In person: Martin Lines, Nestle

Martin Lines fell in love with events while a graduate trainee at brewer Courage. He then embarked on a career that would see him reclaim tequila as a respectable drink and then head a major agency, before returning client-side with Nestle Food Services. Events-wise, he has a two-strong team and recent overseas incentives have seen him take groups to Las Vegas, Italy and South Africa. On a personal level, he says his twin daughters are enough to keep him in check.

It ain't heavy

I spent 18 months as a graduate trainee at Courage and worked on the UK launch of Miller Lite. There were a lot of events, from product launches to a big incentive that saw us take trade customers to Milwaukee, where the beer is brewed. I immediately saw the value of events and their central place in the marketing mix.

Know your poison

If you know how to position a brand within your events, showing their value is straightforward. I spent seven years working with Jose Cuervo tequila. When I arrived in 1993, licensees and consumers still saw tequila as a drink made from a cactus with a worm in it that got you pissed. We took our top trade customers to Mexico for four days and included visits to the town of Tequila to show them how it was made: no worm, no cactus and only as strong as vodka. It did a great job of winning hearts and minds. Sales of Jose Cuervo went on to rise around 20 per cent annually during my time there.

Can you feel the force?

When I went to the dark side (laughs) with TFI Group, I brought my client understanding with me. My strengths were not on the operational side, they were on understanding how to market events to clients. It is still frustrating - not enough clients understand the value of events and how to work with agencies. And events are still not seen as being as strategic as they should - there's work for corporate event planners to do internally, and a lot of agencies need to stop being so focused on operations. They need to concentrate on input, not just output.

Keep your eye on the prize

Nestle Food Services is one of six divisions of Nestle UK, which in turn is a £1.6bn part of the £35bn parent company, Nestle SA. My division covers 400 product lines, which we sell to 2,500 customers, so the challenge for me is keeping the focus on the right brands at the right time. The brands that are easy to sell aren't always the ones that make the money.

I loved my Mexican wave

Jose Cuervo provided probably my proudest career moment to date, taking a small brand turning over £10-£12m and creating a dynamic business worth £100m.

Feel the fear and ditch the Powerpoint

It's too easy not to take risks and it is very difficult to be truly creative. In my first job, I was given the freedom to learn, make mistakes and succeed, which was vital. We have just had our company conference, which was very traditional until this year - lots of being talked at, lots of presentations and lots of Powerpoint. This year, we had just one, short, opening presentation that was scripted and the rest of the time was spent on things such as break-out groups inspired by customer interviews, an anonymous Q&A with the board and team building.

It pays to have clean briefs

My biggest bugbear when I was agency side was unclear briefs from clients who didn't know what they wanted. Too often agencies don't charge for their time - clients think they are saving money, but it doesn't get the best from an agency. When we hold pitches we have a small, targeted group of agencies and pay them for the pitch. It's small beer compared to the overall budget.

Keep the home fires burning

My first marketing director was a great marketer and a huge inspiration, but personally, when I've had a bad day, going home to my children puts everything in perspective.

PERSONNEL FILES - PROFESSIONAL
1984: Graduate trainee to marketing manager, Courage
1991: Marketing manager, Foster's
1993: International marketing director, Jose Cuervo
2000: Consultancy projects
2002: Managing director, TFI
2006: Marketing Director, Nestle Food Services
PERSONAL
Favourite restaurant Astoux et Brun in Cannes
Dream Car Aston Martin Vanquish
Alternative job Wine merchant
Hobbies Golf, cycling, travel
Favourite hotel Pavillon de la Reine, Paris
Favourite cities Beirut, Stockholm, Cape Town