Impact International: UK/Euro 2024 Honoree Zac Fox

“IT’S THE AUDIENCES I’M IN LOVE WITH”

When Zac Fox gets asked about the path that led her to becoming the COO of one of the UK’s most successful promoters, she apologises and says, “I failed all my exams, joined the army and then accidentally got a job in the music industry.” It’s true, but doesn’t mean she wasn’t qualified. Fox, born and raised around the British Army, and serving herself aged 17 until 24, started out as a receptionist at legendary UK promoter Midlands Concert Promotions, where she learnt everything about the trade. She left after the company got acquired by SFX and Clear Channel because of a fall out with her boss, Stuart Galbraith, but joined him again when he formed his own company, Kilimanjaro Live, in 2008.

That business is now one of several comprised under the new company KMJ Entertainment, launched this year, bringing all the various parts Kilimanjaro had added to its core business of promoting concerts over the years together and filling her desk with the challenges that making a single group out of multiple companies, teams and disciplines brings. “The group had grown out of Kilimanjaro Live and it had become so wide ranging that it made sense to establish its own identity. KMJ encompasses promoters, ticket agents, festivals, spoken word producers, production companies and an exhibition venue across the UK and Ireland, and it was great to take the time to think about who we are now and establish that brand both internally and externally,” she says.

When Fox was named COO in 2020, she gradually became less involved in the on-site delivery of shows. “As of this year,” she says, “I’ve officially stepped away from delivering concerts and festivals, and that has meant a bit of a challenge to my identity. Who am I if I don’t know every detail about our latest stadium gig? It’s very exciting though as it’s giving me the opportunity to look at what improvements I can bring to our business operations and the impact they could have on our continued success. I am also busy project managing the fancy new office that we move into before Christmas!”

Fox had zero interest in the music industry when she first joined it in the 1990s. To this day, she says, “it’s not necessarily the music I am in love with. It’s the audiences. What we do brings clear joy to crowds of people and that never gets old.”