Britton Jones
FOUNDER & CEO
“Take good care of your customers and add value to the industries you serve.” This is the greatest advice I ever received. These were wise words my father passed on to me and it has formed my approach to business ever since. To this day, I firmly believe that there’s no better way to connect with your customers than face-to-face interaction. That’s exactly what events are all about and why I have spent my career building events that truly serve our customers as well as the industry as a whole.
When un-plugged, my family and I enjoy quality time and adventure on the sea and the slopes. It’s a great passion of mine to support the great efforts being made to tackle food insecurity in this country, as chairman of the nonprofit, Food Rescue US. It’s also an honor to serve as immediate past Chairman of the Board of Directors of CEIR, as well as serving on NYC & Co's Trade Show Council and the Javits Center's Customer Advisory Board.
Britton Jones was Co-Owner, President and CEO of BJI, a fourth-generation, family-owned and managed integrated media company. After 18 years as a Publisher, Britton became the driving force in building the BJI Fashion Group, the Trade Show Division of Business Journals Inc. into one of the world’s leading trade show organizers. Starting with the turnaround of one failing show in 1998, under Britton’s leadership, BJI grew explosively to six brands running 27 events annually by 2015. The BJI Fashion Group became one of the largest users of the Javits Convention Center in NYC (21 events per year) and was an important anchor to the Las Vegas Fashion Week by running three market leading shows (6 events per year) at the Sands Expo Center. BJI was sold to UBM in April 2016.
In 2014, Britton teamed with Greg Topalian, Sharon Enright and Mac Brighton to form LeftfField Media, a company specializing in consumer facing, enthusiast events. LeftField quickly achieved great success and more than doubled in size in just two years and was sold to Clarion in June 2016.
Key to Britton’s notable achievements is his persisted push for innovation to transform the show experience. Unsurpassed customer service, the utmost in convenience and compelling show floors became the hallmarks of his events, which garnered the following awards:
· Trade Show Executive magazine’s Fastest 50 Awards for being one of fastest growing shows in the world - awarded 18 times!
· In 2015, Britton was awarded the Trade Show News Network Industry Icon Award for industry innovation and service.
· In 2016, Britton received the industry’s top award, the Robert L. Krakoff Leadership Award which honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the events industry throughout their careers and who established themselves as innovators and deal makers while maintaining high ethical standards.
Britton has consistently worked to give back to the industry and for its betterment. Britton was Chairman of the Board of Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO) from 2008 – 2010 and served on the SISO Board from 2001 -2010. Previously, Britton served three terms on the Board of American Business Media (ABM) where he was twice Chairman of ABM’s Trade Show Council.
Sharon Enright
president & coo
Simply put, events are in my DNA. Nothing compares to the immense satisfaction gained from creating meaningful engagement for customers with the support and collaboration of talented people. I enjoy every facet of producing an event and seeing it come to life is always thrilling.
When I’m not in the middle of research, building out a strategy or working on execution, I like to spend as much time as I can living the lake life at my home-away with my husband and our pooches, Fenway and Finnegan. The more boating and skiing, the better.
Sharon is the COO of NXT Events Media Group. A veteran to the events industry, Sharon began her career at Reed Expositions with a part-time job while in college, to keep up with costs. Little did she know then, it was the precursor to a lifelong career. But as we all know, once you’re IN the industry, there’s no turning back. Sharon found home with many leading organizations throughout her career, including CMC, Reed Expositions, and Business Journals, Inc.
Sharon’s 12-year span at CMC launching shows and building events from conferences to expositions, followed by rejoining Reed Expositions as Director of Operations, was an immensely rewarding and educational experience in producing events in a variety of markets across an array of partnership structures. With a desire to further her role in trade show management, Sharon joined Business Journals, Inc. (BJI) to build out their trade show division. This was a unique opportunity to start with a company from the onset, as Sharon quickly became an asset to the development and growth of the portfolio during the course of her 18 years at BJI. In an extremely competitive industry and challenging environments, starting as General Manager to then EVP of the trade show portfolio, Sharon guided BJI’s award-winning growth from 3 events to 27 events annually. Sharon studied liberal arts at ACA, which has shaped her design thinking and innovative approach to events.