Kai’s Message – September 2024:
August saw two special delegation activities for UFI members: We had the opportunity to take a group behind the scenes at the “Deutsches Haus” at the Paris Olympics, thanks to our colleagues from Messe Düsseldorf. The Games really managed to transform Paris into an even more special place, and quite a few UFI members were involved in that – Viparis, GL Events and others.
We also took a UFI delegation to India on a three-day whirlwind tour to Mumbai and Delhi. We looked at all the new and expanded venues across both cities, met with policymakers and with the very active Board of our member association IEIA, and discussed how we can work together even better to foster further growth for India’s exhibition industry.
September is busy, with UFI activities every week: These lines were written en route to Riyadh for the pilot launch of our new entry-level education programme. When you read this, we will welcome the UFI leadership to the annual September meeting in Paris, just when the Paralympics are being held. One week later – Monterey and our first ever UFI Americas Conference, and then soon after Singapore for the 3rd Asia CEO Summit with AEO, SACEOS, and SISO.
So, things are going well, and these are good and busy times for the UFI team. Time to look ahead and continue to evolve and change UFI. Which is why it is time for UFI to have a new CEO. This role is quite unique, and ultimately, it is a stewardship. From my first day here at UFI back in 2015, I have seen my role as that of a steward, tasked with taking UFI forward – from point A to point B – and then handing it over to the next person for him or her to navigate it through the next phase.
Well, we certainly got to “B” pretty well within a few years, up to the point where we even met with the Pope. But then we suddenly had to make it through “C” (Covid), facilitate the wish from senior colleagues to have a career change and exit, support the industry’s breathless and amazing recovery, build the “Net Zero Carbon Events Initiative” while solving long-lasting internal structural challenges (see the new membership fee model…). So, by this count, we have added quite some letters to the journey from “A” to “B”.
Next is our jubilee, as 2025 will see our centennial. A lot of the focus will be on our organisation and our history and legacy. We have the major events locked in for 2025. We have a strategy in place that covers all of 2025. We have two years to go until the next election cycle and have a stable and committed UFI leadership globally.
This is the best time for UFI to undergo this management change and for Adeline and a new CEO to lead the amazing team that works for all of you every day.
But, as Geoff Dickinson writes in this UFI Info, “for now, nothing changes”. It is “full steam ahead” towards our Global Congress in Cologne. Please join our community, the UFI team, and me there.
