Cat Kevern is an events industry stalwart, marketing expert, champion of women and entrepreneur. With a decade of events experience, Cat is the Founder of Electric Cat Productions, Director of NOWIE and Fractional Chief Marketing Officer at One World Rental.
She’s a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the events industry, with a particular focus on women’s experiences. Cat is a seasoned keynote and panel speaker on a range of topics including DEI, entrepreneurship and marketing.
How long have you been in the events industry?
I’ve been in the events industry since 2016. I started promoting nightclub events and then moved into production and large-scale outdoor events. I then started my own B2B marketing agency, Electric Cat, in 2022 and all of our clients are event suppliers and organisers.
How do you balance professional growth with personal commitments, and do you think the industry is evolving in terms of work-life balance?
Honestly, there’s not a lot of balance! I’ve dedicated the last 10 years to my career, which has supercharged my professional growth but hasn’t left me much time to focus on extracurricular activities.
I have recently started trying to give myself some balance by prioritising exercise and downtime and I’m lucky that a lot of my work is also having fun with great people. I’m also much better at blocking off breaks and disconnecting over the weekend.
In terms of the industry as a whole, there does seem to be a lot more of a focus in the media on achieving better balance, but the reality is that it’s still very much the same as when I started my career. When the show date approaches you have to give it your all – there’s little time to think about anything else, let alone do other things.
How do you see the events industry evolving in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion?
DEI is coming up more and more on panels, in the media and on social media and it’s great to see and hear more people engaging in those conversations. However, I’d say we still have such a long way to go to achieve better equity for women and marginalised communities, especially when it comes to senior leadership.
At the Network of Women in Events (NOWIE) we recently released our ‘Big Survey’, a piece of research into the experiences of women in events which looked into topics on flexible working, pay, career development and harassment. Live Recruitment also released a big report on DEI in the events industry this year, so people are taking notice. Both reports have some shocking findings and show that whilst many of these issues aren’t visible on a surface level when we dig a little deeper, it’s undeniable that we still have a long way to go.
What advice would you give to young women looking to enter and succeed in the events industry?
My advice to young women getting a foot in the door of this industry is to be confident in their abilities, proud of their achievements and embrace being out of their comfort zone. There is a common misconception you have to “know it all” but we are all learning every single day, so don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if you think they’re silly!
How do you handle setbacks and failures?
I would be lying if I said embracing failure is easy – but it’s a necessary evil. I allow myself to get emotional, sad or upset when something bad happens. Then I give myself a sitting down and try my absolute hardest to not carry that through to the next day. Everything is much better after a good night’s sleep.
I am very lucky to have an incredible network of family, friends and advisors who act as sounding boards for me. I also try to learn as much as I can from all situations, especially the negative ones, and carry those learnings forward. Nobody is perfect and we learn more when we fail, so I always encourage people to fail fast, to learn faster!
What changes do you think are still needed to create more opportunities for women in leadership?
This could be a whole article in itself, as I believe there are so many contributing factors, but we need to do better for all women, at all stages of their careers. That starts at the very bottom, empowering newcomers, mentoring at all levels, supportive policies (periods, motherhood, menopause and everything in between!) and being proactive in advocating for more diversity on boards and in senior leadership roles.
What do you wish you could tell your younger self? (knowing what you know now)
I think I would say to myself “Keep cracking on, stay curious and it’s ok not to have a niche”.
I never knew exactly what my career goals were, what I wanted to do or which events I liked best, but I always knew I wanted to start my own business. Only recently did I see the value and the power of having a broad skill set and different experiences. Nothing is ever lost, and actually, by covering a lot of ground at the start of my career, it’s all paying off now, when running Electric Cat and NOWIE.
