Paris/Delhi – 29 August 2024: UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, recently concluded a three-day Delegation Visit to Mumbai and New Delhi.

The delegation, led by Michael Duck (Immediate Past President, UFI), Kai Hattendorf (CEO, UFI), Sooraj Dhawan (President, IEIA), and Ravinder Sethi (Vice President, IEIA), and comprised of organiser and venue representatives from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, visited five leading exhibition venues: Bombay Exhibition Centre and Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai as well as Bharat Mandapam (formerly Pragati Maidan), India Expo Centre Mart, and Yashobhoomi (IICC Dwarka) in New Delhi.

The objective of the tour was to provide UFI members with an opportunity to observe first-hand recent developments of India’s exhibition industry, particularly the new and increased venue capacity. The delegation was impressed by the quality of the new and refurbished venues, highlighting India’s growth potential. UFI emphasized that this expanded infrastructure is likely to unlock new growth opportunities in India, marking the country’s rise as an even more significant player in the global exhibition landscape.

The visit also underscored the robust partnership between UFI and the Indian exhibition sector, represented by IEIA, a long-time UFI member. In addition to the venue inspections, the delegation spent time discussing “India rising” – India’s economic growth driven by key factors such as the technology sector, growth of manufacturing and services, and public sector investment. All of this represents a new era for India’s exhibition industry.

UFI CEO Kai Hattendorf commented, “It is clear that India is at an exciting juncture. Its new and world-class venues will create opportunities for the industry to grow and evolve. Our visit underscored the country’s commitment to growth, innovation, and excellence in this sector. Due to time constraints, we could not extend this trip to destinations like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, and others. Still, a clear picture has emerged: India is ready to take on an even greater leading role on the global exhibition stage and the UFI community will be there to support the Indian industry.”

Attachments:

• UFI delegation meets with leadership of ITPO
• Meeting with leadership of IEIA
• UFI delegation inspects Jio World Convention Centre

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Paris – 27 August 2024: UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, announces that Kai Hattendorf will leave UFI at the end of 2024, having been the CEO since 2015.

“I joined UFI in 2015, and these past ten years as the association’s CEO have been an amazing journey, serving the global exhibitions and business events industry”, says Kai Hattendorf. “A role like this is a stewardship for every person in office, and part of that stewardship is to find the right time to pass on the baton to a new leader. I could think of no better time to do this than the coming months, and as part of UFI’s centennial where we recognize the achievement of the past while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow”, Kai continues.

Founded in 1925 in Milan, UFI will embark on a year of special programmes and activities to mark the organisation’s centennial at the 2024 Global Congress that will take place from 20 – 23 November in Cologne, Germany,

“UFI has an extremely strong team in place in Paris and the offices around the world, thanks to the amazing work Kai is doing, together with our COO Adeline Vancauwelaert in recent years”, says Geoff Dickinson, UFI President. “On behalf of the UFI leadership, I cannot highlight enough how Kai’s tireless work over the past ten years has driven UFI’s growth and development through good times as well as the pandemic – the worst crisis we all had to face in our lifetime. Kai’s commitment to our industry is unparalleled, and we will make sure to see him off in style towards the end of the year.”

The UFI leadership team, led by Dickinson and supported by Vancauwelaert and Hattendorf, is managing the process of recruiting UFI’s next CEO.

Attachment:

• Portrait of Kai Hattendorf

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