Looking to the future of events Ungerboeck wraps up a year of unprecedented growth and innovation
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t the end of 2020, Ungerboeck, the world’s leading event management software provider, unveiled the ‘We Will Event Again’ campaign. The video series reflected on the difficulties venues and event professionals experienced during the global pandemic and highlighted how the event industry adapted to create and deliver new event experiences. One year on from that video and after several false starts, the event industry is ready to meet the pent-up demand for inperson events. As Ungerboeck President and Chief Executive, Manish Chandak said in late 2020 with words that are still relevant, “never has our industry lived through such challenging times”, adding “the bounce back will be huge, and we will be there to support the industry and help our customers make up for the lost revenue, lost time, and lost connections. “We will meet again, we will exhibit again, we will conference again, we will cheer again, and we will event again.” Fred Lazzerini, Ungerboeck Senior Vice President, International.
True to Chandak’s words, Ungerboeck has acquired Priava, a cloud-based venue and event management system with a wide portfolio of global customers. This acquisition provides a platform to accelerate industry innovation and add more value for customers all over the world. Ungerboeck has undergone a period of rapid international growth. Acquiring Priava with its strong representation in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, gives the US-based Ungerboeck an even greater international presence. Priava Group Chief Executive, Tom Gleeson explained “this is an extremely exciting moment in Priava’s history. “In joining forces with Ungerboeck, we will build on the momentum we have created and work together to deliver stateof-the-art venue and event management solutions to drive the industry forward.” 30 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 148
Customers can keep using the products and services they currently use without interruption with both Ungerboeck and Priava continuing to support all existing customers with the same focus on success. As the product teams come together, customers can look for exciting new offerings that add value to their event business. Chandak noted “our goal is to have the breadth and scale to serve the industry better. “We welcome the Priava team to the Ungerboeck family. Together, we can rapidly develop the kinds of innovative solutions needed to succeed in the post-pandemic world.” Fred Lazzerini, Ungerboeck Senior Vice President, International, explained “this acquisition accelerates our objective to grow internationally. We’re bringing in more venues in the Ungerboeck community, and adding staff in Australia, India, and the UK. “By combining resources, we can support event professionals with a higher level of efficiency and expertise. Current and future customers can expect faster industry growth, rapid innovation, more product offerings, and additional resources designed to better serve the event business.” Before being promoted to his current position earlier this year, Lazzerini had been Ungerboeck’s Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, since 2011. In his new role, Lazzerini will oversee sales and delivery for all Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East,