I am presently Senior Director, Business Development for Harman Professional EMEA. I have been working in the entertainment and event industry for over 25 years. After starting my career working venues, and on shows and events around the world, I migrated to a more commercial role in the mid 2010’s. After driving the sales for two of the largest UK lighting rental companies for a few years, I was headhunted to join Harman in 2018. Initially joining as the UK Sales Manager for the Martin brand. I quickly moved to a EMEA wide sales role, before becoming Head for Martin in EMEA in 2020. A promotion to Director in 2022 followed by a 4 month consultancy role running the North American office in 2024. I have constantly shown continual growth and development through the business. In January 2025 I was promoted to becoming Senior Director, now heading up the Audio, Video and Lighting sales and support teams across the EMEA region.
Outside of work I live in the Cambridge area. I have been a season ticket holder at Cambridge United for over 20 years and am a former Chairman of the supporters panel. I am a massive Motorsport fan, travelling regularly too many different events around the world to see cars go around a track very fast… I also enjoy travel, reading, and have just started running and I hope to complete my first 10K race this year.
I’m ambitious to drive my passion for life and business to be confident in what I do by being dedicated, focused and motivated to the people in and around my life both at home and at work. I will show people the upmost respect for their beliefs and culture that they bring and will try and help them transform their lives for the better.
I like to lead my teams with passion, freedom and empowering them to succeed in their chosen area of business. I believe in allowing them to “do the right thing” and believe in a culture of collaboration, and clear communication. I am a firm believer of 1% and Kaizen continual development, always finding new and better ways to do things, even if that involves breaking things first!
In my spare time I like to study business leaders, thinkers, politicians and understand how I can learn from others and develop myself to being a better leader, and being better at work. Whilst I have many different thinkers that I have studied the following quotes are some of my faviourites and quotes I use and take strength from:
Leadership is all about people. It’s not about organisations. It’s not about plans. It’s not about stratergies. It’s about people motivating people to get the job done. You have to be people centred – Colin Powell
When we focus on the competition, we become reactive. When we focus on improving ourselves, we become innovative – Simon Sinek
The future doesn’t belong to the faint hearted it belongs to the brave – Ronald Regan
Experienced businessman with over 20 years in the entertainment & events industry in multiple roles.
A hard working, entrepreneurial, driven person. Confident working on my own or leading teams.
Ambitious and driven to be successful. Known for being a problem solver, someone to fix and resolve issues, develop new ways of doing things differently.
Strong marketing and sales bias. A natural leader and manager of people.
Ready to bring your vision to life with world-class lighting and technical expertise? Whether you’re planning a major production, event, or unique project, Ben Payne and his team are here to guide you every step of the way.
Our clients value our drive, vision, and ability to drive impactful change, praising our leadership and dedication to success.
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