Association column
Ragin’ Cajun adds to recipe
for SISO summit
Greg Topalian new Chair of the SISO Board of Directors urges
organisers to get involved in the wider industry
s the new Chair of
SISO (Society for
Independent Show
Organisers) I’m
excited to work with the leadership
in the tradeshow industry to
innovate, educate and keep pushing
our great industry successfully into
the future. The opportunity to work
with global leaders excites me. And
I’m always so impressed with the
willingness of our industry leaders
to share successes and
ideas among colleagues and
competitors alike. It’s true industry
comradery.
Nowhere is this comradery
more apparent than at the SISO
CEO Summit, which just concluded
in Miami at the end of March. It
truly is a must-attend event for
senior executives in the for-profit
tradeshow industry.
It’s called the SISO CEO Summit
but it’s really for all senior and
C-level executives who want to
have access to the best content and
the highest level networking in our
industry. I remember when I was
coming up through the industry
and being invited to speak at SISO
for the first time. I was encouraged
by my boss to go and when I went
to the SISO CEO Summit that first
time I truly felt like I had “arrived”.
It’s hard to understand the visibility
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk
Greg Topalian
Chair of SISO 2019-2020 and also
CEO of Clarion UX in the USA
“We should heed our
own advice and make
sure to participate in
our own industry.”
More information:
www.siso.org
and the access the CEO Summit
provides for you and your career.
We are all in the business of
events and we have all built our
careers on pushing the value and
importance of attending events. We
should heed our own advice and
make sure to participate in our own
industry. SISO exists to make our
industry better and to make you
better. I speak to people who say I
don’t need SISO, I’m not looking for
a job. That’s not what SISO is about
and not what the SISO CEO Summit
is about.
Like the best conferences in
any industry, I walked away from
the SISO CEO Summit once again
realising that I didn’t know what
I didn’t know, I always learn
something at the CEO Summit. And,
more importantly, I met people
who are going to help me grow my
business and ultimately my career.
The CEO Summit understands that
the networking is key and allows
time to gather and not just sit in a
theatre.
For the first time this year we
brought in a political figure for a
keynote speaker – James Carville
– famous democratic strategist
and pundit. He provided both
entertainment and interesting
insights into what’s happening in
our crazy political world.
Issue 2 2019
35