CHICAGO — Happy New Year! To ring in 2026, we checked in with events industry leaders to learn their professional resolutions.
Danica Cullins, Executive Vice President of Health and Nutrition at Informa Markets
“This year, I’m all about nurturing connections—with customers, colleagues, and partners — because in this whirlwind of innovation, real human moments bring insights that perfectly complement an increasingly technological world. And yes, I’m diving deep into AI — wish me luck!”
Marsha Flanagan, M.Ed., CEM, President and CEO of the International Association of Exhibitions & Events®
In 2026, I resolve to deepen connections across our industry and champion collaboration that elevates us all by optimizing opportunities for shared learning and collective growth.
As we gather to create extraordinary experiences, I encourage every show to adopt at least one meaningful sustainable practice because our industry’s future depends not only on the connections we forge today, but on the world we preserve for tomorrow.
Tommy Goodwin, Executive Vice President of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance
My New Year’s resolution is to keep amplifying the industry’s voice in Washington, D.C., in 2026.
What happens on Capitol Hill and in the White House this year will impact what happens on the show floor for years to come, both positively and negatively. That’s why it has never been more important for the industry to have a seat at the table as these important decisions are being made on the issues that matter, from tariffs and international travel to workforce development and sustainability.
Issa Jouaneh, President, Connections and Content, at Emerald
In the year ahead, my resolution is to continue building Emerald’s events around what matters most: people and the power of human connection.
While scale and volume are important to the health of the business, the real impact for our customers comes from experiences that create lasting impressions — places where people feel engaged, connected and motivated to move forward with purpose. The strongest events aren’t just transactional; they are thoughtfully designed environments that foster belonging, learning and momentum, bringing together business leaders who are equally driven by growth and human connection.
These are places where conversations lead to opportunity and time spent together delivers real value.
Equally important are the people behind those experiences. My focus is on continuing to champion the growth, development and success of our teams at Emerald — ensuring we remain a destination for top talent seeking room to grow, innovate and explore new opportunities.
Emerald should also continue to be a home for entrepreneurs — not just a platform for their businesses, but a place that values the people who helped build them. When our teams feel supported, challenged and inspired, that energy shows up in the experiences we create for our customers.
This reflects a core principle at Emerald: a growth mindset rooted not only in progress, but in building environments where meaningful outcomes develop over time. By investing in our people and cultivating a culture where connection, creativity and purpose thrive, we empower our teams to deliver the experiences that matter most — and that is where lasting value is created.
Anita Mui, CPP, Vice President, US Strategic Pricing, at RX, and a 2024 TSE Woman to Watch
Strategic Pricing is a team whose existence seems mystical to many, because pricing at many event organizers and adjacent businesses is likely managed by existing departments such as finance and commercial leaders.
For the larger companies, maybe an individual contributor or a hybrid position handles pricing decisions. Either way … pricing efforts are probably as fragmented as the events industry itself is, with pricing decisions made in silos or out of sync with event strategy on a day-to-day basis. It may even be treated as a one-time, ad-hoc project by senior leaders. That’s my guess until informed otherwise.
With that said, my 2026 professional New Year’s resolution is to advertise and make known the value of a Strategic Pricing team … I am going to try to submit to speak at a pricing conference that hosts about 350-500 industry professionals.
Shawn Pierce, President of MCI USA’s Strategic Events, Meetings & Incentives Division
What has been on my mind lately is building more AI agents myself. I’ve got an amazing tech team, and a great staff around me, but I need to personally make a goal to build my own agents and be hyper aware about how that can help me do my job as an executive better.
That means understanding stats that are coming in, being really responsive to emails and trying to be more present in different ways for the staff.
Now that we’re in a working from home/hybrid environment, it’s important for me to make more of an effort to call little gatherings together, and say, “Let’s just get together as a team and say hi,” because you don’t have the office environment to do that anymore.
It’s important. At the end of the day, building culture is the hardest thing to do remotely, and I think it’s the part that we got to spend a lot of time on.
I’ll personally work on that harder next year.
Maddy Ryley, Managing Editor, Trade Show Executive
In 2026, my resolution is to actually organize my inbox. Since I have to refer back to previous conversations a lot, I’m guilty of just having everything sit in the one folder: The Inbox. It makes for a pretty overwhelming experience when I’m searching for said conversations, and pretty much anything at all.
On a more serious note, one of my resolutions is to be more intentional about scheduling. With so many different articles, tasks and projects happening at once, I think it will be important in the coming year to really make sure I’m spending dedicated time on each project in time blocks to effectively strategize, rather than jumping from one thing to the next based on a daily to-do list.
I know that’s going to require some more pre-planning and flexibility on my part, but I ultimately think it’s going to help me be more organized and focused when I’m working on larger projects.
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