Posted by
Barry Siskind
UFI’s Community Manager

The newest addition to UFI’s Spotlight on Leaders and Trends is Sergey Alexeev. In 1991 Sergey was elected president of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs. Since 2009, he has been the Chair of the European Regional Chapter of UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. He is also the recipient of many distinguished awards including the Order of Honour, the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit (Poland), the Medal “In memory of 300th anniversary of Saint-Petersburg”, the Honorary Diploma of the Legislative Assembly of Saint-Petersburg, the Honorary Commendation of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Honorary Commendation of the Governor of Saint-Petersburg and the Mark of Distinction “For Merit to Saint-Petersburg”.

Sergey is also the man to talk about opportunities for the exhibition industry in Russia. One area of interest for me is the next generation of exhibition professionals. I asked Sergey what motivates these young people. He said, “They are motivated by new interesting jobs, opportunities to express themselves, to be able to work in marketing, advertising, public relations and sales, and to participate in international projects. They are excited about our industry’s huge potential for communication. They understand that the first one to receive an education majoring in exhibition studies (when there is such an opportunity) will have very good prospects and a great head start over others in terms of career growth.”

Whether you are doing business in Russia now or considering business in Russia in the future, Sergey’s interview is a must read. You can read the entire “Spotlight” by clicking here: http://www.ufi.org/Public/Default.aspx?Clef_SITESMAPS=760