Ep 80: Commodities People | Inside the World's Leading Commodity Tech Events Business

In this episode of the Maritime SoftwareHub - The People Podcast, Callum Beaumont speaks with Ben Hillary, Managing Director at Commodities People, about his two decades in the commodity markets and events world and what has kept him at the centre of it. They explore what Commodities People does and the role it plays in the wider commodity tech ecosystem, from running global events to collecting buyer sentiment data that reveals how vendors and buyers are actually using events as part of their commercial strategy.

Ben shares what separates vendors who consistently get strong ROI from those who don't, covering what the best do differently before, during, and after an event, and the common mistakes he sees repeated across the industry. The conversation also looks at how the role of events in the commodity tech buying journey has shifted over time, and what vendors need to bring to the table as AI and new data platforms reshape how firms evaluate and buy technology.

Having scaled Commodities People across the US, Europe, and Dubai, Ben also reflects on the biggest commercial lessons in building an events business across very different markets, and offers practical advice for anyone earlier in their career in maritime software or commodity tech looking to build their profile and open doors through events.

If you would like to learn more, you can visit Commodities People at www.commodities-people.com or reach out to Ben directly via LinkedIn.

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This podcast is brought to you by Cordell Beaumont, the specialist maritime software, commodity insights, and carbon intelligence recruitment agency.