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About Us

About Us

Hybrid or virtual, we provide a comprehensive online event production service designed for your organisation.

BeThere Global was born in 2008, but our knowledge and experience of conferences and events stretches way back to the formative days of the modern events industry. Having been part of building some of the most successful face-to-face corporate event agencies in Europe, we decided to turn our expertise to the emerging world of online events, preceding the COVID-19 driven virtual events goldrush by more than a decade.

Online events for sustainability and ease of access
View of conference from behind the audience with video cameras . There is a speaker shown on screen.

Why online events?

When we started in 2008, the necessity for events to become more sustainable was already very apparent. Creating the opportunity for people to participate online through hybrid events – thereby reducing the environmental (and financial) cost of travel – was an obvious step towards helping our clients achieve sustainability in a more eco-conscious world.

Fast forward to 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic meant that fully virtual events were the only option. While in-person events are now back on the agenda, the pandemic fundamentally changed what delegates expect when attending any event. Now audiences expect to be able to watch and engage with content wherever and whenever it is convenient for them.

Event organisers must adapt to this new world, and although it may seem daunting, we are here to help.

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View from control desk of large screen with speaker presenting

Why BeThere Global?

We are online conference and event experts.

Our experience of online congresses, conferences, webinars and training courses means you are in safe hands from the get-go.

Through our innovative thinking, creativity and with the application of cutting-edge technology we have supported scores of associations, membership bodies and corporate clients in communicating and engaging with their worldwide remote audiences through hundreds of successful, custom designed virtual and hybrid events.

Our bespoke service provides all the elements you will need for the design and production of your next hybrid or virtual event. From building an elegant participant interface, to providing the technical equipment and team on the day; we’ve got you covered.

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Our Values

We are committed to providing top-quality services to our customers, old and new. We love working with our clients, some of whom we have collaborated with for over 10 years, and strive to uphold the highest standards of excellence in everything we do for them.

We believe in a culture of honesty, respect, integrity, creativity and collaboration. We value customer service and want our team to feel empowered to create the best possible experiences in a fun and rewarding working environment.

Relevant

Every client and every event is different. We will not just sell you a standardized platform and leave you to get on with it. Instead, we will work alongside you and your team to provide a bespoke service that is right for your organization and your audience.

Dependable

We will always be there for our clients; it is baked into our company name!
We have never and will never let a client down. We deliver on our promises, and we will always tell you if we think there is a better way to achieve your objectives.

Good for the world

We are proud of the work we do in enabling more sustainable events. And, we actively seek educational and charitable bodies as clients, to help disseminate their vital knowledge and expertise to parts of the world where it is hardest to get and most keenly needed.

Ethical

We believe that honesty and integrity are essential for building long-term relationships with our clients and partners. We will always be honest, ethical and fair in all of our business practices.

Respect for all

We are committed to being respectful and caring in our interactions with colleagues, customers, suppliers and partners. We strive to create a culture where every individual is treated with dignity and respect no matter what their background or circumstances.

Creativity

Values such as innovation, exploration, and collaboration are all intertwined with creativity and allow us to make a positive difference in the world. Creative thinking allows us to discover innovative solutions to ever more effective communication with remote audiences.

We're here to answer any questions you may have

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Meet the team

Each member of our core team contributes unique skills, experiences, and perspectives, allowing us to approach challenges from multiple angles and find innovative solutions.

Photo of Martin Shepherdly.
Martin Shepherdly – Founder and CEO

Leaving art school with qualifications in graphics and advertising, Martin’s events career began in designing audio-visual programs and led to him creating large scale conferences and product launches for major global brands including Kellogg’s, IBM, Mercedes-Benz and BT. His event production career spanned over 25 years and culminated in a directorship at PCI LiveDesign, one of the most successful corporate event agencies in Europe at the time of its sale in 2002.

Driven by a constant desire to find innovative ways to communicate with an audience, he anticipated the rapid growth of the streaming video market and foresaw the opportunity for conferences and events to reach global audiences. Working at the leading edge of the application of streaming media to the conference world ultimately led to the formation of BeThere Global in 2008.

When escaping the office, Martin is often to be found rowing a traditional Solent Galley on nearby Chichester Harbour.

High angle view of Martin competing as part of a team of 4 rowers, two men and 2 women, rowing a fixed-seat wooden boat, along with cox and a sixth person seated in the bow.

 

Photo of Catherine Jolly.
Catherine Jolly – Operations Director

Since 2014, Catherine’s event career has seen her work for a number of top event agencies to produce and manage outstanding face-to-face events. From high-end incentive programs to conferences, gala dinners, and brand launches, her experience as a Producer has seen her work around the world for clients across a wide range of sectors such as automotive, IT, legal and utilities.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Catherine made the transition to online events and worked with the BeThere Global team in a freelance capacity on a number of virtual conferences, webinars and other online events, before joining full time as Operations Director in early 2021. Overseeing all aspects of production, Catherine is now integral to the efficient management and smooth running of our client projects.

Outside of work, Catherine is a keen hobby artist and can often be found with her sketchbook and paints out in her garden.

Catherine seated at her easel, painting in warm sunny weather in her garden.

Photo of Jonathan Schofield.
Jonathan Schofield – Design & Dev

After studying graphic design and a decade working in brand identity and communications for agencies in London, Jonathan was lured into digital design by the rise of the web and has been immersed in it ever since.

Jonathan’s skill in designing and building accessible, elegant web interfaces, and his commitment to upholding the brand integrity of our clients and their partners, helps us translate their event aspirations into reality. His work has been pivotal to our interface being widely appreciated by our clients for its adaptability, and by their event attendees for its ease of use. But he remains focused on ways to make it better still, and always attentive to meeting the particular needs of each event we host.

In the last century, Jonathan was to be found competing in international Ultimate disc sport events around Europe, but these days he likes to scale Hampshire’s hills on a road bike that is a lot lighter than him.

Jonathan throws a backhand pass around an Australian defender while representing Great Britain at the 1994 WFDF Ultimate & Guts Championships.

Photo of John Parrack.
John Parrack – Technical Director

John made an early start in the audio-visual world while still at school, working weekends preparing mobile discos and conference A/V equipment. He went on to work for several highly respected audio-visual companies as an on-site technician working on high-profile events, including the Rio 2016 Olympics, numerous BBC Festivals of Remembrance, as well as corporate events for clients such as Adobe, Cisco and Microsoft. Initially installing and operating sound, lighting, projection, and video equipment he then specialised in video technology. His experience with live streaming began in 2008 with setting up and streaming major darts competitions.

John first worked with BeThere Global in 2013. He is now a technical expert on all aspects of live online events, both virtual and hybrid, and is constantly seeking out and exploring innovative technologies as they emerge.

In his spare time, John is a keen angler and wannabe rock guitarist.

John’s black cat seated on his sofa, eyeing up John’s Fender guitar which is leaning against the wall.

What our clients say about us

Photo of Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed.
"I must say that I have attended a lot of online conferences over the last year, and this is the best platform that I have seen!"

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, President of The British Pharmacological Society, Pharmacology 2020

View of a steeply raked lecture theatre
"I cannot recommend BeThere Global highly enough; their approach is professional but entirely personal, they work their hardest to meet the specific requirements of their clients, and their entire team is exceptionally skilled. I look forward to working with Be There Global on future online and hybrid events."

Ellie Davis, Events Organiser. Biochemical Society, January 2021

Photo of Dr Renato Salz
"Thank you and your team for the amazing work!
Like any other modern digital educational activity, it took a lot of work and a great team to make it happen. Your group performance was surgically precise, extremely professional and the results absolutely fantastic."

Dr Renato Saltz, ISAPS Faculty Member, ISAPS Online Business School, April 2021

ISUOG logo with 2021
"On behalf of everyone here at ISUOG, I would like to sincerely thank you and the whole team for your support of ISUOG’s 31st World Congress 2021. We are very grateful for your hard work and valuable contribution to our second virtual Congress, which attracted over 3,000 participants from 133 countries. We have received positive feedback about the event from our scientific committee, faculty and delegates."

Saskia Dean, Senior Events Manager, ISUOG, October 2021

"The really unfortunate aspect is that the interaction with such nice, friendly, accommodating, knowledgeable, and professional people (with British accents) had to come to an end!"

Event Organiser, Bhutan Symposium on Gender Dysphoria, January 2023

"The Prostate Cancer UK team has been very happy with the all process. From start to end BTG's team has been great in supporting and communicating as well as being flexible and approachable.
The support provided ahead of the conference was remarkable and the creation of the platform, as well as the editing of recordings is really appreciated. We were positively impressed with the support on the day from Catherine and John."

Elisa Nessi, Education Officer, Prostate Cancer UK, Specialists Conference 2023

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+44 1243 939 793
info@bethereglobal.com