The European Major Exhibition Centres Association (EMECA), which represents 24 leading exhibition venue companies in Europe, has elected CEO of Messe Stuttgart, Roland Bleinroth (pictured) as its new president.
In Athens, on the 30th anniversary of EMECA’s General Assembly, Bleinroth was elected president of this international association for 2023 and 2024. Previously, he had served as EMECA’s vice-president for the Digital Business division.
“Having served on the EMECA board for several years, I am already very familiar with the issues and processes of this European exhibition venue association. I am very much looking forward to the new task,” Bleinroth said, He added: “I regard the trust that EMECA members have placed in me through my election as an incentive for my continued commitment to the common interests of these leading exhibition venues in Europe and the European exhibition industry as a whole.”
Maria Joao Rocha de Matos, general manager of FIL Lisbon Exhibition and Congress Centre, has also been appointed to the EMECA Board as vice-president for digital business.
Current EMECA president Ricard Zapatero, international business director at Fira Barcelona, will in future be responsible for strategy as vice-president.
EMECA notes that, today, Europe hosts the majority of leading international shows for each sector and represents nearly half of the global market share. EMECA members consider their role is to bring together the international trading community. Prior to the pandemic, EMECA's members hosted and organised nearly 2,000 trade shows per year worldwide, 1,550 of them in Europe, covering a total area of about 38m sqm. They also welcomed around 500,000 exhibitors and some 38.5m visitors to Europe.
For further information on EMECA, visit https://emeca.eu/
