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UFI’s Board of Directors has announced the association’s 2011 executive trio will consist of Eric Everard (Executive Chairman EasyFairs Group, Belgium) as President, Outgoing 2010 UFI President Manfred Wutzlhofer (Past Chairman Messe Munchen GmbH, Germany) and Incoming 2011 UFI President, Dr. Arie Brienen CA (CEO Jaarbeurs Holding, Utrecht). In their capacity as UFI Executive Vice-Presidents during the coming 2010/2011 term, Wutzlhofer and Brienen will provide continuity and support to UFI President Eric Everard. The UFI Presidential term of one year builds on a three year UFI Presidential cycle: one year as Incoming-President (Executive Vice-President), one year as incumbent President, and one year as Past- President (Executive Vice-President).
At the closing ceremony of the UFI Congress in Singapore on November 12, UFI President Manfred Wutzlhofer reviewed his mandate with a look at the achievements of the association in 2010. Passing the UFI Presidency to Eric Everard, Wutzlhofer concluded, “Our industry has helped to stabilize economic development and overcome all fears that exhibitions would not be necessary and attractive in the future. UFI has been a significant platform for the creation of solutions to the important challenges facing our exhibition industry”.
Eric Everard, at 46, is one of the youngest Presidents in UFI’s 85 year history and an innovative entrepreneur in the trade show world. Everard identified his key objective at UFI as one of communications aimed at demonstrating the value of exhibitions and trade shows as the strongest direct marketing tool available in today’s changing world. Everard commented that, “We like to say that marketing doesn’t get any more direct than a trade show. Taking this to heart, UFI must provide our members with activities and programmes which focus on communicating these benefits and adding value to their business”.
Incoming President Arie Brienen, the newcomer to the current Presidential trio, brings a strong background in auditing and financial management to the team.
Looking forward to his three year activity on the UFI Presidential trio, Brienen commented, “I’ve been an active member of UFI for many years now, and look forward to encouraging many colleagues from UFI member organisations to take a more active role as well. As an industry association, UFI is an ideal platform for us to act together to tackle industry issues at a global level”.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
