Marco Barozzi is the Founder of Expo Consulting, with experience of over three decades in the exhibitions and events industry. His journey began with key roles in prestigious companies like the Blenheim Group, Miller Freeman, and Reed Exhibitions. Later, he founded Expo Consulting, helping organisations succeed in the complex and dynamic world of trade shows and events.

Over the years, he has collaborated with numerous public institutions, SMEs, and event planners, sharing his expertise in trade show promotion, marketing strategy, project management, and exhibitor training. As the Country Manager of Fira Barcelona for the Italian market until 2022 and a faculty member of ICE/ ITA, he mentored numerous businesses and individuals, helping them navigate the intricacies of the event marketing landscape.

When not immersed in the world of events, Marco enjoys travelling, reading, listening to music, and spending quality time with family and friends. Marco says that these experiences inspire and fuel his curiosity for discovering new ideas and perspectives.

• Marco Barozzi believes that the trade show industry is transforming into a form of “economic infrastructure.” Exhibitions are no longer only about visibility or sales- they are spaces where businesses reduce uncertainty, rebuild trust, and strengthen credibility through face-to-face interactions. Trade shows have become strategic coordination hubs rather than simple marketing events.
• Geopolitical tensions, tariffs, supply-chain shifts, and economic fragmentation are becoming permanent and reshaping the global events landscape. So organisers and exhibitors must adapt by creating niche as well as regionalised events, and planning with uncertainty in mind. Resilience in the trade show industry will be demonstrated through flexibility, strategic repositioning, and the ability to respond quickly to changing global realities.
• AI will deeply influence the events industry, but Marco agrees that there is too much hype surrounding AI. AI can be an accelerator and support system, rather than a replacement for human creativity and relationship-building. Companies still need storytelling, branding, strategy, and authentic in-person engagement to succeed.

Run time – 00:53:11 mins.

Links for Subhanjan

subhanjan@pitch.link

https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhanjansarkar

Kai Hattendorf is one of the most prominent thought leaders in the global business events industry, building on a decades-long legacy of transformation and innovation. He serves as Managing Partner at JWC, the globally leading management consultancy specialising in the exhibition, trade fair, and conference industry.

In his decade at the helm of Paris-based UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, he spearheaded numerous initiatives and projects to develop the sector, drive public awareness, and grow the association’s reach and relevance.

As Chair of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC), a global Council of international and global associations serving the Business Events Industry, Kai led advocacy efforts, including the “Global Industry Manifesto,” which created a joint narrative for the entire events sector.

Working with industry associations and global organisations such as UNFCCC, OECD, and ISO, he set up and supports initiatives, including the “Net Zero Carbon Events Initiative”. Kai’s work in the events industry has been recognised through numerous awards and recognitions around the world.

His previous career also includes transformational leadership positions at Messe Frankfurt and in marketing/strategic communications, as well as in strategy and product development in the ITC and Media Industry for the Deutsche Telekom Group, the dpa Group (the German Press Agency), and a fintech start-up.

A journalist by education, Kai has reported internationally, working for broadcasters like WDR and Radio Bremen in Germany, Euronews in France, the BBC in the UK, and the Voice of America in the US. He holds a Master’s degree from American University in Washington, DC, and studied in Dortmund and Edinburgh. Kai currently lives in Oslo, Norway.

• In this episode, Kai discusses the recent report, the Global Industry Performance Review by JWC, on the state of the trade shows and events industry. Amongst many findings covering 33 exhibition markets, it has become clear that now we are past the post-pandemic recovery phase, and the continued growth of the industry will be more uneven.
• Growth in the industry will be driven by value-added services rather than space, although rental costs have gone up. India now stands as the most attractive destination due to a host of factors, including predicted industry growth rates, and this is a new insight for everyone, including India.
• Already last year, their same report was the biggest and boldest to date, covering 3 markets and clocking in at about 400 pages. This year’s effort spans 900 pages. The report is a deep dive into the industry, with multiple segmentations based on a plethora of data collected for analysis.

Run time – 00:46:06

Links for Subhanjan

subhanjan@pitch.link

https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhanjansarkar

Links for Kai Hattendorf:

e-mail: khattendorf@jwc.eu.com

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/kaihattendorf

Miguel Neves leads the editorial team at Skift Meetings, where he and his team passionately tell the incredible stories around the business of events. He has worked in and around events for almost 20 years in various roles covering planning, marketing, social media, and editorial. Miguel has been at the forefront of innovation in event technology and AI for more than 15 years and has closely followed the rapid evolution and impact of AI. He is a Portuguese soul who built a career in the UK and is now raising a young family in southern Denmark. His favourite place in the world is a Portuguese beach on a sunny summer day.

• In this conversation, Miguel Neves talks about several topics around the Trade Shows industry, including content creation, media role, AI efficiency and deployment, the JWC segmented report on the industry and designing events for a wide swath of ages and demographics.
• On artificial intelligence, Miguel takes a balanced but sceptical position. He believes that AI is powerful for tasks like creating marketing copy, data analysis, transcription, and content summarisation, but rejects the notion that AI can be used as a fact checker or source of truth. The idea that firing the workforce to replace them with AI will have untoward consequences.
• He believes that Trade shows are a bad investment to collect leads in an age where it can be done practically free of cost using scraping techniques and AI. Trade shows are more middle of the funnel or even bottom of the funnel, and must allow buyers to have conversations with technical people who can answer questions that salespeople can’t.

Run time – 01:02:16

Links for Subhanjan

subhanjan@pitch.link

https://www.linkedin.com/in/subhanjansarkar