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I was deeply involved in from the beginning . It will make things easier both for the members and the UFI tram . And we have a new regional chapter for North America that we want to establish well as a collaborational actor in the region .
What is the one thing you are keenest to change about the industry and , indeed , UFI ? I don ’ t want to change the industry or UFI . I love this industry , I have a huge regard and respect , and am honoured to serve UFI as its president . We simply need to continue as we have always done : to never be complacent , to constantly evolve and to embrace new technologies to serve our customers better . For this , as I said before , we need to continue to push diversity and equality and be an industry with opportunities for everyone . We need to constantly innovate new and compelling content to adapt to customer demands . And we need to become more sustainable for the good of
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the planet and to serve our staff and customers .
How do you see AI and its likely effect on the exhibition sector globally ? It is very early to truly assess the impact that generative AI like ChatGPT will have for our business . UFI will list AI as one of our ‘ 5 trends to watch in 2024 ’, and we will cover developments regularly throughout the year . I see some good potential for ‘ wins ’ for our industry : In a secure data space , we can use AI with general visitor customer information to build more relevant conference and exhibition floor content for our customers . We can use AI to target more effectively the right audience for our exhibitors and sponsors , and to identify potential exhibitors , sponsors , speakers . Also , AI can help source content for websites or event community sites to present up to the minute information year-round for
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Above : Geoff Dickinson on stage in Las Vegas with UFI CEO , Kai Hattendorf |
customers and to source market data and stats .
Talent and recruitment are often seen as key challenges now as organisers and suppliers seek to bring in the best staff available . How can we widen the net for recruitment and let the wider world know about opportunities in our businesses ? The new staffing narrative that the UFI NGL group developed is great , and we have adapted that into a much-discussed White Paper for the industry . For me , a key message in this guidance is that we should be positive about our unique ability to bring in people from literally every other industry and with all different backgrounds and career experiences .
In the 80 ’ s and 90 ’ s most people who went into events came from magazine publishing because they could imagine advertisers as exhibitors and readers as visitors and they often came from the same sector e . g .,
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