Campbell Bethwaite

In planning my career, I target goals that are realistic and achievable in a certain timeframe. For me, the location, industry and schedule aren’t as important as how interesting I find the project. For some people stability is more important. They may have family or they may need to make more concrete plans. But ultimately what’s important is to ask yourself if what you’re doing makes you happy, fulfilled, learning and earning. And if the answer is “no”, then go find something new.

The key to successful event management is understanding of what your attendees want and providing it to them, making it as easy as possible to get to the event, to get what they want at the event and what they want from out of the event. Skills that you need: empathy with your audience and your clients, ability to find something unique, new and interesting for them, logistical capabilities and process management to get it done, because a failure in anyone of those will ruin the whole project. You need to possess all those qualities or have very good partners.

The most interesting and most frustrating thing is the difference between doing business in Russia, compared to America, Australia or Western Europe. In America, you can understand “here’s the law, here’re the processes, here’s what you pay and that’s what happens”. In Russia there’s the way things are written, there’s also another set of instructions which contradict the first ones, and sooner or later you’ll find someone who will actually tell you how it is actually done. It’s all about finding the right balance.

Russian business meetings are very different to American business meetings, especially once you leave the multinational sphere. People’s concept of time, people’s concept of accountability, people’s concept of what can be achieved in a certain time frame... It’s one of those things that I find myself marveling at about 10% of the time and getting frustrated about 90% of the time, although I’m slowly getting used to it.

I’m comfortable speaking Russian now. My Russian, I would say, is perfectly fine conversationally. My conversations in Russian to get around, chat with people, get to know people and other day-to-day situations are perfectly fine. It gets more complicated when I get into a detailed discussion on night club design, or detailed negotiations, where I just haven’t had a chance to learn the vocabulary- and of course the grammar!

The places that I value most in my travelling experience are the places that delivered so much more than I expected. Countries like Bolivia. I didn’t expect much, and it delivered an amazingly rich cultural experience. You know, I love Paris, but Paris is so well covered, that everyone knows Paris, even if he has never been there. It’s a wonderful place but you’ve kind of expected that.

I’ve been hit by several cars. I used to do competitive full-contact martial arts, so I have a number of broken bones as a result. I’ve been shot. There were also a lot of ski accidents. I used to be a little accident-prone in my boyhood days! (laughs)

I don’t like the word “can’t” and everything related to people not thinking they’re able to do something. Anything that relates to people putting limitations on themselves, making unfair judgments or complaining about something.

Every day is a chance for a new adventure.

The quality of the meal and the environment of the Moscow restaurant sometimes can be diametrically opposed. Some of the most glamorous and fashionable restaurants in Moscow don’t necessarily have the best food.

I find it incredible that many people come to another country to live in some cases for many years and don’t bother to learn the local language and don’t try to understand or to fit with the local culture. I mean, this is your adopted homeland! So regardless of for how long you’re going to be here, I think people should make an effort to understand what’s going on around you and don’t expect that people will speak your language.

In Moscow the way you look is very important, and people make judgment based on your appearance very quickly. I’m not going to take the position whether it is right or wrong — it just is. So you need to fit in occasionally.