How Nineteen Group is connecting the global security industry

As exhibition organiser Nineteen Group broadens its global reach with new events in Singapore, ISJ speaks exclusively with Group Director, Tristan Norman.

Tristan Norman never envisioned a career in B2B events. “I don’t think many of us grow up dreaming of being an exhibition organiser,” he jokes during a conversation with ISJ Editor, James Thorpe.

Initially, Norman’s path was far removed from the world of exhibition halls.

He began his journey following in his father’s footsteps at agricultural college. However, a pivotal university work placement shifted his trajectory and introduced him to the realm of event organisation.

During this placement, Norman worked on a significant motorsport exhibition, an experience which ignited his passion for tradeshows and captivated him with the excitement and high stakes of creating successful industry events. This thrill and pressure became a driving force in his career.

Fast forward to 2024 and Norman currently serves as Group Director of Nineteen Group’s Safety & Security Portfolio & Nineteen Group APAC. In this role, he thrives on the challenges and achievements of organising premier B2B events.

In April, the company expanded its portfolio, announcing the launch of Safety & Security Asia in Singapore. This showcase builds on the continued success of The Security Event – which takes place each year at the Birmingham NEC, UK – and marks a significant expansion which will continue to showcase the company’s commitment to global event excellence.

“I fell into the world of security exhibitions in my early twenties,” Norman says. “It became a career I loved, paired with an industry I loved. Security has always been about more than just events – being able to be the ‘middle man’ on a large scale and helping curate lasting partnerships between manufacturers and end users and in turn creating a safer world is a privilege.

“I love this industry and I’m passionate about bringing on the next generation. For example, in the UK, we are big supporters of Skills for Security and the WorldSkills Competition. Recently, we’ve welcomed apprentices to the Nineteen office from the EY Foundation Secure Futures.

“In many ways, our job is to build and provide the best platform possible for the security industry to excel. We try and partner with the right people and entice the best brands and speakers. We are designed by the industry, for the industry.

“We focus on spotlighting the industry’s agenda – not our own – exploring major challenges, innovations and topics. This all began with The Security Event in the UK and is now going to expand as we bring our event to Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

“As well as my work in the UK, I’ve headed up our expansion to Asia,” he remarks. “I feel like the security industry is in my blood – it’s an industry I deeply care about and love and want to see continue to prosper and get the spotlight it deserves on a global scale.”

Based on this year’s figures in the UK alone, Norman oversaw more than 1,000 exhibitors and over 45,000 visitors across three days at The Security Event, The Fire Safety Event, The Health & Safety Event, The Workplace Event & Top50 as well as The National Cyber Security Show.

New horizons

When it comes to global expansion, communication, knowledge and engagement are crucial factors.

Show organisers spend their professional lives addressing the needs of customers and clients.

“The Security Event was founded out of a conversation with big industry brands that didn’t feel their needs were being met by the existing landscape of tradeshows,” continues Norman.

“This is the same reason we have launched in the APAC region. There is not one event that currently encapsulates the region in this way and brings this specific industry together.

“What we are focussed on doing is creating a need for people to come together as an industry to upskill, improve and shine a spotlight on a specific region. We work in the commercial security space and we are dedicated to the protection of people, places and assets.”

Norman was keen to point out the importance of being sensitive to the local market you are growing into. Regardless of where you are expanding to geographically, in business, you can’t just launch a new product or event in a region you know nothing about.

You can’t just cling to experience and a preconceived view of how things work and assume it’s going to work exactly the same way.

Norman has been going back and forth to Singapore since 2022 to familiarise himself with the region, its culture and requirements from a business perspective.

He and the team have spent a significant amount of time behind the scenes working on a go-to-market strategy and engaging with partners, venues, suppliers and associations to make sure the event will hit the nail on the head.

“It’s important that our approach to the market is localised,” he explains. “We have set-up our own office in Singapore and now have four full time staff who are all Singaporean.

“Part of our corporate culture is empowering individuals to do the best jobs possible.

“We’ve got some fantastic people in region who mirror our company culture here in the UK; this is built around being kind, agile, driven and inclusive.

“It’s all about getting the right people and understanding the challenges.

“We also have some brilliant allies who have helped us in our quest to launch something in the region. For example, we’ve worked really closely with the ASIS International – Singapore Chapter.

“In August, we signed an MoU with the Security Solutions Association of Singapore, who are now one of our key partners,” Norman adds.

“These associations play a critical role in helping us to curate the best platform possible for the region. The Singapore Tourism Board – specifically, the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau – have also played a key role.

“They’re thrilled that we will be bringing global expertise to the Singapore market. Having a regional government ally is fantastic and they want us to succeed.”

Creating memorable moments

Nineteen Group’s events are renowned for their interactive features, networking opportunities and high levels of audience engagement.

These shows are designed to encourage collaboration and business on the show floor, giving visitors and exhibitors the opportunity to forge meaningful connections through demonstrations, expert-led sessions and collaborative workshops.

This vibrant atmosphere encourages participants to share knowledge and insights, making each event a hub for innovation and professional development.

By the very nature of the industry, topics under discussion are often high level and crucial to the protection of people and assets.

Through the company’s events, however, Norman and the team at Nineteen have found a unique way of creating environments that facilitate discussion and offer a wide range of professionals – from frontline officers to senior management teams – a chance to chat business in a welcoming and more collaborative environment.

This allows meaningful conversations to happen organically and helps develop a sense of community among industry professionals.

Norman tells us more: “Security is often a serious topic for all the right reasons. But, the reason people join this industry and find it very hard to leave is that, across the globe, we have a fantastic network of individuals. Shows don’t have to be boring.

“We want people to be excited for our events and, every year, we try and make them better. My message to the team is: ‘What can we do differently? Where can we improve? How can we make it more engaging?.

“The most important thing is making sure that the proposition is correct. For a lot of exhibitors in the UK, our shows are the most important thing they participate in each year.

“They invest in their presence and we ensure it’s worth that time and effort. We also take a lot of time to build on the buzz every year to ensure each edition tops the last.”

Corporate culture and values

Norman takes pride in Nineteen Group’s culture and values, which are integral to its success.

You usually only have to scroll through your LinkedIn feed for a few minutes or look around the show floor at one of the company’s events to see how far a positive culture can get you.

Nineteen’s commitment to transparency, inclusivity and continuous learning ensures that team members are aligned with the organisation’s goals and are motivated to achieve them.

“We’re a collection of 170 brilliant people that have bought into a culture built on those four key pillars: Kindness, agility, drive and inclusivity,” Norman adds. “At the office, it’s a high performance atmosphere whilst also being a relaxed, vibrant environment.

“We look after our staff. There’s free yoga, meditation, fruit bowls, gym memberships and more. All of this ensures they bring the best version of themselves to the office.

“Ultimately, if you look after the culture, the profits and the growth looks after itself.

“Organising events is actually pretty straightforward. But, to deliver a successful ‘large scale event’ you have to do the basics to a world class level. We haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel when it comes to virtual events etc. In our experience, the power of face to face interaction will never be matched.

“We are B2B tradeshow organisers through and through, but, with that being said, we are still able to offer our clients year-round engagement opportunities with clients new and old!

“We create platforms that allow industries to thrive in different geographies around the world. We are deeply customer-centric and we always try to make sure we exceed expectations.

“We are a business that prides itself on doing the right thing and doing the best job possible.”

To find out more information about Safety & Security Asia, click here.

Nineteen Group

Nineteen Group is a rapidly expanding, dynamic and ambitious events business.

The company’s events are dedicated to protecting people, assets and organisations and its corporate vision is focused on becoming the most successful events business in the UK.