Five minutes with…Jonathan Haynes

7 September 2017

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We sat down with Business Development Manager Jonathan Haynes to find out more about his role at White Light.
What does your role entail at WL?
My role as Business Development Manager means I am responsible for growing and sustaining WL’s market share within the theatre and leisure markets; with a strong emphasis on key account support and development. Predominately I’ll work with larger venues such as the National Theatre and Royal Opera House and I also work closely with a string of lighting designers, including those just starting out in the industry. Much of my role is about promoting the WL brand and ensuring that everyone is aware of the services we can offer them. The last few years have seen huge growth at WL, with the company expanding into new areas such as video and audio, and I am always keen to remind even some of our oldest clients that we have a huge amount to offer!
How did you first get involved in the company?
I’ve now officially worked at White Light for ten years! I attended Royal Holloway, University of London, where I studied for a History of Politics degree. It was here I fell in love with lighting and quickly found myself becoming Head of Lighting at the Students Union. I found myself lighting, programming and operating a range of shows which included plays, musicals, comedy shows, nightclub evenings and even gigs! Somehow I still managed to end up with a 2:1!! Upon graduating, I started freelancing on a number of West End shows including Lion King, Dirty Dancing, Billy Elliot and Mamma Mia, as well as a wide range of corporate events at some of London’s most prestigious venues. However, I soon realised that the freelance lifestyle wasn’t entirely for me (I like to know where the next work is coming from!). As a result, I started to look for full-time employment that involved lighting in some capacity. That’s when I remembered I’d used the WYSWYG room at White Light when I took a show up to Edinburgh in my final year at university. I always remembered how friendly and accommodating they were and when I saw they had a vacancy for Sales Co-ordinator, I applied and got the job. Over the next few years, and during a time when the company grew exponentially, I worked my way up to a Senior Technical Sales role before becoming Business Development Manager.
What does a typical week in your life look like?
No two weeks are ever the same but I’ll try my best to summarise! I start every week by visiting the office on a Monday morning. This will mainly involve having a catch up with the Customer Service team to check in with them all and receive a progress update on the current jobs we’re working on. I will also attend internal meetings with the rest of the business development team to update them on new leads and developments. Then from Tuesday to Thursday I’m normally out on the road visiting venues across the country. I think it’s really important that I’m out there as it gives me the chance to speak to venues, meet them face-to-face and hear their thoughts, as well as discuss future projects or requirements. Also, where relevant, I’ll take some fixtures with me and perform on-site demos or show a new fixture or technology that might be of interest. Clients often find it the most useful when they can see how a certain product works in their space; something that is much harder to envisage at a trade show. As I’m out three days, this means I visit a lot places (I remember at one point last year I’d driven 1,400 miles in four days!). Once I’m back from my travels, I’ll spend Friday working from home, planning meetings and arranging visits for the following week.

What are you currently working on at the moment?
As always, it’s extremely busy at the company. I’ve just got back from Wireless Solution in Sweden where I undertook training on their new G5 range. I’m gearing up for the PLASA Show next week, as I almost always represent the company at tradeshows across the country. In terms of projects, we’ve just finished supplying and commissioning the lighting for Google event spaces across Europe. We recently delivered all of the loose kit to the Story House, a brand-new theatre in Chester. We’ve also just sold some brand new Robert Juliat Dalis and GLP X4 Bar 20s to the National Theatre along with followspots to the Royal Albert Hall. I’m also continuing our work with Westfield, The Ritz and the BBC – so I’m certainly keeping busy!
And finally, what has been your proudest achievement whilst working at WL?
Thankfully, I’ve worked on some amazing projects at WL so these are only a select few. Obviously commissioning and delivering lighting packages for Google Dublin and London were brilliant projects, simply due to the magnitude of what we delivered. I was really pleased with our work on the David Bowie exhibition at the V & A as we not only supplied the lighting equipment but I also programmed it all. Our recent work at the Barbican was also very special as, in the space of a year, we completely replaced the lighting in their theatre and concert hall (both the moving head concert rig and the overhead orchestral rig). It was quite a big ask but something, as a company, we were able to achieve. I’m looking forward to what the rest of 2017 has to offer!