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Alphabet Media boss reveals why he fired key staff, claims departed sales chief has persuaded sponsors to cancel

Smith's Twitter profile picture

Jame Smith. Picture: Twitter

The boss of Singapore publisher Alphabet Media has given his version of events for why he publically sacked two of his most senior executives last week, and suggested that one of the two dismissed has persuaded event sponsors to withdraw their support since he fired her.

James Smith, the group managing director of public sector technology publishing and events brand FutureGov, tweeted and posted on LinkedIn on Thursday that key staff Mohit Sagar and Ellen Quek would be leaving the business and he would be resuming control of the company’s events arm.

Sagar and Quek had been running the events division for the last 18 months, as MD for conferences and general manager, respectively, while Smith focused on developing FutureGov’s digital offering.

Smith posted on LinkedIn yesterday (Friday) that FutureGov’s events this year “simply weren’t good enough”, that the division had been suffering from high staff churn, and that – based on his assessment of a FutureGov event in Malaysia in October – the firm had become “a company with relationships but no content.”

He wrote: “In the weeks since then I have learned that many of my colleagues in the events team were on the verge of resignation – which is why I made the decision to step in.”

In the post headlined ‘FutureGov in 2015: a new direction’, Smith suggested that Quek – for some years the firm’s most prolific salesperson – has contacted sponsors since her dismissal and persuaded them to withdraw their support from an upcoming FutureGov event in Singapore.

He wrote: “Some of my friends in the industry have told me that Ellen Quek has been a busy bee this week – certainly a lot of Singaporean marketing managers seem to have had ‘budget cuts and changed marketing focus’ in the last 48 hours.”

Smith placed blame for the upheaval in the events arm on Quek and Sagar, saying that it is was “a bit unfair that the problems of the events team are now being laid at my door by … someone who was managing the events team.”

“I will fix any problems – but I did not make them,” he said.

He later wrote:  “If you care more about the ROI of your marketing spend – then the changes I’ve made will be for the better.”

Smith’s LinkedIn post in full:

Yesterday I had a heart-to-heart with the members of my team, and now it’s your turn.

It’s been quite an eventful week. I have just taken back responsibility for the Asian events team at FutureGov, which was one of the hats I wore from 2003-2011. Yes, this means Mohit Sagar and Ellen Quek have left the business. Our events this year simply weren’t good enough.

Once upon a time…

For those of you too young to remember – I started up FutureGov back in 2003, and we ran our first event with Siebel in October 2004. We grew because we focused on issues that mattered to our government audience, and because myself and my editorial team leveraged the trust and knowledge we’d built up through face-to-face conversations.

As Ellen Quek has been helpfully reminding everyone in the last 48 hours, I am the owner of FutureGov. And as the owner I made a decision to let Mohit Sagar and Ellen Quek run the events business over the last 18 months.

This freed up my time to focus on our digital platform – and ask questions about the future of the FutureGov community in an age of digital media. Over this period FutureGov.asia grew its online audience to over 322,000 users – relaunched as a subscription-only service – rolled-out issue-specific newsletters – and won a publishing award.

Trouble at mill

I knew that there were issues in the Asian events side of the business – high staff turnover alone was a key indicator. But as I sat in the 11th annual FutureGov Summit in Kuala Lumpur in October, I suddenly realised that this was an event organised by a company with relationships but no content. Somehow we’d managed to ignore the wealth of government knowledge we’d built up since 2003 and turned into ‘just another events company’.

In the weeks since then I have learned that many of my colleagues in the events team were on the verge of resignation – which is why I made the decision to step in. Over the last few days I have listened to my team – and there have been tears and hugs (and that’s just with our cleaning uncle).

I’m certainly very proud to work with them, and happy to make every sacrifice to help them succeed as a team (only those of you who’ve run your own business will know what I mean).

Some of my friends in the industry have told me that Ellen Quek has been a busy bee this week – certainly a lot of Singaporean marketing managers seem to have had ‘budget cuts and changed marketing focus’ in the last 48 hours. No matter – the business was established to create a platform for government. Companies that really want to engage with government will continue to see value in working with FutureGov.

I will take responsibility for fixing anything that is broken – vendor relationships, speaker relationships, the Nespresso machine in the pantry etc. – but I hope you’ll agree that it is a bit unfair that the problems of the events team are now being laid at my door by … someone who was managing the events team. I will fix any problems – but I did not make them.

Next steps

Having spoken to my team this week, I will now be reaching out to our government friends – as well as the companies we’ve been working with.

I’m sorry in advance if you had a close working relationship with Mohit and Ellen. I know they are talented, charming individuals – and frankly you may much prefer hanging out with them than a greybeard in a batik shirt.

But my team seem to like me. And government officials seem to like me. So in time, I hope you can appreciate what I bring to the table – at least enough to develop a trusted professional working relationship.

If you care more about the ROI of your marketing spend – then the changes I’ve made will be for the better: editorially-driven content, more engaged audiences, alongside companies that have something to say – all blended together across digital and events-based channels.

The events will be smaller by design – featuring less companies, and giving more time for government to drive the conversation. This won’t be for everyone, and that’s fine. But for those looking for steak rather than sizzle … come tell us how you like it cooked.

Last but not least…

Sorry I took my eye off the ball. I think I’ve learned my lesson, and it won’t happen again. I tend to believe what people tell me, which is a bit odd considering my background as a journalist. If you suspect I’m making the same mistakes in future – please slap me.

Neither Quek nor Sagar had responded to Mumbrella’s request for their version of the events that led to their exits.

Marketing reported yesterday that Quek has made “unsubstantiated allegations” over unpaid salary and commission owed to her for the last two years, as well as monies “owed to CPF and the tax office” and a number of sponsorship cancellations.

The sackings emerge six months after Alphabet Media, which Smith founded in 2003, lost a legal tangle with a former sales executive over unpaid salary.

  • Disclaimer: The author of this story was an employee of Alphabet Media from February 2009 – December 2010.
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