Meet the Team- Ray Lee | Director, Asia Pacific

23^rd September '22

Meet the Team- Ray Lee

Director, Asia Pacific

Describe your experience to date at Lowe in one word?

Rewarding 

What is the best part about your job?

It’s got to be the location and the travel- you can’t beat it! 

How long have you worked at Lowe? 

I have worked in Lowe since 2006, which I cannot believe was nearly 17 years ago now. I pretty much have worked my way from the ground up. I have worked all over the place within the company, from cleaning and handing out flyers to now running the office across all regions within Asia. I have worked in exhibitions specifically almost since the start of my time here so there isn’t much I don’t know about them, to be honest! 

What are some of the exhibitions you have worked on?

I have worked on pretty much all exhibitions across Asia, from those in marquees to huge exhibition venues, it has been a privilege to see how much they have grown and expanded throughout the region and see this industry grow. I have developed some truly great relationships with most of the exhibition organisers, so I conserved myself very fortunate in that respect too.  

What is your favourite exhibition you have worked on?

I think some of the notable Exhibitions that have stood out to me over the past few years are FHA, which only happens every other year. One of my favourites was FoodEx in Japan, it is just a complete celebration of international al food and beverages, I love the atmosphere and the food is a bonus I am not going to lie. 

Have you and your team ever encountered unexpected challenges?

If anyone who has been in the industry for as long as I have said they have never faced any challenges, then they are lying. The exhibition industry is incredibly unpredictable, the last two years have demonstrated that beyond a shadow of a doubt. It is just important to be able to adapt and kind of roll with the punches. There are two instances which stand out for me the most, the first was at FHA, I can’t remember the year though. A stand builder for our customer, a French Pavilion was running behind, so I volunteered some of our Lowe team to help them with construction, while it was not our job, they were a customer of ours and at the end of the day, it is all about making sure our customers have a successful show. 

A second instance, and perhaps my favourite now that I think about it was at Myanmar, the exhibition was in a large marquee and unfortunately, it started to rain and when I say rain, I mean it completely flooded the venue with water up to our waists.  In the end our team had to remove all the fridges by hand, and work through the night to make sure all the equipment still worked. The venue was placed on stilts and the next day the team carried all the equipment back in and the exhibition was held on stilts- the show must go on after all! 

What do you think makes the Lowe event offering stand out?

I think at the end of the day we will always try to meet the needs of the customer, no matter what. I know everyone says they do but when I think back over the years, I truly believe that we do our best to think above and beyond to ensure no customer misses out, and I think that is something truly unique to Lowe. 

What advice do you offer potential exhibitors?

Always plan as much as possible, certain areas and cities always book out early and some customers end up having to travel in from hotels over two hours away for the venue. So, I was just suggesting that you always keep any eye out and plan you accommodation and travel in advance.