“In times of crisis, we gather together to learn from each other,” said Consumer Technology Association CEO Gary Shapiro looking out at the record-breaking attendance at the 2025 Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum (ECEF) held in Washington DC on 28 May. Shapiro’s wide-ranging Keynote Address, Pivot or Die, was based on his recent book by the same name.
Shapiro is a critic of the current administration’s economic policies and made some provocative points including:
- It’s less risky to speak out than to be silent
- Regulation kills innovation. The challenge is to strike a balance between too much regulation (Europe) and too little (China)
- Start-ups are the lifeblood of the economy
- Shocks to prevailing medical research models will force needed changes.
Sam Lippman, president, Lippman Connects, producer of ECEF, kicked off the programme with his iconic ‘Five key data points in five minutes’. Once again, he beat the clock, unveiling newly released data, to set a fast pace for the sessions to follow.
Julie Kagy, executive director, ESCA: Exhibition Services & Contractors Association, and Jeannie Henson, director of exhibit management, Siemens Healthineers North America, presented the ‘Will rising exhibitor costs backfire?’ session. They painted a dire picture of how rapidly rising costs are outpacing customers’ budgets.
Indiya Okam, group VP of Sales, RX USA, presented ‘Return on value: the evolution of values-based selling’. She updated the ECEF audience on RX’s journey implementing and scaling up a value-based selling paradigm.
Dr Charlotte M. Farmer, SVP and COO, UL Research Institutes, shared with the audience some elevated Davos-like experiences for the markets they serve.
Hervé Sedky, president and CEO, Emerald, moderated a highly anticipated session entitled simply: ‘Headwinds’. Panelists were Kevin Hinton, MD group travel, US Travel Association; Isabelle Icso, executive director of International Policy, US Chamber of Commerce; and Rich Scarfo, president, HLTH. While the audience and presenters agreed that the short-term business outlook was uncertain, the panelists emphasised coping strategies, risk minimisation, and taking a positive attitude toward opportunities for change and innovation.
The final session of the day was ‘The innovator’s edge: the difference between standard and standout events’, moderated by Kimberly Hardcastle-Geddes, president, mdg, and Ken Holsinger, SVP strategy, Freeman Company. They were joined by innovators Tom Gattuso, VP, events, Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), and Nicole Hallada, SVP of exhibitions & marketing, AEM – Association of Equipment Manufacturers. The moderators opened with new data that indicated the differences between the conventionalists and the small cohort of industry innovators. Then they probed the panelists for how innovation became part of their organisations’ culture.
ECEF 2025 was the best attended to date with 270 industry leaders, including CEOs, presidents, VPS, executive directors, and other qualified executives. ECEF 2026 will be held 27 May in Washington DC. Learn more about ECEF at www.lippmanconnects.com/ecef.
Source: www.exhibitionworld.co.uk
Comments are closed.