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This Just In

Innovation, Economics and Celebrity Sports Figures in the Spotlight at TSE’s Gold 100 Awards & Summit This Week

HIL ANDERSON, SENIOR EDITOR

Oceanside, CA – Industry leaders, rising stars, provocative speakers and surprise visits from celebrity athletes will be in the mix this week at the Trade Show Executive (TSE) Gold 100 Awards & Summit at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, CA and its Gold 100 Golf Classic and Gold 100 Culinary ChallengeTSE will present plaques to the nation’s top show organizers for their Gold 100 rankings as they walk the red carpet and more than a dozen will go on to win crystal trophies for their exceptional achievements in global participation, co-locations, hosted buyer programs, new show launches and for being “The Greatest Show on Earth.”

The Gold 100 Awards & Summit is held at a time when the trade show industry begins looking ahead to the coming year. And once again, TSE has assembled some of the most knowledgeable and insightful industry leaders, at varying levels of management, for a look at the developments of the past year and the prospects for 2014.

Keynote Visions
Identifying and embracing change are the themes of the two keynote addresses from authors Jeremy Gutsche, founder of Trendsetters.com and Gary Shapiro, president & CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, which will bookend the Summit sessions and get attendees looking ahead to 2014.

Jeremy will grab everyone’s attention early in the morning with his look at how to catch lightning in a bottle by spotting developing trends before others do. Figuring out the difference between a false start and the real deal is not as simple as it sounds, says Jeremy, author of Exploiting Chaos and founder of the popular website TrendHunter.com. He will share the processes for recognizing the “next big thing.”

Gary Shapiro, the leader of the International CES, closes the program with an inspiring look at the possibilities that innovation holds for the trade show industry in an always-changing business environment.

Gary would know. Not only does the CES thrive on innovative new products, Gary is the author of two best-selling books on creativity in the business sector: The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream  and Ninja Innovation.

Messe Style
Lunch will have a European flair this year with Wolfgang Marzin, president & CEO of Messe Frankfurt GmbH joining Bob Dallmeyer for a live version of Bob’s monthly Power Lunch column. Messe Frankfurt was a pioneer in  expanding Western trade show brands into China and is now one of the top three independent show organizers in the world. Wolfgang will explain why he believes being first to market is critical. He will share his strategies on everything from new target markets to internal processes and control measures. He will also reveal how he will strengthen Messe Frankfurt’s product range and portfolio of shows.

Young Turks
One highlight of the September 18-20 Gold 100 will be an interactive discussion featuring four 2nd generation leaders at National Trade Productions who were featured on the cover of this month’s issue of TSE.  The four-member crew has forged a formidable team in the executive suite at National Trade Productions and their trailblazing is putting them in the forefront of the trade show industry for years to come. The team includes Andrew Ortale, executive vice president; Stacey Correcha-Price, vice president of sales & event services; Ryan Brown, director of sales & event services; and Chris Harar, director of marketing. Together with moderator Phil McKay, president and CEO of nGage Events LLC, they will interact with the audience on strategies from recruiting and teambuilding to marketing and growth plans.

Views from the Bottom Line
This year’s Gold 100 Summit agenda will also take a closer look at the economy,  how to  finance  growth, ideas for drawing more international exhibitors and visitors, and debating burning issues in the trade show industry – the concerns that are front-and-center for every exhibition organizer.

 

  • Private equity.  This session will examine private equity’s inner workings and strategic dynamics through the eyes of the industry’s most powerful and experienced players. Joe Loggia, CEO of Advanstar Communications, Inc. hosts a panel of experts including Christian Donohue, managing director of Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC; Robert Castillo, principal of Invision Capital; and Eric D. Rindahl, managing director of Roth Capital Partners. Where are mid-market P.E. firms looking to invest today? Is now the right time to buy or sell? What stage in your company or show’s life cycle is ideal to find new pathways to spark growth through private equity? The session will also look at what steps you should take in the deal maze, from preparing your company for due diligence  to negotiating and structuring the deal.
  • Strategy session. How did the top organizers who serve shows in impacted industries outsmart the economy? Hear what the leaders have to say:  Reed Exhibitions executive vice president Nancy Walsh; Karen Malone, vice president of meeting services for the Healthcare Information Management & Systems Society, and Mary Pat Heftman, executive vice president of convention & strategic alliances, National Restaurant Association. Phil McKay, president & CEO of nGage Events, LLC, moderates the discussion that features plenty of audience participation.
  • Globetrotting. Working with industry counterparts overseas to bring pavilions of exhibitors and delegations of global attendees is an important part of the job when leading a Gold 100 show. Cherif Moujabber, president of Creative Expos and Conferences, is one of the industry’s most experienced leaders on the international front, from Asia to Europe to the Middle East. Cherif will lead an audience-participation discussion, sharing challenges as well as success stories from some of the Gold 100 shows in their mission to build their worldwide brand.
  • Ying and yang. A look at how seemingly opposing forces and ideas in our industry are actually interconnected and interdependent will be explored by two industry experts – an association executive and independent show organizer — in a point-counterpoint debate between David Audrain, president & CEO of Clarion Events North America and chairman of the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO), and Steven Hacker, the former president of the International Association of Exhibitions & Events (IAEE) and current principal of Bravo Management Group. From exclusives to the Javits boat show fiasco, the fiery session will mix serious issues with a bit of outrageous humor to stimulate your thinking.

The Gold 100 Golf Classic

Mid-day magic takes place at the TSE Gold 100 Golf Classic at the seaside Monarch Beach Golf Links beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 18. The scenic Scottish-style course is a par-70 masterpiece designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and provides an enticing challenge in a beautiful setting. Joining the field will be former NFL Pro Bowl defensive back Tony Parrish. Why a football player likeTony Parrish? He is symbolic of the need for all of us to go outside our comfort zones, not only for our own personal growth but for that of our organizations.

The tournament, which is sponsored by the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, will make your round even more interesting by offering prizes for feats including the longest drive of the day and closest shot to the pin. A hole in one could mean pocketing $10,000 in cash, or the keys to a brand new $100,000 Mercedes Benz.

The Gold 100 Culinary Challenge

Basketball star A.C. Green won three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, and is known for playing in more consecutive games than any other player in NBA and ABA history. With 1,192 straight games played, he earned the nickname “Iron Man.”  Whose trade show team will he join? Does this “Iron Man” have what it takes to win the Gold 100 Culinary Challenge? We’ll find out when A.C. joins the Gold 100 attendees participating the Gold 100 Culinary Challenge on Wednesday, September 18th at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach.

Participants of the Gold 100 Culinary Challenge will be divided into teams.  Each team will report to five different cooking stations to work with one of the top Montage chefs to complete a culinary challenge and answer trivia questions. The teams will be awarded points based on how well they complete the task.  The team with the most points at the end of the competition wins the Gold 100 Challenge.   If you enjoy eating, drinking and mingling with industry friends – this is an event you will not want to miss!   The Gold 100 Culinary Challenge is sponsored by onPeak.

Always informative and lively, the sessions at the Gold 100 Summit  and networking events will set the stage for the main event of the week, the awarding of the Grand Awards for biggest and best trade shows in the U.S. at the Gold 100 Gala Thursday evening. Find out which shows and organizing companies are leading the way into 2014 and enjoy the ambiance and networking at the must-attend event that sets the Gold Standard for the trade show industry. Click here to register.

Reach Darlene Gudea, president of Trade Show Executive Media Group, at (760) 889-8585 or dg@tradeshowexecutive.com; Diane Bjorklund, vice president of events, at (630) 312-8915 or dbjorklund@tradeshowexecutive.com

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