Kai Hattendorf, Author at UFI Blog

The exhibition industry and the Microsoft/LinkedIn deal – prepare for impact!
The exhibition industry and the Microsoft/LinkedIn deal – prepare for impact!

The exhibition industry and the Microsoft/LinkedIn deal – prepare for impact!

Blogger: Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director Today, Microsoft announced that it will take over LinkedIn – the biggest acquisition yet by current Microsoft CEO Satja Nadella. What implications may this have for the exhibition industry? Announcing the deal to Microsoft employees, Nadella said that “this deal brings together the world's leading professional cloud with the world's leading professional network.” With reportedly 433 million professional profiles on the LinkedIn platform, the deal cl [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-01-16T13:30:39+00:00 June 14th, 2016|All, Exhibition Industry, UFI Updates|0 Comments

Our industry is evolving

Blogger: Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director Exhibitions are changing, and the ConFex model – a blend of exhibition and congress – is on the rise. Some months ago, at our UFI Congress in Milan, this was one of the core findings of a survey among UFI’s members, carried out by jwc. Also, the latest UFI Global Barometer shows digitalisation has now become one of the most important issues for organisers and venues globally. Digitalisation is changing organisers’ space requirements. Demand for mult [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2018-01-16T13:14:16+00:00 May 9th, 2016|All, Exhibition Industry, UFI Updates|0 Comments

Make Global Exhibitions Day global

Blogger: Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director We are two months away from “Global Exhibitions Day“, so today I want to share with you the latest news on how people all around the world are getting ready to send a joint message about the importance of the exhibition industry. Global Exhibitions Day is a combination of all our efforts. It is an invitation to promote the value of our industry, together, with a single and cohesive voice. More than 30 associations, dozens of UFI members – organisers [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2017-12-08T10:26:48+00:00 April 11th, 2016|All, Exhibition Industry, Exhibition Industry Research, Exhibition Marketing, UFI Updates|0 Comments

Investing in Change

Blogger: Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director At UFI, we always start off the year with the Global CEO Summit, an invitation-only event for the global leaders of our industry. This year in Munich, two sessions stood out to me, as their themes aligned in an unexpected way: On the one hand, private equity was on stage, discussing their case of investing in the exhibition business. On the other hand, the two biggest players of our industry shared their perspectives on how they respond to the chall [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2017-12-08T10:33:22+00:00 March 4th, 2016|All, Digital Innovation, Exhibition Industry, UFI Updates|0 Comments

UFI’s 5 trends to watch in 2016

Blogger: Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director The start of the year is always a good time to look ahead. Here is a brief look at five trends affecting our industry – trends that we at UFI believe will be discussed and debated in 2016: The state of the global economy This, of course, always belongs on such a list. Our latest UFI Global Barometer shows a mixed outlook for the exhibition industry. The barometer, based on a survey sent to leading organisers worldwide, shows positive turnover expect [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2017-12-08T10:34:42+00:00 February 18th, 2016|All, Exhibition Industry, Topics, UFI Updates|0 Comments

Life after the attacks

Blogger: Kai Hattendorf, UFI Managing Director This November, we had to witness terrible attacks on innocent people most prominently in Paris, where the UFI team is based, but also in Beirut, and in Mali’s capital Bamako. The global reaction has been outrage over such atrocities, but also heightened security in many countries ever since. As I am writing this, Belgium is still on the terrorism alert, and France has extended its nationwide state of emergency for three months. As we shared through [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2017-12-08T10:36:29+00:00 December 11th, 2015|All, Exhibition Industry, UFI Updates|0 Comments

The changing face of UFI

Blogger: Kai Hattendorf, MD of UFI and Paul Woodward, MD of UFI One of the great and unique values of our industry is constant change. Globally, trade shows and exhibitions are the central platforms for showcasing innovations and latest developments. Walk down the aisles of any of the thousands of exhibitions UFI members are organising, hosting, or supporting globally each year, and you experience how whole industries evolve and change. Change is what drives innovation, innovation is what drives [...]

By Kai Hattendorf| 2017-12-08T10:38:29+00:00 October 5th, 2015|All, UFI Updates|0 Comments

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