Next in our Agency Focus series, where we shine a spotlight on the agencies that help shape our industry and contribute to the beam community, we turn our attention to beam Board Director Caroline Medcalf, who was recently promoted to Chief Operations Officer at XSEM.

Caroline joined the Leeds-based agency in 2024 and stepped into her new role in June this year. Co-founders Dan Bardgett and Michael Gwilliam have also taken on new roles as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Commercial Officer respectively, as XSEM builds on a period of strong growth.

We spoke to Caroline about her journey, the people behind XSEM’s success, what’s next for the agency and why she believes agencies get the most from beam when they get involved.

Talk to us about XSEM… For those that don’t know who you are, tell us about your business?

XSEM is an award-winning brand engagement agency based in Leeds. We’ve been around for over 20 years and are now a mid-sized agency with a team of around 40 people, working across corporate events, incentives, marketing, creative, golf events, and venue find.

We work with some brilliant brands and have long-standing relationships with many of our clients, which is something we’re really proud of. We’re large enough to have significant experience and industry knowledge across the business, but still small enough to get to know our clients really well, and for our senior team to stay close to the work.

Our purpose is simple – make people happy. That means our clients, their customers, and our own team.

Congratulations on your recent promotion. How do you want to develop yourself and your team moving forward?

Thank you! I want people to feel confident that they can develop and build a career at XSEM. We’re putting a lot of focus into developing our next leaders, working to create opportunities for people to progress, and having open conversations about what people want to do next. I’m a strong believer that you can maintain high standards among the team while still having a supportive, people-first culture. The two should go hand in hand.

Moving into the COO role has also made me think about my own development as much as everyone else’s. One of the things I’m currently working on personally is not always jumping in to fix things! I’m naturally a problem solver, but part of my role now is creating the space for other people to step up, make decisions and take ownership.

What key successes/milestones have you seen over the last few years?

This year has been a big one for XSEM. We’ve hit record numbers, won some significant new business, and launched two new divisions – Pharmaceutical and Venue Find – so there’s been a lot happening!

The Pharmaceutical division is growing very quickly and is an area where we see huge potential. Venue Find is a natural extension of what we already do for our clients, and we’ve appointed the highly experienced Kristy Hogan as Head of Venues to lead the charge.

We have also won Bronze at the M&IT Awards in the Best Intermediary Agency (Large) category for the last three years, which is well-deserved recognition for the whole team. Most of our business comes from repeat clients, which demonstrates not only how well we deliver, but also the trust our clients place in us to keep raising the bar.

Some of my favourite milestones over the last few years have been seeing people within the business develop and progress. As we grow, I want to make sure we continue creating those opportunities because, ultimately, our people have got us to where we are.

As a longstanding member, how do you feel the industry has changed, and how has beam evolved with this?   

Fundamentally not that much, it’s all still about relationships, customer service and sales, but technology has re-shaped the way we work.  Trends have obviously changed over time and beam aren’t afraid to embrace and discuss what’s important to their members at any given time.

If you could describe your agency in 3 words, what would they be?

People. Passionate. Brave.

People, because they’re at the heart of everything we do.

Passionate, because we genuinely care about what we deliver and the relationships we have with our clients.

And brave, because we’re prepared to try things, challenge ourselves and keep changing. We don’t want to stand still!

As a Board Director to beam, what made you want to get involved?

I think if you’ve worked in an industry for a long time, there comes a point when you should give something back. Being a Board Director gives me the perfect platform to do that, through building connections with industry colleagues and having conversations with the next generation.

I’ve worked in the events industry for many years, and being part of organisations like beam is a brilliant way to stay connected with what’s happening across the sector. Things change quickly, whether that’s new initiatives, developments, challenges, or opportunities. Being involved means you can help shape those conversations too.

It’s also a great opportunity to make new connections and learn from people working in different parts of the industry.

Why would you encourage other agencies to join beam?

There’s a huge amount of knowledge and experience within the beam membership, and you gain access to people with complementary experience from across the industry.

Being a member also keeps you up to date with what’s happening across the sector, gives you the chance to share ideas and experiences, and, of course, there’s the networking and social side too. This is a people industry, and there’s still a lot to be said for getting in a room together and having a conversation.

But don’t just join – get involved. Come to the events, join the conversations, meet people, and contribute. That’s when you really see the value of being part of it.

What’s next for XSEM?

More growth, but making sure we do it in the right way. We’ve had a record year in 2026, so we’re coming from a strong position. Pharma and Venue Find will continue to be exciting growth areas for us, but our Exhibitions and Customer Engagement divisions are also seeing record growth, alongside continued development of our core Events, Creative, Incentives and Golf offerings.

A big focus for me in my new role is making sure that, as we grow, we don’t lose what makes XSEM a great place to work. We’ll continue investing in our people, looking at how we can work smarter, and making sure our clients receive the level of service they’ve come to expect from us.

There’s lots happening, which is exactly how we like it!