KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — The annual SISO CEO Summit took place March 9-12 in Kiawah Island, South Carolina, and brought together industry powerhouses for impactful networking and education designed around the theme of “Innovation in Action.”
Held by the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO), the event reported its largest edition to date with more than 200 executive-level events leaders in attendance, and 20 countries represented.
This year’s education programming expanded upon last year’s “The Innovation Imperative” theme, providing more actionable insights into strategies around event formats, technology like AI and growth via launches and M&A activity, as well as insights around changing attendee demographics, new KPIs determining success and evolving revenue models.
Seventy percent of the speakers at the CEO Summit had never spoken at the event before, reflecting the organization’s focus on bringing diverse voices and fresh perspectives to the stage.
“The CEO Summit enhanced the content quality this year and brought together the leadership of the independent organizer community and its partners in an environment uniquely suited to advance shared objectives,” SISO CEO Vinnie Polito said. “Planning for Seattle’s Leadership Conference is already underway!”
Trade Show Executive attended this year’s CEO Summit to gather key takeaways from the educational programming.
State of the Industry and Economy
Freeman’s Kimberly Hardcastle, Chief Strategist, and Ken Holsinger, Senior Vice President, Industry Research and Insights, opened the event with a deep dive into recent industry research — and according to the data, a growing area of focus for event organizers needs to be on attendee retention.
The Hidden Math of Growth: Retention, Replacement and Reality Highlights
- Only 30% of event attendees are returning to events, and with Millennials and Gen Z projected to make up 75% of event audiences by 2030, retention is top of mind for organizers looking to grow amid Baby Boomers retiring in the coming years.
- Sixty percent of attendees say they value the following in learning: professional development, key takeaways/insights, product/trend discovery and fresh formats and perspectives. To meet these demands, organizers need to experiment with formats that move beyond one-way delivery of learning.
- As 84% of attendees say connecting with subject matter experts is extremely or very important to their experience, organizers need to tell exhibitors what the attendees expect and encourage them to think beyond just the days onsite.
A fan favorite, Anirban Basu, Chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc., returned to the SISO stage to talk about economic developments and the outlook for the year ahead.
SISO Economist Highlights
- In looking at price inflation from May 2020 to January 2026, energy prices are up 56.3%, transportation services are up 55%, food is up 28.8%, and all items less food and energy are up 25.4%. These increases are why people are unhappy with the economy, as signals that consumer spending is softening are being noticed.
- Some turbulence is being observed in the economy besides inflation: loan delinquency is seeing a surge, the S&P is showing home prices in retreat, cities are seeing high office vacancy rates and U.S. cities are facing fiscal stress. Despite these stressors, the probability of a recession in 2026 is around 20%-42%.
- Despite headwinds, U.S. GDP growth is estimated to be around 1.8%-2.8% (with an average of 2.4%) for 2026.
At the event, the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance (ECA) announced its vision for the future, with an update on its growth trajectory, leadership and how organizers can get involved.
ECA 2.0: What’s Next for the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance Highlights
- To help support ECA as it doubles down on its efforts, Tommy Goodwin has been named the organization’s first President and CEO. Fernando Fischer, President, Americas at RX, is taking the reins as Chair of ECA, following Emerald CEO Hervé Sedky’s five-year tenure.
- ECA plans to launch new programs, services and tools to help connect industry leaders and stakeholders to policymakers in Washington, D.C.
- A major focus of ECA 2.0 is to continue to partner and strengthen existing partnerships with the industry, from associations to for-profit and independent organizers, to continue advancing advocacy efforts around the policy priorities that impact the events industry.
Another industry-wide topic was talent acquisition and retention. Paul Miller, CEO of Questex and 2026 Chair of SISO, talked with Warwick Davies, President and Founder of The Annabelle Project, and Michelle Rivera-Spann, Vice President of Global Inclusion at Informa, about how the industry is drawing the next generation into its ranks and how organizations can increase talent retention.
Talent Session Highlights
- The events industry struggles with talent acquisition because there is a lack of awareness of the industry. Creating programs where students attend live events and see the move-in and move-out process can be highly successful in growing awareness and interest in the space.
- To foster stronger retention, organizations need to focus on creating environments where employees can grow alongside the company.
- If events are hoping to attract the next generation of attendees, which they must to keep pace and grow as older generations retire, organizations need to empower and listen to next-generation team members.
Growth Strategies
Another theme that emerged from the sessions at the CEO Summit revolved around growth, and how innovation is helping to drive not just show growth, but portfolio growth and revenue growth.
A panel of executive leaders, featuring Matt Benyon, CEO of Easyfairs Group; Mark Harvey, Founder and Managing Director of National Media Pty Ltd.; Greg Hitchen, CEO of Terrapinn; and moderated by Geoff Dickinson, CEO of dmg events, tackled the subject of growth via launches.
Organic Growth via Launches – the CEO Perspective Highlights
- When you’re looking to launch a new event or enter a new market, you need to have a network to help build those bridges. You also have to make sure there is an audience there to bring an event to; it’s not just about the exhibitors and their wants.
- Launch teams need to be incentivized differently than teams for well-established shows. A sales check-in at 8 months out and 4 months out can help to determine if a show is going to happen or be cancelled.
- As an event leader, you have to move fast and be flexible with launches — if you’re looking at a market to enter, your competitor is likely looking at it too.
In a panel focused on M&A activity, Clarion Events CEO Lisa Hannant sat down with Emerald’s Hervé Sedky and Peter Jones, Group CEO of Nineteen Group, to discuss the strategies and challenges of acquisitive businesses.
CEO M&A Panel Highlights
- Founders need to understand the psychological stress that is involved in selling their business and need to be involved in succession planning to ensure business continuity.
- While some event formats may be the fad right now, leaders share that it’s important to have a diverse portfolio of offerings because not all audiences need the same things. Large-scale trade shows, one-to-one platforms, conferences centered around continuing education and festival-like formats all have their places in different industries, and diversity makes businesses strong.
- When it comes to what makes an event a must-own asset, leaders shared that scale and being the No. 1 one event in the space is most critical. It’s important to note that by No. 1, leaders don’t mean the event is the largest one in its industry; it can be the most relevant or critical event in an industry without being the largest.
Another session at the SISO CEO Summit, led by Gabriella Rimmer, Director at Plural Strategy, focused on evolving revenue models that help organizers better meet customer needs.
Hiding in Plain Sight. The Revenue Model that Every Event Organizer Can Innovate Around Highlights
- As the amount of exhibit space being bought decreases, new revenue models are necessary, such as transitioning toward membership models that create year-round communities around an event.
- It’s important to ensure that the event website is in the same place as the website that holds the brand’s other content can be used year-round by the community.
- Not every revenue generator is sales-driven; be adaptable and open-minded toward new ideas that could create revenue over time.
On the same topic of finding new ways to generate revenue, a panel led by Daniel Pitchford, CEO of Collingwood, explored new innovations around events, membership models and data ecosystems with founders who scaled their businesses into strong market positions.
Translating Innovation to Value Creation; Success Stories from the Front Line Highlights
- In event-led companies, membership models that include additional offerings, like exclusive research and access to industry data, are growing as a monetization model that businesses can leverage.
- Being embedded within an industry helps event leaders to deeply understand their audience’s needs, and it’s important to use language that shows you’re in their industry with them and not just servicing them to strengthen the sense of authentic community.
- AI is helping to scale big ideas and increase the value events and organizations can provide to their audiences.
Technology and AI
It comes as no surprise that AI was once again a hot topic at this executive-level event, as business leaders shared ways that their businesses are utilizing the technology to make significant impacts and improvements.
A lively presentation from Ben Schreiner, Head of AI and Modern Data Strategy Business Development at Amazon Web Services, demonstrated the power that AI has when combined with data.
AI Ignition: Igniting In-Person Events, Redefining ROI, and Unlocking Exponential Value Highlights
- Speed is a choice, and AI is changing everything. It’s important to look at your data now and identify where you can create and add more value.
- AI allows for hyper-personalization — with the amount of data event organizers have on their audience, leaders should be able to know their customers better than they know themselves, thus effectively being able to create VIP experiences for everyone.
- While AI is a major disruptor, critical thinking that only humans can do is imperative to make lasting changes and experiences that really resonate with audiences.
Turning to how event organizers are using AI now, Liz Irving, CEO of Clarion Events North America, led a panel featuring Rhiannon James, Rhiannon James, Group President, Health & Life Sciences, Wellness and Technology, at Questex; Ben Lakin, PhD, CEO of the Cambridge Innovation Institute; and Narisa Wild, Chief Digital Officer at Clarion Events North America, to find out what efforts are moving the needle now.
AI In Action: No Theory, Just Real Examples Highlights
- In thinking about where AI is going to be used in your businesses, it’s imperative to consider the full workflow that AI will be integrated into, in order to avoid reworking later down the road.
- While none of the leaders on the panel said AI was replacing their workforce, some did share that AI is causing hiring to slow.
- While it’s important to ensure proper policy and governance around AI is in place, it is also important to get buy in to the AI strategy from employees. Some teams are harder to secure buy in from than others.
New KPIs and What Exhibitors Want
In thinking about new ideas in events, the topic of new KPIs being used to measure success is a critical part of the conversation. Jacob Donnelly, Founder of A Media Operator, spoke with Kathleen Thomas, Managing Director of JEGI LEONIS; Alexi Khajavi, President at Questex; and Yancy Weinrich, President, North America at CloserStill Media, to learn more about how leading event businesses are evaluating their performance.
Redefining Value: The New KPIs Highlights
- Retention is a super important metric to buyers when looking at event businesses to acquire, and while some industries naturally have more churn than others, buyers need that education as to why and still want to know retention rates. They also want to know about revenue per employee and the strength of the management team.
- Event organizers should be looking at KPIs that are focused on their internal business objectives and attendee-driven metrics. On that note, sponsorships are being tracked more closely as a KPI.
- When it comes to what KPIs these leaders would like others to lean into, they mentioned deprioritizing NSF as a performance metric, replacing NSF with revenue per square foot instead, and getting rid of the idea that there is only one model of events.
One informative and insightful session from the event was all about the perspectives of global heads of events from large international brands. Led by Nicola Kastner, CEO of the Events Leaders Exchange, a panel featuring Collen Bisconti, Vice President of Events and Experiences at IBM; Stacey Gromlich, Senior Director of Audience Engagement and Global Events at Siemens Digital Industries Software; and Keri Ibbitson, Senior Director, Scientific Engagements and Events at Danaher, this panel shared hard truths about their event participation expectations.
Insights from Corporate Global Event Leaders’ 3rd Party Events Strategies Highlights
- Consultative sales is a gamechanger, but it is also an expectation at this point as exhibiting and sponsoring brands are providing that same level of customer service to their own customers. Brands are looking for more personalization in the prospectus process and stronger partnerships that address their business objectives.
- Brands want the metrics that matter, like information on where attendees are and when, real-time data from the event, competitor performance data and attendee numbers that do not include the number of exhibitors and sponsors.
- Sponsorship fees are just the starting point when it comes to brands’ investments at an event. Companies are, on average, spending 2-3 times that sponsorship fee amount on activations. More brands will have their own activations because of that equation, and without more partnership from event organizers, brands will not invest those dollars with them.
Fireside Chats Reveal Insights from Thought Leaders
Questex’s Miller also sat down with industry leaders for intimate fireside chats on a variety of topics, but at the core the theme around innovation was apparent.
Fireside Chat with Hyve Group’s Mark Shashoua: Innovation and Reinvention as a Constant Highlights
- A common line that was teased out throughout the summit, and this fireside chat, is that necessity is the mother to innovation. This was exemplified when Shashoua shared that Hyve’s major transformation to focusing on end markets rather than emerging markets was driven by global changes, like deglobalization and digital disruption.
- Hyve’s focus on end markets, and the most disruptive elements of those end markets, has allowed it to stay on the cutting edge of industries including fintech, healthcare and marketing.
- Major organizational transformations are really difficult to execute, and require a clear vision, strong leadership and team buy-in to succeed. However, as Hyve demonstrated by optimizing their portfolio to just over 30 events while increasing their revenue, the hard work can be well worth it.
Another fireside chat was with Ray Bloom, Chairman and Founder of IMEX Group.
Fireside Chat with Ray Bloom Highlights
- IMEX America came about because MPI approached IMEX with the idea of forming a strategic partnership to bring the event to the U.S., while eliminating their two trade shows at the time.
- IMEX must keep innovating year after year to continue showing the industry it serves what’s possible — and event organizers in other industries should take note of this mentality.
- A lot of the talent joining IMEX are not from the industry and are young people, giving IMEX the opportunity to shape and mold them and embed them deeply into the travel and meetings industry.
Miller also sat down with Eman Pulis, CEO of SiGMA World, an events and media organization dedicated to gaming, emerging tech, digital health and affiliate marketing. SiGMA hosts eight international summits and more than 30 events each year.
Fireside Chat: Embracing Technology to Catapult a Start-Up into the Big Time Highlights
- Being early adopters of crypto and blockchain payments allowed SIGMA to sustain itself throughout the pandemic, highlighting the need to consider the potential risks and rewards of emerging technologies.
- SiGMA World has a B2G (business-to-government) element of their event and community, because the organization supports regulation in the gaming industry and wants to have an active hand in shaping the sector.
- By providing new talent with flexibility and accommodations that allow them to travel and work internationally with teams in satellite offices, SiGMA World is able to attract and retain top talent that helps to drive innovation.
SISO’s next event is its annual Leadership Conference, which will take place Aug. 18-20 in Seattle.
Photo Credit: Coleman Photography LLC
