The essential Essink
Industry doyen Jimé Essink looks back on a colourful career and continues to scout new opportunities
ive us a snapshot of
G your career ? My first job in the industry was with UBM , and I became the managing director of Expoconsult ( part of UN & M ) in the Netherlands . That was a company that developed the successful Food Ingredients and CPhI brands . Later I joined Jaarbeurs / VNU Exhibitions , first as international director and later as CEO of VNU Exhibitions Asia and VNU Exhibitions Europe . I started VNU Exhibitions Asia in Shanghai , together with my Chinese partner David Zhong . We also organised successful exhibitions in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world . This gave me ample international experience and exposure , which made it possible to take on the challenging job of president and CEO of UBM Asia for which I moved to Hong Kong in 2007 after having lived in Shanghai for one and half years .
What were the main reasons for your decision to step down as president and CEO of UBM Asia once it was acquired by Informa ? I definitely did not step down as a result of the UBM acquisition by Informa . I communicated this decision with the UBM Group management six months before the acquisition talks commenced . The main reasons were that managing a company with more than 2,000 staff , 35 offices in 15 countries with more than 200 events annually is quite intensive , especially if you take into consideration that we concluded more than 25 acquistions
( among them the large acquisition of Allworld Exhibitions ). My travel schedule was hideous with at least one or two flights a week and , as a result , I rarely saw my family . So I decided to move back to Europe , where we chose Spain as our new home , to enjoy a more balanced lifestyle . I also thought that after 12 years it would probably be good that the reins would be taken over by a new person with fresh ideas and different visions . It was not an easy decision since I loved my work , the industry and especially my colleagues , including the one and a half years with Informa as the owner of the company .
Since Informa , what have you been up to ? The first three months I did absolutely nothing besides sports and leading a very enjoyable family life . However , it got a little boring , so when Jochen Witt called me to ask to join his consultancy , jwc , I did not have to think too long . Jochen and I are long-term friends and I love working with him and his team . The role of a senior consultant is very different than being a CEO of a large company , so I am learning a lot while I can make good use of my experience and network . Currently , I am working with jwc on a few M & A deals . It is very interesting doing this not as a buyer .
Are you optimistic regarding the return of events for rest of 2022 and into 2023 ? I am very optimistic for Europe , US , and most of the rest of the world .
“ The role of a senior consultant is very different than being a CEO of a large company , so I am learning a lot , while I can make good use of my experience and network .’’
My concern however is China . The Chinese government took another approach with their zero Covid infection rate policy , which was well accepted by the population at the beginning . However , the recent lockdown in Shanghai demonstrates that this acceptance is diminishing . When Chinese citizens see examples of mass gatherings and events on TV such as a full football stadia in Europe , they may rethink their own current situation . Still , it is a difficult situation for the Chinese government to make a sharp U-turn . There are health risks for the elderly given China ’ s low vaccination uptake for that demographic as well as political and economic issues at play .
As the world begins to return to face-to-face , what do you think the ‘ new norm ’ for event organisers and participants will look like ? One of the positive outcomes of the pandemic was finding out many people , exhibitors and visitors , really missed events and are now eager to join again . However , based on the normalisation of virtual meeting formats , cost cutting measures , and sustainability , international business travel will likely take more time to resume to pre-pandemic levels . Regional / continental events will become more important as the cost of global events and the time spent at events will need to be more effective to justify the cost of attending . Digital tools , like matchmaking , should support this trend optimally .
The pandemic has pushed digital transformation . How is this reflected in the events industry ? There are organisers who just want to go back to the ‘ old normal ’ and to organise live events without making too many digital efforts . And there are organisers who understand the ‘ new normal ’ where on-line will play a very important role in combination with off-line – or the Omnichannel Model . ►
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 3 2022 19