LEADERS OF TOMORROW
UFI ’ s annually awarded Next Generation Leadership ( NGL ) Grant is now proudly in its seventh edition , continuing its mission to award the crème de la crème of the industry ’ s upand-comers with mentorship and networking with leading expo executives .
Announced in May , this year ’ s cohort was selected from many diverse entries by an international jury chaired by UFI president , Michael Duck . Qualifying applicants had a maximum of 10 years of work experience within the industry , including their current role .
“ The UFI NGL grant has aimed since its inception to foster the next generation of professionals who are looking to find an exciting career in the exhibition industry ,” Duck commented when the winners were revealed .
The lineup The 2023 Grant winners are :
· Elizabeth George – senior lead , Content and Programming , HIMSS , US
· Tehchad Kittiboonya – international sales manager , VNU Asia Pacific , Thailand
· Aya Moatamed – data analyst , Informa Markets , Egypt
· Amy Saleh – operations director , Hannover Fairs , Australia
· Otero Finiti – formerly at Expo Stars Interactive , UK Spread over six months , the grant winners will work on an assigned project under the guidance of the UFI team , NGL alumni , and industry leaders , which will be presented at the UFI Global Congress in Las Vegas 1-4 November .
Above : ( NGL team left to right ) Amy Saleh - Hannover Fairs , Elizabeth George – HIMSS , Tehchad Kittiboonya – VNU Asia Pacific , Otero Finiti – grant winner , Aya Moatamed – Informa Markets
UFI : The Next Generation
At June ’ s UFI European Conference , held in Maastricht , The Netherlands , Catie Owen had the chance to meet the young professionals boldly changing the exhibition industry : the UFI Next Generation Leadership Grant
Having kicked off at this year ’ s UFI European Conference in Maastricht , 2023 ’ s project is to write a blueprint for carrying out events that help industries evolve , businesses develop , and participants benefit personally from attending . “ The theme of the NGL Grant is carefully chosen keeping in mind topics of critical importance to the future of our industry ,” Duck explains .
“ It ’ s a nice and broad topic ,”
“ I want the experiment to be eye-opening for me because I ’ m new to the industry ” comments Saleh . “ It ’ s amazing to see that , despite how broad it is and how diverse our backgrounds are , we all can collaborate and pull out the same underlying themes .” Moatamed notes a similar feeling : “ I ’ m expecting tons of arguing , discussions , and ideas because we all come from different backgrounds , regions , and different perspectives – and I ’ m very excited to get started .”
The winners had previously
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