IRVING, TX — The Expo Group has acquired Educe, a firm that provides live event engagement strategies for higher education institutions. Educe owners JoAnn Peroutka and Sarah Winkler, who founded the company in 2013, have joined The Expo Group as VPs for its Level5 Events group, a team that offers strategy, design and production of live events for associations, corporate events and higher education institutions.
“Integrating the strategic expertise of Educe into our Level5 Events offering is an investment in the causes of our clients and a commitment to creating transformative experiences,” said The Expo Group President and COO Randy Pekowski.
Educe has produced events for a number of higher education clients including Auburn University, Loyola University Maryland and Johns Hopkins University. Educe worked with Auburn on a road show series that featured an experience designed to be executed with minimal on-site preparation at venues, which have included the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville and the Bush Museum in Dallas.
“We are thrilled to be joining the Level5 Events team and to continue to serve as a strategic partner to our clients,” Winkler said. “By expanding our focus on innovation and capabilities in production technology, we will ensure that we are able to support them at every stage of their advancement efforts — today and tomorrow.”
Led by Michael Preston, EVP, National Accounts, and Gary Wokas, EVP and General Manager, Level5 Events has worked with a number of associations, corporations and higher education institutions to execute on events strategy, storytelling, design and production. For example, Level5 Events works with clients to produce general sessions, but its association and corporate clients declined to go on record with specific examples, said Dana Freker Doody, VP, Communications and Public Relations, The Expo Group.
This acquisition comes on the heels of The Expo Group’s acquisition in January of Allied Convention Service Inc., the owner of a major distribution center strategically located not far from the bustling Orange County Convention Center (OCCC).
“This is our second major acquisition this month and part of our long-term strategy to grow in the right places at the right time with the right people,” Pekowski said.
Related: The Expo Group Expands in Orlando Market with Acquisition of Allied (January 23, 2020) https://tradeshowexecutive.com/archive/industry-news/expo-group-expands-orlando-market-acquisition-allied/
Reach Randy Pekowski at (972) 580-9000 or randypekowski@theexpogroup.com
