Behind the curtain: How we helped bring IGEL Now & Next to life in Miami
There’s a version of events where everything is flawless and no one ever finds out how hard it was to get there.
That’s the version attendees experience. The one we live in is messier, more exhilarating, and — honestly — far more satisfying. Fuel was brought on to support IGEL’s flagship event, Now & Next, held this year in Miami.
It’s a large-scale gathering that brings together the endpoint security and EUC (End User Computing) community for keynotes, networking, and an expo floor that doubles as a statement about where the industry is heading. Our brief covered a significant stretch of the production: live show support, event setup help and oversight, all expo graphics design, event branding, video design and production, keynote deck templates, speaker briefing, management and rehearsals, signage print production, and sponsor artwork sign-off. In short.. a lot.
What makes a project like this work isn’t the deliverables themselves (although that’s the bit people see!), it’s the invisible architecture underneath: the systems, the communication, the anticipation of problems before they become crises. That’s project management. And for Now & Next, that fell to Louise.
We sat down with her after the event to get her perspective on what it actually takes to hold something like this together.
Q&A with Louise, Project Manager
You were across almost every workstream on this project, how do you even begin to approach something that size?
“As the project manager, my main responsibility was to ensure everything ran smoothly from proposal through to execution. Day-to-day that meant regular stakeholder liaison, keeping our internal teams on track, and making sure every task was hitting the standard it needed to. The key is just staying close to it and knowing the status of everything at any given moment, so you’re never caught off guard.”
The client’s team was based in a different time zone. How did you handle communication across that?
“I hosted weekly check-ins with IGEL’s internal teams, which became daily as we got closer to the event make sure everyone had a clear, shared picture of where things stood. I’d also send end-of-day updates from our side. Because of the time difference, it almost felt like a handover each evening: here’s what we’ve done, here’s what needs to happen on your end. It kept things moving without anyone losing the thread.”
Walk us through the week…what was the energy like on the ground?
“Saturday was focused. Game-mode on making sure all roles were defined and everyone knew what they were doing. By Sunday there was a bit of light relief as things started visually coming together. Monday was final tweaks, but guests were already starting to arrive and you could feel the buzz beginning to build.
Tuesday was Keynote Day One, and that’s when it really hits you… all that work, and here it is. I got to enjoy some genuine networking, meeting people I’d worked with for years but never actually been in the same room as. Wednesday was Keynote Day Two, and I spent most of it working backstage, which was a first for me. Getting to meet the keynote and guest speakers, making sure their experience felt seamless, that was something special.”
Were there any curveballs?
“There always are. A new sponsor signed on about a week before the event, and on-site we spotted a few graphics that needed adjusting. But that’s where having an exceptional expo build team around you makes all the difference, we worked together to get everything reprinted and in place on time. You just have to stay calm, solve the problem, and move on.”
What would you want someone walking through the space to notice, even without realising it?
“The cohesion. I think this year really felt put together, both visually and operationally. It wasn’t just that things looked good, it felt like a considered experience from start to finish. If someone walked away thinking it all just… worked, that’s the goal. That’s actually the highest compliment.”
You mentioned a moment with the main stakeholder that stuck with you.
“When they came up to me at the end and just couldn’t stop thanking us. It was genuinely emotional. You spend so long with your head down, focused on the next task, that you sometimes forget what you’re building toward. That moment put it all into perspective. It’s a reminder of what’s possible when everyone works as a team.”
Three words to describe the event?
“Seamless, large-scale execution.”
What it takes (And what Fuel brings to the table)
An event like Now & Next is a moving ecosystem. Across the months of pre-production and the days on-site, our team was responsible for shaping how it looked, how it felt, and how smoothly it ran.
That means keynote deck templates built to make speakers look their best. Speaker briefings and rehearsals that mean nothing is left to chance on stage. Expo graphics and branding that give the floor a visual identity worth remembering. Signage and wayfinding that quietly guides thousands of people without anyone noticing the thought that went into it. And the behind-the-scenes project management that holds all of those threads together.
The design work is the thing that makes people feel like they’re somewhere that matters — that communicates the brand, the ambition, and the industry’s direction all at once. As Louise put it: “The design gives attendees something to remember.”
Miami was a backdrop worth rising to. We’d like to think we did. Well done to IGEL and all the other great partners we worked with along the way!
