Global event organiser Hyve has acquired HLTH, the community for global health innovation.
The deal – for an undisclosed amount – establishes UK-based Hyve’s presence in a brand new growth sector, and the Las Vegas-based show HLTH USA will take the Number 1 position as Hyve’s largest event by revenue. The deal strengthens Hyve’s portfolio of global brands and US presence and is the organiser’s second strategic acquisition of the year since being taken private.
HLTH brings to Hyve three annual events at the heart of the healthtech ecosystem – HLTH USA (Las Vegas), ViVE (Nashville) and HLTH Europe (Amsterdam), in addition to an online, year-round HLTH Community membership programme.
Talking exclusively to EW, Hyve group CEO Mark Shashoua said the HLTH portfolio had been the group’s number one target “for quite some time”.
“One in every five dollars goes into healthcare in America, and [the sector] resonates with our values; it ticks every box,” Shashoua said. “In a very short period of time HLTH has become the number one event in the world in its sector. We’ve followed it since 2017. We’re not interested in going into a sector if we can’t get into the number one event,” he told EW.
Shashoua said he was excited about what the group could do with these shows and how it could grow them sustainably, scaling up the meetings factor in particular. “We know how to treat these ecosystems.”
Underlining the Hyve strategy to invest in leading shows, Shashoua told EW that customers were spending more at the bigger shows at the expense of the smaller shows post Covid.
HLTH strategic highlights
Hyve outlined the following key reasons why it acquired the HLTH portfolio:
- The deal enters Hyve into the $12 trillion healthcare sector (source: World Economic Forum, 2022), which continues to grow rapidly amid significant industry disruption
- HLTH is an established brand that strives to deliver the leading events in its sector
- HLTH USA is now Hyve’s #1 largest event by revenue, with ViVE following swiftly behind – now its #4 largest event by revenue
- HLTH Europe has significant growth potential having just launched this year
- The deal brings a highly engaged blue chip customer community including: Amazon, Johnson + Johnson, GE Healthcare, Oracle Health, Microsoft and Meta
- It provides a runway to apply Hyve’s centralised best practice approach and scale existing meetings programmes
- There is potential to replicate and scale the HLTH model in new markets globally
- It bolsters Hyve global talent with 80+ employees across offices in New York, London and Dublin
- HLTH founder Jon Weiner will stay on to help drive forward this new chapter.
Mark Shashoua commented: “HLTH has long been admired by all of us at Hyve. It’s an incredible brand with an established reputation, and this is thanks to its commitment to shaping the future of healthcare. HLTH’s dedication to driving positive change within healthcare strongly aligns with our own purpose of creating game-changing impact for the industries we support.
“By applying Hyve’s tried and tested centralised best practice model, and using our expertise in scaling meetings programmes, we can support the continued creation of return on investment for HLTH customers.”
HLTH’s flagship event, HLTH USA, took place last week in Las Vegas (20-23 October), bringing together more than 12,000 attendees, 36% of which were C-Suite and which included 2,300 CEOs, with a speaker line-up that included First Lady Dr. Jill Biden; Joaquin Duato, chairman & CEO of Johnson & Johnson; Eric Horvitz, chief scientific officer at Microsoft, and Kimberly Powell, VP of healthcare and life sciences at Nvidia.
The HLTH portfolio comprises of:
- HLTH USA, which takes place annually in October, has just wrapped up its 2024 edition. The next edition will take place, 19-22 October 2025 in Las Vegas.
- ViVE, organised in partnership with healthcare association the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). This connects 9,00 digital health leaders. The next event runs 16-19 February 2025, Nashville.
- HLTH Europe, a geo-clone of the American event launched this year. It will next connect the European healthcare community and will run 16-19 June 2025, in Amsterdam.
- HLTH Community: A premium membership experience offering access to curated virtual roundtables, exclusive in-person events, member-only reports and networking opportunities.
Jonathan Weiner, founder, chairman and CEO of HLTH, commented: “HLTH has always been driven by a mission to foster a healthier world by bringing together decision-makers, sparking meaningful conversations, and driving innovation. In Hyve, we have found an ideal partner to elevate our vision and unlock even greater opportunities for our community.
“We are incredibly proud that HLTH has become a catalyst for positive change, championing equitable, affordable, and accessible health for all. With Hyve’s expertise, centralised best practices and commitment to innovation, we will enhance the experiences we deliver and reach an even broader audience of healthcare professionals and innovators.
“Hyve shares our vision and is deeply committed to our long-term success. I’m excited about the future of our events, as we scale and ultimately play an even more significant role in advancing healthcare globally."
HLTH joins Hyve’s events portfolio, along with its most recent acquisition of POSSIBLE in July 2024, which brings together leaders across marketing, media, and technology, to challenge the status quo of the marketing industry.
Hyve runs 30 events, is a top ten global exhibition organiser and its portfolio includes renowned brands such as Shoptalk, Bett, Groceryshop and Fintech Meetup.
Main photo: Halle Berry and John Legend on stage at HLTH 2024
