Provocative Program Complemented Non-stop Executive Networking and TechDemo

ARLINGTON, VA—May 31, 2024—In the risk-taking spirit of her Cuban immigrant family, ECEF Keynoter Melissa Medina assured the audience of 269 exhibition and convention industry leaders that it’s okay to be crazy. Medina is the co-founder, CEO and President of eMerge Americas, a visionary event-centric ecosystem created to help bring technology investment and infrastructure to Miami. The community-based model that motivated eMerge Americas gave organizers ample food for thought.

Ten years ago the keynoter was Greg Topalian, but he wasn’t Chairman of Clarion Events North America when he confidently predicted that B2B events would add consumers to the mix. “I was wrong,” he candidly admits today. While other past predictions fared better, it was Topalian’s vision for the next 10 years that truly captivated the attendees’ attention. Among his many controversial predictions: Costs in top tier destinations are approaching a tipping point.

The other sessions were similarly forward looking with the emphasis on actionable insights.

• New analytics of Q1 and Q2 data from Freeman Research informed both Sam Lippman’s annual 5 Key Data Points in 5 Minutes and a deep dive by Freeman Senior VP, Strategy Ken Holsinger.
• A panel of CFOs helped organizers understand that a CFO’s job is not to “nickel-dime the CMO” but to allocate funds for the greatest ROI.
• Google Senior Director Teena Piccione emphasized that executing transformative change requires thawing the “frozen middle” — stakeholders who agree to make changes but do whatever they want.
• Encore VP Customer Experience Christine Kiesling explored the results of proprietary human design research and proved how it made a measurable empirical difference for her customers.
• In another first for ECEF, Sam Lippman, President of Lippman Connects, paid tribute to retiring CEO of Freeman Company Bob Priest-Heck. Priest-Heck looked back on his long career and laid out what he sees ahead for the events industry.

The 23rd annual Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum (ECEF) was held May 29 in Washington D.C. and was produced by Lippman Connects. Learn more at www.lippmanconnects.com.