UFI reveals strong state of events despite Middle Eastern conflict

UFI has shown positive industry results in the latest edition of its Global Exhibition Barometer.

It revealed that 90% of companies outside of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have seen minimal negative impact from the current situation in the Middle East.

A total of 27% of global exhibition businesses also expect annual revenue growth of more than 5%.

Your other top headlines include:

• Hyve enters partnership with ExpoPlatform to provide tech-charged meeting experiences
• Informa announces the appointment of new chair-elect
• RX reveals a change in leadership of its branch in France

Read on for more event industry news.

Events industry sees little impact from Middle East conflict – UFI

A total of 90% of international event companies have seen little to no impact due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, according to an UFI study.

The findings were published in the association’s latest Global Exhibition Barometer report.

More than half – 55% – of businesses in the GCC have experienced a strong negative effect.

Chris Skeith OBE, CEO at UFI, said: “Our barometer indicates that there is no real evidence of a significant knock-on effect from the current Middle East disruption outside the GCC and positive trends remain around the world, despite concerns about the state of national economies in some locations.”

The report also revealed that 27% of companies expect annual revenue growth above 5%.

This further bolsters industry-wide growth despite geopolitical and economic challenges.

Respondents maintained that the main issue concerning the industry continues to be the state of economies in home markets – this has not changed within the last six months.

Hyve enters partnership with ExpoPlatform to provide tech-charged meeting experiences

ExpoPlatform has been appointed to support tech-enriched meeting experiences across a number of Hyve’s events.

The move involves structured meeting formats across flagship shows including Shoptalk Europe, Shoptalk Spring, Shoptalk Fall, Shoptalk Luxe, Groceryshop, POSSIBLE Miami, Fintech Meetup, Bett and CWIEME.

Hyve facilitated more than 160,000 meetings in the last year – cementing the organiser as a pioneer in a meetings-first approach to events – which this new partnership aims to take to the next level.

Richard Hilsley, CTO of Hyve, said: “Creating valuable connections is central to the experience we want to deliver across our events and is one of our key drivers of customer value.

“Having the right technology to support this plays an important role in enabling these connections and offering a seamless process for our attendees, exhibitors and buyers.

“We’re pleased to be working with the team at ExpoPlatform to support that.”

Tanya Pinchuk, CEO of ExpoPlatform, added: “Hyve is setting the pace for meeting-first event design.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Hyve, our platform powering a meeting program of this scale, matching thousands of buyers and sellers and supporting one of the most advanced meeting operations in our industry.

“But our platform does far more than matchmaking and meeting scheduling. We support the whole event ecosystem – from session and speaker management to wayfinding, TableTalks, exhibitor listings and the marketplace – all delivered through a seamless web and app experience.

“We are looking forward to continuing to assist Hyve in turning every edition into real value for their attendees, with a system that keeps getting smarter show to show.”

This latest announcement comes after it was revealed the global business events group Hyve has been sold to private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for about $1.8 billion.

The group climbed from fifteenth to number eight in the latest STAX global ranking of exhibition organisers by revenue – a signal that meeting-led growth is reshaping event economics.

Informa announces the appointment of new chair-elect

Global leader in B2B events Informa has announced the appointment of its new chair-elect.

Tom Gloccer will succeed the previous chair of the board John Rishton.

This decision comes after a selection process that began at the beginning of the year.

Tom said: “Informa is a market leader in B2B, with tremendous potential for continuing growth and expansion and I very much look forward to working with the Board, Chief Executive Stephen Carter and his leadership team to make the most of these opportunities.”

He brings with him extensive experience having served on the boards of multiple leading global companies.

Tom is currently the lead independent director for Merck & Co Inc and Morgan Stanley.

He also served as chief executive of Reuters Group plc / Thomson Reuters Corp for over a decade.

RX reveals a change in leadership of its branch in France

RX has announced that Michel Filzi will step down as president of RX France and retire in early 2027.

He will be stepping away after a successful 27 years with the global event organizer.

Filippo Rean will take over leadership of the French branch from Michel in September.

Hugh Jones, CEO of RX, said: “The future of our industry will be defined by our ability to combine the power of face-to-face events with data, digital capabilities and deeper customer engagement.

“Filippo is exceptionally well placed to lead RX France through that next chapter and unlock new opportunities for growth.”

He currently serves as the managing director of the RX France hub and will report directly to Hugh.

Filippo joined the organisation in 2010 when he led MIPIM and has since held leadership roles across many of RX’s leading brands.

The organiser now seeks to leverage his proven track record of driving growth and revenue for the France subsidiary.

That is your full Week in Events news. Book a demo with ExpoPlatform today to apply advanced tech solutions at your next event.