A safe space to talk
Meeting &
Event Network
A confidential, professionally supported space for men working in the live events, experiential and MICE industry to talk openly, honestly and without judgement.
Because from the outside it can look energising. From the inside, it can be isolating.
The live event, experiential and MICE industry is fast-moving, high-pressure and deeply people-driven.
While the industry projects confidence and momentum, many men within it experience stress, exhaustion and emotional strain quietly and alone.
MEN was created in response to that reality.
WHAT MEN IS
MEN is a confidential network for men working across the events, experiential and MICE industry.
It provides a calm, supported space to talk openly about work, life and the pressures that come with both, or simply to listen.
Sessions are professionally facilitated and co-hosted with a trained therapist to ensure the environment is safe, respectful and properly held.
You don’t need to prepare anything.
You don’t need to speak if you don’t want to.
Listening is just as valid as talking.
MEN is built around conversations, not solutions.
There is no cost to attend
Who is behind men?
Co-founders
James Hitchen
Clinical Director
The Wellbeing & Recovery Collective
About James
James is a qualified therapist with over seven years’ experience supporting people with addiction, eating disorders, and a wide range of mental health and emotional wellbeing challenges. Before retraining, he spent 17 years working in the events and hospitality industry, holding senior roles in high-pressure, fast-paced environments.
It was during this time that James experienced his own struggles with mental health. Navigating long hours, constant pressure, and a culture that often normalised burnout led him to seek support for himself — a turning point that ultimately inspired him to retrain as a therapist. That lived experience, alongside his professional training, shapes the way he works today.
James brings a down-to-earth, compassionate approach to his work. He understands the unique demands of the events industry and the impact they can have on wellbeing, identity, and relationships. His focus is on creating safe, honest spaces where people can feel heard, supported, and less alone.
He is the founder and Clinical Director of The Wellbeing & Recovery Collective, an online mental health service supporting individuals across the UK and beyond. Alongside his clinical work, James is passionate about improving access to support within the events industry and is proud to be able to support others.
Robert Kenward
Founder
Jigsaw Talent Solution
About Robert
Robert has spent more than two decades working across the events and recruitment industries. As the founder of Jigsaw Talent Solutions, he’s had thousands of honest, behind-the-scenes conversations with men carrying significant responsibility.
But this isn’t just professional insight. It’s personal.
Since the pandemic, Robert experienced his own challenges with alcohol and mental health. As an independent, it can be isolating at the best of times. When things became difficult, there was nowhere obvious to turn. What followed was a very public episode that forced him to confront it and seek help.
Through that process, something became clear.
The support exists, but nothing tailored to this industry. And in the conversations that followed, with people reaching out, sharing their own experiences, offering support, a pattern emerged.
Ambitious, capable men quietly managing pressure. Expected to stay resilient, regardless of what’s happening internally.
Those conversations stayed with him.
Ambassadors
James
Capell-Abra
Mental Health programme Lead
Stress Matters
About James
James Capell-Abra | Co-Founder & Corporate Wellbeing Specialist | Stress Matters
James helps People and Culture leaders dismantle the “export-to-HR” culture.
He recognises that many managers feel ill-equipped to handle mental health, often defaulting to reactive HR referrals rather than proactive burnout prevention. James changes this narrative, providing leaders with the practical tools to build psychologically safe environments where absenteeism and staff turnover drops and productivity rises.
His expertise is built on a unique foundation of three distinct perspectives:
- Commercial Grit: Having worked in corporate environments but also built and exited a multi-million-pound business, James understands that mental health is a prerequisite for ROI and performance, not a corporate “perk.”
- The Front Line: As a Mental Health First Aid Instructor and Samaritans listening volunteer, he deals with human crisis in its rawest form, bringing a level of empathy and deep listening to his training that cannot be found in a manual.
- Lived Experience: Having navigated his own recovery from depression and anxiety, James speaks with an authority and insight that only comes from walking the walk.
James is a Mental Health First Aid Instructor who bypasses “tick-box” training and glossy, one-off initiatives. Instead, he focuses on high-impact, integrated programmes that move the needle on workplace culture. For organisations ready to move beyond slogans and invest in the genuine resilience of their people, James is the go-to specialist.
Mark Green
UK and European business development manager
QEII Centre
About Mark
I’ve spent most of my adult life working in the industry, and I’m fortunate enough to be regarded as an expert in my field, having been invited to judge various industry awards and I’ve won a few too. Throughout it all, I strive to maintain a professional, knowledgeable and friendly approach always remaining grounded and sincere.
MEN is a very well timed and a vital safe space for our industry. The opportunity to contribute and make even a small difference made the decision to get fully involved an easy one.
With the many different challenges that people our industry face it’s a crucially important facility to help. Some may appear to cope well or even believe they do, but in reality may be struggling and opening up isn’t always easy. I can relate to this from personal experience.
Having a dedicated, judgement-free platform where people can share their experiences, access support and connect with others who have faced similar challenges and come through them is hugely important for our industry.
Why MEN exists?
Stress. Burnout. Anxiety.
Addiction. Loneliness. Identity.
leadership pressure.
In this industry, men are often expected to be resilient, dependable and in control.
Many hold leadership roles where others rely on them, and where showing vulnerability can feel risky, inappropriate or professionally unsafe.
MEN was created after countless quiet conversations with founders, directors, freelancers, technicians and producers. Men who appeared successful and capable on the surface, yet shared similar struggles behind closed doors.
The need was clear: a space to talk, without bravado, judgement or labels.
Who MEN Is For?
MEN is open to men and those who identify as male working across the live events, experiential and MICE ecosystem.
Career stage, job title and seniority are intentionally irrelevant.
What matters is a willingness to show up and engage respectfully.
All are welcome.
HOW IT WORKS
MEN sessions are held quarterly and are confidential, guided and professionally supported.
Clear boundaries are in place around discretion, respect and psychological safety, allowing participants to speak honestly without fear of judgement, exposure or professional consequence.
MEN does not promise instant change.
What it offers is something quieter and often more powerful:
Connection.
Normalisation.
The reassurance that what you’re experiencing is not unique or shameful.
How MEN Sessions Are Structured
Sessions take place in person, in small, considered groups and run for a couple of hours.
Sessions are intentionally designed to feel human, grounded and unforced.
Each session is set up as a talking circle, moderated by a trained mental-health professional alongside MEN facilitators. The role of the moderator is not to diagnose, direct or fix, but to ensure the space remains safe and balanced.
There is no pressure to speak.
No expectation to share personal details.
No requirement to find the “right words”.
Sessions are lightly guided, allowing topics to emerge organically based on what people are actually dealing with at that moment.
Everything shared is treated with complete confidence.
Nothing is recorded.
No notes are taken.
No follow-up reporting.
No social media content.
What’s said in the room stays in the room.
Contact
GET INVOLVED
If you work in the live events, experiential or MICE industry and feel this resonates, you’re welcome to get in touch.
Whether you’re curious, cautious or quietly carrying more than you let on MEN is here.
Download the info pack or drop your email address in the box below to register for updates and more information.
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