Leadership series: Paul Michael

Through our Leadership Series, we highlight outstanding industry leaders through in-depth interviews.

In this interview, we speak to Paul Michael, Managing Director at Coventry Building Society Arena.

Tell us a little about yourself and your business.

I’m Managing Director at Coventry Building Society Arena, one of the UK’s leading multi-purpose venues and a key driver for the local economy in Coventry. 

We have built a reputation over the last 20 years as a leading venue for events, but we are looking now to deliver on the venue’s founding goal of being a 24/7, 365 day-a-year destination. 

As one of the country’s most versatile venues, we are able to host live sport, music, entertainment, conferences, exhibitions and award ceremonies all in the same week. We are home to Coventry City Football Club and have welcomed some of the biggest names in music to our stage, with Harry Styles, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran and Take That just a few of the people who have performed at the venue in recent years. I’ve spent more than 20 years working in hospitality and events. 

You have to be flexible, able to act quickly, but ensure people are at the centre of everything you do, whether that’s staff, clients or guests.

What initially inspired you or sparked your interest in pursuing this career?

My career has always been rooted in hospitality, and the reason why I joined the industry in the first place is why I’m still here all those years later. 

It is the fast-paced environment that appealed to me. No two days are the same in hospitality, and in a venue like Coventry Building Society Arena, you can multiply that by ten. 

I started in hotels, where you quickly learn the importance of service standards, customer experience and strong teams. You are also trained to expect the unexpected, and that is something I have carried through my career. 

What first attracted me to the sector was the variety and the opportunity to deliver great experiences for people. 

I’m still driven by that, regardless of if someone is attending a football match, conference, concert or award ceremony, the aim is always to provide the same standard of service and meet expectations every time.

What motivates you in your work and what do you find most fulfilling about being a business leader?

What motivates me is the opportunity to make an impact, not only on our business, but on the wider economy too.

We are in a fortunate position at Coventry Building Society Arena because the events we host can have a positive impact beyond the venue itself. 

That is one of the most fulfilling parts of the role. 

We are not just delivering events, we are helping to bring people into Coventry, support the visitor economy and create opportunities for other businesses. 

Leadership is also about giving back. I’m proud to be an active member of the regional business community, and through my roles as chairman of Destination Coventry and as a board director at the Association of Event Venues, I’m able to support the wider tourism and events sector regionally and nationally.

What do you see as the biggest challenges currently facing the landscape where you are and how should/will a business like yours respond?

We need to understand the expectations of today’s audiences, but also think ahead to how we communicate, market and deliver experiences for Gen Alpha and Gen Beta. 

It is important that opportunities are reaching young people and showing them the breadth of careers available in hospitality and events. The old ways of reaching young people simply aren’t going to be as effective anymore. 

There is also the continued challenge of rising costs and growing expectations from visitors and event organisers. 

Technology is also changing the sector. AI and data-driven approaches will play an increasingly important role in improving efficiency and productivity. If you can use AI to streamline operations and processes, it allows the team to focus more on delivering incredible experiences.

How do you stay updated on industry trends, customer expectations, and regulatory changes?

We work with hundreds of event organisers and partners. 

Their feedback is key in helping us understand how expectations are changing. I also spend a lot of time engaging with regional and national stakeholders. I’m able to stay close to the key conversations affecting tourism, events, venues and skills, and I do this through my role as chairman of Destination Coventry and as a board director at the Association of Event Venues. 

Our partnerships are important too. Working with organisations such as E.ON on sustainability and CBRE on facilities management gives us specialist insight and helps us keep improving how the venue operates.

What is or are your biggest career achievement(s)?

Stepping into the Managing Director role while the venue was still recovering from administration was a key moment in my career. 

In the following years we I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved and that work has given us the foundations to build even more under the new ownership of Coventry City. 

It has been a phenomenal journey over the last three years. 

We adopted the ‘thinking without limits’ mantra by pushing boundaries, innovating and doing things differently. 

This mantra has taken us onto new heights, and we have seen growth across all areas of the business, with 1.2 million annual visitors and building a reputation as one of the UK’s most versatile venues. 

The last few months alone have been full of real ‘pinch me’ moments, from the promotion of Coventry City to the Premier League and how our team has delivered brilliant matchday experiences all season, to standing at the back of a capacity crowd stadium bowl to see Take That take to the stage for three back-to-back nights. 

Those moments show the scale of what we can achieve at the venue and the opportunity ahead of us as we continue to grow across sport, live entertainment, conferences, exhibitions and events.

What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned?

The biggest lesson is to expect the unexpected, but make sure people remain at the centre of everything you do. 

In hospitality and events, things can change very quickly.  

You are constantly balancing service standards, cost discipline and growth, but you can only do that successfully if you have a strong team and a clear sense of purpose. 

Resilience is so important as a leader. 

The venue has come through a major period of change I the last five years and the progress we have made shows what can be achieved when you have a strong, ambitious and resilient team, that is willing to change and think differently.

How do you balance the demands of commercial performance with staff well-being, retention, and culture building?

A venue like ours only succeeds if the team has the skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver across a very busy event calendar. 

Investing in our people has been a major focus, with the introduction of new training programmes in the last few months to make that even more accessible. 

They need the skills, knowledge and confidence to solve problems in real time and ensure a smooth event experience. 

We have senior staff in the team that have been here since the venue opened more than 20 years ago, so that investment in people has always been at the heart of what we do and we are continuing to do that. 

Commercial success and investment in people come hand in hand.

The business is stronger and the customer experience improves if you can get that balance right.

If you could change one policy, trend, or misconception about the sector, what would it be?

I would also like to see greater recognition of the career opportunities in the sector, as this is a sector that really can provide endless opportunities. 

Hospitality can provide incredibly varied and rewarding careers, but we need to do more as an industry to show young people what is possible. 

The sector is fast-paced and demanding, but it is also full of opportunity. 

We need to be better as an industry in how we talk about that.