Spiro, Part of the GES Collective, Appoints Beki Winchel as Thought Leadership and Innovation Director

Spiro, the brand experience agency within the GES Collective, has named Beki Winchel thought leadership and innovation director. In her new position, Winchel will draw upon decades of experience creating, executing and advising marketing, PR and digital media content for companies of all sizes to deliver high-value returns for Spiro clients.

Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Winchel is part of a global Spiro marketing team reporting directly to Spiro’s chief marketing officer, Carley Faircloth.  She will be dedicated to boosting brand awareness and showcasing how the agency helps businesses plan and execute events and experiences that unite their audiences, regardless of where in the world they may be, what time zones they’re on, or the mediums and ways they choose to engage. Winchel will focus her efforts on creating impactful thought leadership content, strategies and campaigns that encourage innovative conversations, partnerships, and solutions – and ultimately, help Spiro lead positive and meaningful change within the industry.

In fact, Spiro concentrates its efforts on addressing the challenges associated with the NEW NOW, or the changed face of the event management industry brought on by the pandemic. Much of this involves shifting companies’ mindsets away from hosting one-off events that occur in a single location to orchestrating physical, virtual and hybrid events and experiences that allow them to connect with their communities on an even broader scale.

“'Attending' an event no longer means what it once did, and consumer behaviour has irrevocably changed,” said Winchel. “Instead of limiting growth and engagement opportunities by viewing brand experiences as only in-person, digital or hybrid, we’re showing companies that the future is experiences anywhere, anytime and however people want to participate. For today’s consumer, being ‘There’ for an event is All Real Life, or ARL, and Spiro offers companies the ability to harness this power by creating experiences wherever their customers’ ‘There’ is.”

Prior to her time at Spiro, Winchel worked as learning content and research developer at PCMA, a professional convention management association. There, she worked with a wide range of well-known names, including Destination Canada, Visit Louisville, Marriott International and Hilton Hotels & Resorts. She also honed her skills at the likes of Ragan Communications and consulting for other companies, creating editorial, sponsored and event programming content featuring thought leadership from Estée Lauder, PayPal, Nike, NBC Universal, The Absolut Company, MSNBC, Microsoft, Facebook and AstraZeneca, among multiple others.

“Beki’s broad experience and knowledge of global markets is a major strength for the Spiro team and a major asset for our clients,” Faircloth said. “We’re eager to see what she brings to the table and how she draws upon her global perspective to foster innovation throughout Europe and across the globe.”