UFI The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry announces that Kai Hattendorf, who has been CEO since 2015, will leave UFI at the end of 2024.
Kai Hattendorf comments: “I joined UFI in 2015, and these past ten years as the association’s CEO have been an amazing journey, serving the global exhibitions and business events industry. A role like this is a stewardship for every person in office, and part of that stewardship is to find the right time to pass on the baton to a new leader. I could think of no better time to do this than the coming months, and as part of UFI’s centennial where we recognise the achievement of the past while preparing for the challenges of tomorrow.”
Founded in 1925 in Milan, UFI will embark on a year of special programmes and activities to mark the organisation’s centennial at the 2024 Global Congress that will take place from 20–23 November in Cologne, Germany.
“UFI has a powerful team in place in Paris and the offices around the world, thanks to the amazing work Kai is doing, together with our COO Adeline Vancauwelaert in recent years”, says Geoff Dickinson, UFI President. “On behalf of the UFI leadership, I cannot highlight enough how Kai’s tireless work over the past ten years has driven UFI’s growth and development through good times as well as the pandemic – the worst crisis we all had to face in our lifetime. Kai’s commitment to our industry is unparalleled, and we will see him off in style towards the end of the year.”
The UFI leadership team, led by Dickinson and supported by Vancauwelaert and Hattendorf, is managing the process of recruiting UFI’s next CEO.
About UFI The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry
UFI is the global trade association of the world’s tradeshow organisers and exhibition centre operators, significant national and international exhibition associations, and selected partners of the exhibition industry. UFI’s main goal is to represent, promote and support the business interests of its members and the exhibition industry. UFI represents more than 50,000 exhibition industry employees globally and works closely with more than 70 national and regional association members. More than 870 member organisations in 89 countries are presently registered as members. Over 900 international trade fairs bear the UFI-approved label, a quality guarantee for visitors and exhibitors alike. UFI members continue to provide the international business community with unique marketing media aimed at developing outstanding face-to-face business opportunities.
