Burnsville, MN – Raymond Bianchi, the former sales director for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) trade show group, has joined Cygnus Business Media as group show director for the company’s four agricultural trade shows, including Farmfest, Dakotafest, the Amarillo Farm & Ranch Show and the Northern Illinois Farm Show.
At AEM, Bianchi led the global sales team for CONEXPO-CON/AGG, ICUEE – The International Construction & Utility Equipment Exposition, AG CONNECT Expo and World of Asphalt. ICUEE, which covered 1,089,807 nsf and attracted 16,529 total attendees to its 2009 show, ranked No. 2 on the Trade Show Executive Gold 100 in 2010. Bianchi and his team sold a record 2.2 million net square feet of exhibit space for the 2011 CONEXPO-CON/AGG show.
“We will be launching some new events and conferences to build our portfolio that serves this growing market,” Bianchi told Trade Show Executive. “I’ve spent my entire career launching and building new events. I’m not a maintainer or someone you bring in to run an established show.”
Bianchi has spent nearly two decades launching and managing global events in diverse markets. He began his career with Miller Freeman and then worked as international manager at CMP Media in Brazil, where he launched trade shows and conferences in Brazil, Mexico, Turkey and Hong Kong. At CMP Media, he also managed the Pan-American Leather Fair as show director, coordinating a global sales force in 10 nations. He led the launch of SI Primesource, which became one of the largest sourcing shows. In 2009, he launched his own company, Dolomite Innovations, where he was the founding show director for the Hispanic PR and Social Media Conference.
Bianchi will manage a nine-person show team and report directly to Gloria Cosby, executive vice president of Cygnus Business Media’s agriculture portfolio.
“Cygnus Farm Shows will be pressured over the coming decade to provide more information, product showcases and conference programs to the more than three million people who work in the U.S. farm and ranch industry,” said Cosby. “Ray brings the experience, track record and strong leadership that will insure that our agriculture sector makes great strides in the domestic and global arena.”
Reach Ray Bianchi at (800) 827-8009 or rbianchi@cygnusb2b.com
