Kai Hattendorf, Author at UFI Blog

More global business ahead!
More global business ahead!

More global business ahead!

Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director/CEO at UFI. This year started in much the same way as last year finished – with new acquisitions and takeovers: Blackstone-backed PSAV has bought the in-house AV company Encore Event Technologies from Freeman, Reed is taking over Mack Brooks, and there are even more deals on the horizon. Despite – or perhaps because of – a more complex political and economic environment, there’s been a lot of interest in investing in our industry. In fact, this issue was a hot [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2019-02-26T09:41:26+00:00 February 25th, 2019|All, Exhibition Industry, UFI Updates|0 Comments

UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019
UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019

UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019

Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO/ MD. As every year, the UFI team has used our association’s Global Congress as well as many separate conversations all around the world to isolate and identify the core themes that the UFI team feels will impact the global exhibition industry in 2019. So today, let me share with you “UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2019”: Written by Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO/ MD. Shifting trade patterns and a jittery global economy Amidst a climate of political tension, protectionism and fals [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-12-07T08:59:51+00:00 December 4th, 2018|All, Exhibition Industry, UFI News, UFI Updates|1 Comment

Glimpse ahead
Glimpse ahead

Glimpse ahead

Kai Hattendorf, UFI MD/CEO. It’s that time of year when many of you will be booking your trips to the upcoming UFI Global Congress. The UFI team is busy getting ready for what is sure to be another memorable meeting. (If you still need to register, just click here). After Shanghai in 2016 and Johannesburg in 2017, our industry’s global annual gathering will take place in St. Petersburg (Russia). It’s been a memorable year for our industry, so there are many issues to discuss – from M&A to [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-10-19T12:09:46+00:00 October 19th, 2018|All, Exhibition Industry, Exhibition Industry Research, UFI News, UFI Updates|0 Comments

Global connections
Global connections

Global connections

Kai Hattendorf, UFI MD/CEO. Right now, our industry is running on all cylinders – that was a clear takeaway from the latest UFI Global Barometer, released this summer. For the first time in ten years, all four global regions reported a positive turnover development at the same time. More importantly, in terms of operating profit, most companies maintained a good level of performance in 2017, and over 40% of companies from all regions declared an increase of more than 10% compared to 2016. Howe [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-09-06T15:02:03+00:00 September 6th, 2018|All, Exhibition Industry|0 Comments

The UFI European Conference 2018 review, future-proofing the exhibition world
The UFI European Conference 2018 review, future-proofing the exhibition world

The UFI European Conference 2018 review, future-proofing the exhibition world

Sophie Hackford, the keynote speaker Over 220 delegates from 35 countries gathered at the European Conference 2018 in Verona (Italy). Speakers and delegates discussed the challenge of how to future-proof exhibitions on the main conference stage and in breakout sessions over the course of two days. As one participant put it on Twitter: “To future-proof exhibitions, first listen to the future.” This was the theme behind the opening session with keynote speaker Sophie Hackford, Futurist and Resea [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-05-09T15:30:23+00:00 May 9th, 2018|All, Digital Innovation, Europe, Exhibition Industry, UFI News, UFI Updates|0 Comments

From West World to the exhibition world
From West World to the exhibition world

From West World to the exhibition world

Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director / CEO One of the hottest tickets at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin last month was for the chance to step into and experience the saloon from the TV series “West World” – a show based on the story that humanoid robots in a “wild west” amusement park “awaken” from their programming, driven by artificial intelligence. In Austin, it took organisers four months to prepare this two-hour experience for ticket holders. Over 440 pages of script we [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-04-26T15:22:23+00:00 April 26th, 2018|All, Exhibition Industry, UFI News, UFI Updates|0 Comments

Stable growth through new business models
Stable growth through new business models

Stable growth through new business models

The exhibition industry is enjoying solid, stable growth on the global scale - this is one of the core results of the 20th edition of our UFI Global Exhibition Barometer, released at the end of January. To honour the jubilee edition we added something special to the global research - and looked for a measure that describes how the business model of exhibitions is changing. The answers are encouraging, as they show that, all around the world, the exhibition industry is investing into new opportun [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-02-07T15:28:02+00:00 February 7th, 2018|All, Digital Innovation, Exhibition Industry Research|0 Comments

Exhibition Industry: consolidation at the very top
Exhibition Industry: consolidation at the very top

Exhibition Industry: consolidation at the very top

A huge deal has taken shape in the exhibition industry as Informa has concluded talks to acquire UBM. According to a Reuters report, both companies have agreed a deal on Wednesday which would see Informa acquiring UBM for 5.2 billion US Dollar in cash and stock. Informa now has until February 13 to make a firm offer. If the deal goes through, it will be by far the largest M&A activity ever seen in the exhibition industry. Informa's Chief Executive Stephen A. Carter will be chief executive of [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-01-22T16:12:59+00:00 January 19th, 2018|All, Americas, Europe, Exhibition Industry, Management|0 Comments

UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2018
UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2018

UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2018

This is traditionally the time of the year for reviewing the developments over the past months and taking stock. At UFI, we did this in early November, during the General Assembly at our Global Congress in Johannesburg. Thank you again for all the feedback you gave the UFI team on our ongoing initiatives, activities and projects. As in previous years, we also used the time around the Congress to identify the core themes that the UFI team feels will impact the global exhibition industry in 2018. [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-01-22T17:15:22+00:00 December 11th, 2017|All, Digital Innovation, Exhibition Industry, Human Resources, Management, Operations & Services, Topics, UFI News|0 Comments

5 trends to watch in 2017
5 trends to watch in 2017

5 trends to watch in 2017

Blogger: Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director As in previous years, we used the time around the UFI Global Congress to identify the core themes that the UFI team feels will impact the global exhibition industry in 2017. So today, let me share with you “UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2017”: 1. Growing uncertainties In recent months, we have seen a UK vote on Brexit, a failed coup in Turkey, growing tensions between Russia and the West, and a US presidential election that shows a deeply divided count [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2017-12-08T09:59:26+00:00 December 7th, 2016|All, Digital Innovation, Exhibition Industry, Operations & Services, UFI Updates|0 Comments

About Kai Hattendorf