Interview

Exhibion Showcase Talks To The Young Leders Of UFI NGL Grant Winners

The UFI NGL Grant promotes next generaon leadership in the exhibion industry, rewarding professionals who show clear iniaves in driving change and innovaon in their area of acvity. The programme is spread over a period of 18 months, allowing the winners to connue to fulfil their daily work obligaons. The Next Generaon Leadership Grand is a fantasc opportunity for UFI to work with young professionals and discuss their vision for the future of our industry. We are convinced that sharing insights that developed from the exchange with the NGL Grantees is not only enriching UFI's perspecve but is beneficial for the global exhibion industry overall. This is why we invite the NGL Grant winners every year to take the stage at the UFI Global Congress to share their thoughts of how the industry must change.

In addion to the speaking opportunity at our annual Congress, the NGL Grant winners have the chance to benefit from execuve level mentoring. “Having been part of this project since its launch five years ago, I highly value UFI's encouragement for cross generaonal exchange. The project has been rewarding for me professionally and personally in many ways and I highly respect the efforts that all NGL Grant winners put into the preparaon of the congress and the enthusiasm in which their thrive during their mentoring experience”. Angela Herberholz, UFI Programme Manager for Educaon and Working Groups.

VIJAY SHARMA

Head: Partnerships & Business Development, Koelnmesse (Singapore)

MATTHEW FUNGE

Managing Director & Founder, Your Stand Builder (UK)

ERIKA KARLSSON

Project Manager, ELMIA (Sweden)

ALEXIS ZAMUDIO

Events Manager, former FINNOVISTA (Mexico)

CHRISTINA RABL Project Manager ISPO, Messe München (Germany)

ES. Please describe your job and your preparaon work for applying for NGL? Vijay: At Koelnmesse Singapore, I work in a revenue generaon role allowing me to interact with clients to address their business objecves – focussed on building sustainable partnerships. I spent close to three months thinking about the problems I wanted address – pandemic happened – but I am glad it’s sll in line with my NGL Grant applicaon. I had to pivot a lile which makes my work even more relevant to the industry.

Mahew: I launched my own event tech startup – Your Stand Builder – in 2018 following 4 years as an exhibion project manager at a worldwide healthcare company, an experience intelligent web plaorm instantly connects exhibitors with stand builders in just a few clicks, and already operates on a global scale across all connents of the world. My background in event tech and focus on the digitalisaon of processes put me in a great posion to be considered for the NGL Grant, and I’m delighted to have been successful in my applicaon! Erika: In my work as a project manager for IT and business development at Elmia, I strive to combine technical soluons and a business point of view together with my co-workers. I have many years of exhibion insights when it comes to developing the future of our industry and creang a beer exhibion experience for tomorrow mostly through digitalizaon as a tool for developing our business.

Alexis: It's curious because my preparaon work included the idea that technology is not the only the answer for our industry… which directly led to the idea for our innovave new service. Our

Today I can say that it's not the technology by itself but the way to use it, and how we can take advantage of that. And now I’m more excited about all new opportunies aer this experience.

Chrisna: I’m currently working as a project manager for ISPO at Messe Muenchen in Germany. There, I’m working on Open Innovaon projects and support companies when they want to do product tests or market research. Before applying for the NGL Grant Program, I have been working to make another summit happen, but it had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

ES. When did you first encounter UFI? Please share a story between you and UFI Vijay: It was through happenstance while I was looking to learn more about the latest innovaons coming out of our industry. I made up my mind to engage with UFI – in some small capacity – when I observed my management regularly engaging and contribung to the global associaon. I instantly knew, UFI would saate my curiosity.

Mahew: I first became properly acquainted with UFI in the lead up to Global Exhibions Day (GED) 2019, as this was the first GED since the launch of my company's new plaorm. I thought the iniave in parcular, as well as the ongoing work they do for the industry, was fantasc and I immediately decided they were an excellent partner to pursue opportunies with as I connued to build my career.

Erika: I encountered UFI on one of my first All-staff meengs at Elmia when a colleague presented insights aer aending one of UFI's global congresses. Since then I have been hoping to get to parcipate myself and this year, I am one of the presenters, amazing!

Alexis: First me I heard about UFI was in 2017 - but it was in 2018 when I knew the programs and especially the NGL Grant. I remember that during a conference organised by UFI's Regional Manager for LatAm Ana María Arango, in Mexico City, I decided to parcipate in.

Chrisna: At my last project, which was a fairly new summit, we wanted to establish a matchmaking program for our parcipants. We had many ideas what we could do but felt that we didn't have a good structure yet. And then, we got the informaon about the Internaonal Summer University 2019 in Cologne, which had matchmaking as focus topic that year. The speaker line-up was great, so I decided to go there and had amazing days at this very well-organized event with a lot of input, ideas and conversaons with the other parcipants.

ES. Why did you apply for the UFI NGL Grant Vijay: Foremost, it allows me to be part of a diverse community driving our industry forward. I saw UFI NGL Grant as a creave space to bring my ideas – addressing industry problems – to life.

Mahew: I saw it as an invaluable opportunity to have a voice in the industry and contribute to how it will take shape in the future, by sharing my own vision for the direcon in which I believe it should go. The extensive exposure across the industry alongside the support from the UFI team was something I didn't want to miss out on, and I felt that I had some really interesng ideas to share with like-minded industry colleagues who like myself are hoping to become future leaders around the world.

Erika: The UFI NGL Grant is a great possibility to enlarge my network within the exhibion industry and gain insights of the same beyond the naonal industry in Sweden. To see and learn from others as well as the mentoring programme is the top reason for applying. Helping me to do my work even beer in the future.

Alexis: I applied to the NGL Grant because it's a great opportunity to learn and to improve myself and my industry from internaonal experiences, i.e. every session with my peers I learn something new and I hope they do too.

Chrisna: The previous project I was working for, was meant to take place at the beginning of March 2020, but with the pandemic becoming more severe, we had to cancel the event in a short noce. Then I realized that our industry wasn't prepared at all for situaons where trade shows can't take place as regular. In 2019, I was doing my master's thesis and it included literature on the future event – what it's going to look like, what the parcipants will expect, etc. With that background and the trauma of seeing your event being built up half-way only to be teared down again, I thought that this year would be a good year to apply for the NGL Grant to get a chance to contribute acvely in the future of our industry.

ES. You are currently preparing your session for the upcoming UFI Global Congress. Can you share with us what you are most excited about? Vijay: I am fortunate to meet and work with fellow NGL Grant winners – also my friends – and UFI team from across the world. Thrilled, and looking forward to sharing our ideas and open a discourse with the UFI fraternity and others.

Mahew: The opportunity to present our forward-thinking, creave ideas to a senior audience of industry leaders, to outline our vision for the future of this global industry. Having such access to powerful figures is a rare opportunity in itself – but the possibility of presenng new concepts and approaches directly to them in order to iniate a much wider conversaon is something I'm sure all of us NGLs will be unbelievably excited about.

Erika: Aer many Zoom-meengs me and my NGL Grant colleagues have come up with a presentaon sharing our ideas and thoughts on how the exhibion industry can work in order to bridge the gap between physical and digital which we believe will be the new normal, post-Covid. My part in the presentaon will focus on digitalizaon and ways to use digital tools and processes.

Alexis: I guess 2 facts: 1) That our session is a product of a challenge to work remotely and with differences in cultures and schedules. 2) That in the middle of this COVID crisis, nothing is decided yet, so our ideas could have a great impact.

Chrisna: I'm most excited about the audience's reacon to our presentaon. Will they be excited? Posive? Supporve? Doubul? Will there be many quesons aerwards? Although it would have been a fantasc experience meeng all the internaonal parcipants at the UFI Global Congress in person, I am looking forward to e-meeng everyone and exchanging with peers across the globe.

About the industry

ES. What in your opinion will be the future of our industry? What subject is closest to your heart w.r.t the exhibion industry? Vijay: I believe future of our industry will be human-centric – enabled by digital technologies – by creang elevated customers experiences, while adding economic and social value to the community.

Mahew: It's clear that our industry will be moving to a more hybrid model going forward, as we move out of the “COVID era” and into the new normal. Technology will certainly play a vital role going forward and the innovaons brought to market by event tech companies everywhere will be of great interest to everyone in the industry. I personally believe this tech revoluon is long overdue, and as awful as this year has been perhaps this can be viewed as something of a silver lining which will allow us to immediately build towards a much improved future exhibion industry.

Erika: We will see a new tomorrow past the pandemic where our behaviour certainly has changed. Digital meengs are here to stay but in collaboraon with the physical one. I believe we all are longing for and feeling the urge to meet face-to-face again, and my work to combine this with digitalizaon is my priority.

Alexis: I really hope the formal rise of EventTechs in response to the needs of innovaon and technology. In the same way I want to see this industry trying to be closer to our clients and visitors, being more aracve, more excing and with beer results.

Chrisna: In my opinion, we will see major disrupons when it comes to the physical size of the events. When the pandemic is under control, there will be a change in all stakeholders' expectaons and the ways of achieving the set goals. Organizers will have enlarged their offers to exhibitors and visitors by various digital opons, exhibitors will go for quality in leads, rather for quanty and will start to use exhibions in different ways and visitors will be more open to aend trade shows as they have many opons of parcipang and geng in contact with all important players of their market at once.

ES. As a future leader, what aributes & skills will you like to see in your team and what will you do to keep your team inspired? Vijay: I am inclined towards three skill sets – open-mindedness, adaptability, and curiosity – potenally helping us become anfragile and beer human beings. I must lead by example, or it's just all sizzle and no steak.

Mahew: I want creavity to be at the heart of my team, and I'll always encourage open communicaon in order to generate excing new ideas for opportunies to improve the industry as a whole. I've learned over the years that agility and seamless problem solving are essenal for anybody working in events, and I think this will prove to be parcularly true in the coming months and years as we collecvely recover from this period of unprecedented disrupon.

Erika: The most important skill is working hard and having an open mind for new ideas. A lot of technical info and knowledge can be taught but working together for a common goal and doing what it takes to reach it makes you come a long way.

Alexis: Definitely passion about what they do. And this passion will be the result of knowing, vising and talking about own and external events and geng out of working roune.

Chrisna: I'm a big fan of realisc opmism: dream big and always stay posive even when the road gets rocky, because there's sll a road – but keep looking ahead, so that you have the chance to noce when there's a bis obstacle in your way, so that you can search for another way in me. I will always encourage my team to openly discuss problems, try to step back and have a look from a different ankle at anything and come up with unusual ideas.

ES. How important will it be to work towards responsible events (sustainability) and what aconable things can be set to moon in this regard in our industry? Vijay: I believe sustainability must be entwined with all the industries – not just ours – as we must all play our part to leave a beer world for future generaons. Our industry is making huge strides on this front by aligning itself with UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Mahew: It will undoubtedly be of utmost importance, and this has been the case for a long me now. A shi to hybrid events will have an effect on the number of people travelling long distances to events – which in turn will help to reduce the carbon footprint – however I believe the main area to be addressed relates to waste created by our industry. We should acvely encourage a more circular economy by re-using and reselling materials wherever possible, so that not everybody needs to buy new all the me.

Erika: We all need to take responsibility and work towards a sustainable future. Within the exhibion industry there are numerous iniaves already in moon and even more can be done. Everything One example is greener electricity to run our exhibion halls. Here at Elmia we just installed a solar panel park on the roof of our facility.

Alexis: Very important. Now we are aware of the risks and dangers of bad behaviour with nature. The first acon we can take is to start to think of our events as real members of local communies, of this way we could be more responsible for our environment.

Chrisna: Working towards sustainable events will be crucial to the industry. Some day in a hopeful near future, everyone will understand that we only have this one world and that we need to take care of it.

The exhibion industry in known to innovaons, so the industry could be braver when it comes to try out new services and products – and make their service providers use these new things as well.

AVAiLABLE ON DEMAND DECODiNG THE FUTURE OF EXHiBiTiONS

WiTH YOUNG LEADERS OF UFI NGL GRANT Get To Know This Year's WinnerGet To Know This Year's Winners s

ANGELA HERBERHOLZ

Programme Manager Education and Working Groups, UFI (France)

ERIKA KARLSSON

Project Manager, ELMIA (Sweden)

MATTHEW FUNGE Managing Director & Founder, Your Stand Builder (UK)

VIJAY SHARMA

Head: Partnerships & Business Development, Koelnmesse (Singapore)

ALEXIS ZAMUDIO

Events Manager, former FINNOVISTA (Mexico)

CHRISTINA RABL

Project Manager ISPO, Messe München (Germany)

MODERATOR RAGHAV KHOSLA

Group Editor, Exhibition Showcase