Interviewee with David DuBois, President of IAEE

Reporters： I notice that IAEE values member training and education very much， could you explain why？

David：One of two major areas of the IAEE strategic plan is education. The other important focus is advocacy. All of our business and work plans are built around these two key areas of focus as we assist with enhancing the international exhibitions and events industry.

Reporters： Currently， the format and content of meetings and exhibitions are evolving rapidly， and innovation has become one of the most useful tools of even organizers. Could you give me an example of the application of new technology in IAEE daily schedule？ Also， big data is a hot topic now， what do you think marks the coming of the big data age， and what are the opportunities it offers？

David： IAEE has members in 39 countries， and that has challenged us to provide additional online educational opportunities. Thus， we offer webinars that are available， free of charge， to our members. Thus， they can have several of their staff associates attend educational programs that are brought to their desktops. BIG DATA is one of the many global exhibition industry trends that we identified within a white paper that we developed and distributed last December. Demographics and other data points are critical to capture and evaluate in order to make business decisions about many topical areas of exhibitions and events.

Reporters： The format of “meeting+ exhibition” is gaining ground with many event organizers， like the IAEE Expo！ Expo！ Annual Meeting Exhibition 2014 in LA in September. Could you introduce the highlights this year？

David： This year the IAEE Education Committee is creating learning experiences on the Expo！ Expo！ show floor including technology swim up sessions， Solutions Center educational product demonstrations， IAEE association-focused sessions and speaker snippets as well as two general session presentations， 40 standalone sessions on leadership， industry essentials， design and marketing， technology， global markets. All being focused on our diverse membership of organizers， suppliers， exhibitors， executives and young professionals.

Reporters： Apart from IAEE， there are also other international and regional associations in the meetings and exhibitions industry， like UFI， SISO， AIPC. How does IAEE distinguish itself and retain industrial influence？

David： We are indeed the largest exhibitions and events industry association with over 1，100 organization and 8，500 individuals in 39 countries. We distinguish ourselves by providing an excellent global certification program - CEM， quality educational offerings （both in person and online）， excellent public relations and overall advocacy efforts， and a global network of exhibition industry professionals that allows for tremendous networking opportunities.

Reporters： Concerning the trend of international cooperation， in 2014-2015， what cooperation would you like to achieve with China exhibition industry？

David：We are pleased to partner with the CCPIT and have graduated over 700 CEM’s （Certified in Exhibition Management）. This is a tremendous accomplishment and we will continue to assist the efforts to grow and enhance the China exhibition industry.