in leadership and more. These groups host events, bring in speakers, and create knowledge-sharing sessions that help employees understand different perspectives and experiences.
“We’ve had some amazing speakers come in and talk about experiences from different perspectives and how their experiences can shape somebody’s thought process,” Hannah notes. “I think it’s really valuable that we offer these sessions for all of us to expand on our own world views.”
But Hannah is quick to acknowledge that no one knows everything. “I’m on a lifelong journey to try and learn as much as possible. I think it’s really important that we stay open and be able to say, ‘I actually don’t really know much about this particular topic, can you teach me a little bit?'”
This openness to learning extends to RX’s approach to career development. The company offers extensive training programs, including a manager program that Hannah describes as transformative. “I love chatting to people and talking about real-life stories and hearing real-life examples. You get to hear from people that have been leaders for a couple of months to many, many years and all of their different experiences.”
The Magic of Events: Working Across Hundreds of Industries
What makes the events industry particularly compelling is its diversity. Because RX operates exhibitions across 41 industry sectors, employees gain exposure to an extraordinary range of topics and communities.
“One day I am talking about the difference between green or grey hydrogen at World Hydrogen Summit,” Hannah explains. “The next day I’m talking about the importance of sustainable travel at World Travel Market. The next day I’m looking at how a particular ingredient that goes into my highlighter was created at in-cosmetics. You get to learn so much across such diverse industries.”
This variety creates unexpected benefits. “When meeting people outside of RX, I almost always have a glimpse or an insight into their industry that I can comment on and spark conversation because I have also been in their industry in some way.”
Digital Innovation: Creating Value for Customers
Hannah’s career evolution mirrors RX’s digital transformation. She started in exhibition logistics, moved into sponsorship fulfillment where she first encountered digital products, and then created the UK’s first customer success team from scratch in 2022.
That team focused on helping exhibitors maximize digital tools like exhibitor profiles, pages where over 90% of visitors research companies before attending shows. “It’s really important that we educate our exhibitors to stand out in the correct way to their target visitors,” Hannah explains.
The work expanded to include lead management tools and on-site digital success, where Hannah’s team rolled out QR codes that help exhibitors generate thousands of leads. The innovation has extended to conferences, where attendees can now scan QR codes to receive entire presentations and exhibitor information.
Three weeks into her new global role as Head of Performance Optimisation, Hannah is excited about spreading best practices across all RX business units. “I’m really excited about how we can learn from each other across all of our Business Units and create even greater value for our customers using digital products at our events. If you’re joining one of our events in China or in the USA I want you to have the same, exceptional, trusted experience at each.”
The Human Connection in an AI World
Despite her focus on digital innovation, Hannah believes the future of events is brighter than ever. “I personally believe that digital and in-person complement each other now more so than ever. We are going into a very AI-dominated world, and I think face-to-face connection is more important than it has ever been before, supported by tools that help you meet and grow with the connections of highest interest.”
RX events create more than business transactions; they build communities, relationships, and career connections. “People go to our events and find their next manager or find their next mentor as well as products and services. We’re connecting people and creating these networking experiences that they wouldn’t naturally have access to.”
For Hannah, the on-site experience of working events creates bonds that strengthen teams. “When you go on site to events, sometimes over a week at a time, it creates a really strong bond where you’re all in this together. It creates such a strong sense of teamwork ethic that you may not find in many other settings.”
A Culture Where Everyone Wins Together
What ultimately makes RX special, according to Hannah, is its culture of collective success. “We definitely have a culture where if one person wins, we all win. And at the same time, if one of us fails, we all fail – we’re in it together.”
For anyone considering a career at RX, Hannah’s advice is simple: “If you think something’s possible, if you have a big idea, there will be people here that will listen and will help you push those big ideas and bold bets through. If you work hard and you’re clear about what you want to head towards, the leadership here is very focused on helping you achieve that. People want you to succeed, truly.”
It’s a career path that welcomes all backgrounds, celebrates all perspectives, and proves that success isn’t about where you’ve been, it’s about where you’re willing to grow.
