A top Emirati executive took part in the union of the world's leading tradeshow organizers and fairground owners UFI’s board meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey recently, which announced the selection of a new managing director for the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), Paris.
 
Expo Centre Sharjah’s chief executive officer Saif Mohammd Midfa, who is also the vice-chairman of the board and chairman of the Middle East/African Chapter of UFI, said Kai Hattendorf, vice-president, Digital Business and Entertainment at Messe Frankfurt, will join UFI this autumn and take over when current managing director Paul Woodward steps down later this year.
 
“Senior executives from several countries around the world were considered for the position, which involves daily management of all UFI activities and responsibility for the teams working in its headquarters in Paris and regional offices in Hong Kong and Sharjah,” said Midfa.

Expo Centre Sharjah is home to the UFI Middle East/Africa regional office since October 2013, and is a gathering point for regional and international tradeshow organisers, fairground owners, exhibition associations, and UFI partners.
 
The board meeting was held along with the UFI Open Seminar in Europe and a number of other committee meetings.

The seminar invited key topics for discussion - marketing trends and exhibitor behaviour and how to survive the digital tsunami.
 
“The exhibition industry is changing fast and the gathering of global CEOs and senior industry executives was aimed at helping UFI members in addressing these changes. The seminar took a close look at how exhibition organisers are competing for clients’ marketing budgets and how we are faring against the threat of digital media,” Midfa said.
 
Midfa’s Istanbul visit was also aimed at presenting and discussing specific problems and ideas concerning the regional exhibitions industry, which is set to experience robust growth.

Globally, UFI represents 670 member organisations in 83 countries and more than 929 trade fairs and exhibitions organised by its members carry the UFI-approved tag. - TradeArabia News Service