New phase in the recovery
EW speaks with Mary Larkin , president , Diversified Communications USA division and incoming chair of SISO , the Society of Independent Show Organisers , 2023-34
M ary Larkin took over from Cassandra Farrington , founder MJBiz , as SISO ’ s chair mid-March at the SISO CEO Summit , held in Las Vegas , NV , USA . We caught up with her shortly before she became chair and just after Diversified ’ s five very successful exhibitions , including The Seafood Expo , North America and Vinexpo America / Drinks America .
EW : What are you most looking forward to as the SISO chair ? ML : Working with the SISO team , Executive Committee and Board as we move beyond recovery from Covid . I ’ m also looking forward to working with Vincent Polito in his first full year as SISO ’ s CEO and helping him achieve his goals for the organisation .
EW : What are your goals as SISO chair ? ML : I am focused on three key areas . The first is to look at messaging that helps SISO members show the value of our industry . How can we more fully support our smaller member companies as they grow their businesses ? We want to show the value of our industry to the cities we go to , the businesses we support , and to local and national governments .
We want to help our members on a day-to-day basis in a tactical way . How can we help them negotiate and advocate locally ?
Secondly , I ’ m interested in increasing partnerships with other industry organisations to deliver more to members . For example , the ASIA CEO Summit held in Singapore was a partnership between four organisations : SISO , AEO , SACEOS , and UFI , and facilitated discussions on issues and opportunities in the ASEAN region .
We want to look at other mutual areas of interest or synergies
Mary Larkin
where we can partner that also provide unique benefits to SISO members .
The third is to drive industry advocacy , DEI , and sustainability . Anyone that knows me knows these are my true passions . It ’ s important to me to keep them front and centre .
This includes working with ECA , Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance , of which SISO is a prominent member , to advocate on behalf of the business events industry in the United States . The Alliance is now two years old and making strides in Washington , DC and other cities and states . ( Along with SISO , there are nine other associations partners in ECA .)
I helped start the SISO Women ’ s Special Interest Group ( SIG ), the Executive Women ’ s Forum at the CEO Summit and the Women ’ s Leadership Forum at the Summer Conference to help provide special programming , networking , and support to the women in our industry . Bringing in a more diverse workforce to our businesses and exhibitions will result in positive changes .
Sustainability initiatives remain incredibly important and isn ’ t going away any time soon and SISO remains active in the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative .
EW : You ’ ve said the SISO CEO Summit is about going beyond recovery . Would you elaborate ? ML : As SISO Board member Fernando Fischer , president , RX Americas said so well , this year ’ s Summit is a focus on customers , a focus on stakeholders , a focus on staff ( talent retention , acquisition ) and a focus on growth . It ’ s a new phase and I can ’ t wait to see what it looks like .
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 2 2023 13