News Buzz
December 2020
A ViSiONARY LEADER DEPARTS FOR HiS HEAVENLY ABODE Tribute wri en by Raghav Khosla, Group Editor, Exhibi on Showcase
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first met Mr. Behl in 2013 at one of the industry events, when i handed him a copy of Exhibi on Showcase magazine. His personal warmth resonated a sense of belonging and confidence in me. He saw the magazine and pa ed my back and invited me to visit his office some me. Soon i went to see him in his office and while si ng in the guest room i could see him addressing his team in the mee ng room. Though not being able to comprehend anything, i could s ll feel the mo va on! During our mee ng, he told me many useful things about how this industry works. I was very impressed by his office and how fondly (& professionally at par with MNC’s offices) he had created its look and feel. He told me that he is fond of philately, numisma cs and music. Born on September 10, 1944 in Delhi, he did his educa on from La Mar niere College, Lucknow and later Bachelor in History from Delhi University. He
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started his career in 1965 as the Area sales execu ve for India Foils Ltd., Calcu a and his last s nt was as the Director at India Interna onal Wool Secretariat, Bombay in 1984. He started his own business as a proprietary firm in the year 1987 and soon Exhibi ons India Group started to scale one height a er another. Ini ally, he took groups of Indian exhibitors to trade shows in Asia, then the rest of the world. Before leaving, he said that he would like to mentor me personally and he would always remain available for advice & guidance. You meet many people in your life but these are some of the things which you never forget about a person and what essen ally separate a person from another. Mr. Behl is globally recognized for his path-breaking and visionary contribu ons to the exhibi ons industry. Through his pioneering role, he set new standards to a ract unparalleled levels of foreign and domes c investment inflows, genera ng new employment opportuni es and changing lifestyles. Innova on was one of his core values. He launched his 1st tradeshow, which became iconic over the years – The Convergence India expo in 1992. Over
the years, EIG has organised over 100 interna onal trade shows including the crea on of some of the largest exhibi ons in the country. Their current por olio of expos comprises of the Convergence India (incl. Internet of Things India, Mobile India, EmbeddedTech India, Fintech India & Gamethon) and Smart Ci es India (incl. Buildings India, Clean India, Solar India, Transport India, Water India) series of expos, Chartered Ins tute of Logis cs & Transport (CILT) India expo, Global Economic Zones Expo & Conven on 2019, Indo-Russian Friendship Celebra on (IRFC) 2020, in collabora on with the Russian Embassy, India. Mr. Behl received several accolades during his decades of exemplary service to the industry. Under his guidance, the Exhibi ons India Group also received several na onal and interna onal awards in recogni on of its con nued commitment to the exhibi ons sector. Well, Mr. Prem Behl was a true leader in every sense of the word and he inspired many to work & excel in this industry, especially at a me when very few understood it!! The visionary leader le for his heavenly abode on the morning of 7 December, 2020 a er ba ling cri cal illness and lately Covid-19. His departure is a great loss to the industry but his legacy will con nue to live on. Exhibi ons India Group con nue to forge ahead with the vision of Managing Director, Chandrika Behl and Director, Dhruv Behl.
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