Spencer (41) was educated at Millfield School and studied law at Kings College, London. In his youth, he represented Wales at rugby and tennis in the UK National Under-18 teams and played Junior Wimbledon.
Spencer's interest in business media began at Millfield and was consolidated at university, where he created three framework business titles and sold them to a leading UK publisher.
Spencer joined Sterling Publications in 1990 as a Sales Executive, then Sales Manager, helping to launch and successfully sustain over ten business-to-business titles during his tenure.
Spencer founded GDS Publishing Ltd in October 1993 to specialise in industrial, government-led publications for the burgeoning Chinese market. The company launched over forty business-to-business titles, was name-checked alongside Tony Blair on China's national news as 'best for Chinese business', and – following a move into India – deemed to be 'of national importance' by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
In 1998, GDS Publishing became GDS International and launched its first conference, Enterprise China. The hugely successful Enterprise series of conferences was rolled out across China and Latin America in the next two years.
In 2000, GDS International launched its first Senior Executive Summit under the 'Next Generation' banner. This became the catalyst for ten years of rapid growth (GDS grew 40% in 2010). In 2011, GDS will hold over 70 Summits for C-level Executives from a wide range of industries and across the globe.
Today, GDS International is determined to become the world's no. 1 business-to-business events company. It's going to be an exciting journey!
