At June’s UFI European Conference, held in Maastricht, The Netherlands, Catie Owen had the chance to meet the young professionals boldly changing the exhibition industry: the UFI Next Generation Leadership Grant winners.
UFI’s annually awarded Next Generation Leadership (NGL) Grant is now proudly in its seventh edition, continuing its mission to award the crème de la crème of the industry’s up-and-comers with mentorship and networking with leading expo executives.
Announced in May, this year’s cohort was selected from many diverse entries by an international jury chaired by UFI president, Michael Duck. Qualifying applicants had a maximum of 10 years of work experience within the industry, including their current role.
“The UFI NGL grant has aimed since its inception to foster the next generation of professionals who are looking to find an exciting career in the exhibition industry,” Duck commented when the winners were revealed.
The line up
The 2023 Grant winners are:
· Elizabeth George – senior lead, Content and Programming, HIMSS, US
· Tehchad Kittiboonya – international sales manager, VNU Asia Pacific, Thailand
· Aya Moatamed – data analyst, Informa Markets, Egypt
· Amy Saleh – operations director, Hannover Fairs, Australia
· Otero Finiti – UK
Spread over six months, the grant winners will work on an assigned project under the guidance of the UFI team, NGL alumni, and industry leaders, which will be presented at the UFI Global Congress in Las Vegas 1-4 November.
Having kicked off at this year’s UFI European Conference in Maastricht, 2023’s project is to write a blueprint for carrying out events that help industries evolve, businesses develop, and participants benefit personally from attending. “The theme of the NGL Grant is carefully chosen keeping in mind topics of critical importance to the future of our industry,” Duck explained.
“It’s a nice and broad topic,” commented Saleh after the project’s kick-off workshop. “It’s amazing to see that, despite how broad it is and how diverse our (the winners’) backgrounds are, we all can collaborate and pull out the same underlying themes.” Moatamed noted a similar feeling: “I’m expecting tons of arguing, discussions, and ideas because we all come from different backgrounds, regions, and different perspectives – and I’m very excited to get started.”
The winners had previously only met on Zoom before coming together in Maastricht. “It’s a great idea to get all five of us in the room,” explained George. “Now we can see everybody in person, hear ideas out, and start to form our project for November.” For Finiti, finally meeting her far-flung cohort was a great experience: “They’re all such bright people, and the kick-off workshop was incredible because we finally had a chance to meet and share ideas.”
One common factor among the Grant winners was how they were introduced to the programme in the first place. For most of them, it was a senior colleague who pushed them in the right direction and through any self-doubts. Moatamed had not heard of the scheme before a senior colleague suggested it. “I want to learn more about the industry from experts and my peers, so I applied,” she said.
The same was true for George, who heard of the programme through a colleague who had applied several years ago and loved the experience. As another push, George’s mentor also suggested that she apply. It was Finiti’s managing director who suggested the programme to her, despite her initial reservations: “I always worry that I’m a bit too out-of-the-box, being that my interest is in integrating psychology into the events industry. But he was right, and I’m grateful to myself for finding the courage to do the application process – especially having to film myself!”
Meanwhile, Kittiboonya learned of the grant first-hand. Having attended 2019’s UFI Global Congress in Bangkok, where he is based, he was inspired by that year’s NGL graduates: “I thought that if I ever had the opportunity I would apply. Now here I am.”
Saleh also benefited from first-hand experience, having met UFI CEO Kai Hattendorf at the Exhibition and Event Association of Australia (EEAA) Annual Conference 2022 while serving on the EEAA Emerging Leaders committee. “In Kai’s presentation he was talking about the NGLs and the incredible things that they were working on,” Saleh said. “He was passionate about it and made the programme sound like the place to be.”
All the winners made it clear that they had joined the programme looking to better themselves both personally and professionally.
“I want this experiment to be eye-opening for me because I’m new to the industry,” Moatamed explained. “I want to learn more about the challenges that the industry faces, and how we can keep things fresh and interesting.”
Kittiboonya’s motivation also comes from a place of wanting to improve the industry: “I really hope that, with our challenge, we can help drive the industry forward and also help it grow globally even more.”
To the same end, both George and Finiti emphasised the professional growth that comes with being part of a community like UFI, and from the programme itself. Finiti noted: “(This community) is something I don’t only want to appreciate; I want to be a part of it.”
Saleh wrapped up the sentiment felt by all five as they went their separate ways until November: “We’ve got our work cut out, but we’re very excited to get started!”
Top image: The NGL team (L-R): Amy Saleh - Hannover Fairs, Elizabeth George – HIMSS, Tehchad Kittiboonya – VNU Asia Pacific, Otero Finiti – grant winner, Aya Moatamed – Informa Markets
All images courtesy of UFI
