Paul what is your assessment after five years as UFI Managing Director Well I took over a completely renovated and well positioned organi sation from my predecessor Vincent Gérard For me it was important to communicate the global profile of the exhibition industry and the great strengths of our industry Personally I had spent half my life in Asia came back to Europe and now had to take on a global perspec tive This has meant that I spend a lot of time on the plane Kai what challenges face the new UFI Managing Director in the next five years Unfortunately I have no crystal ball with which I can predict the fu ture Predictions can be made only for a limited period but one thing seems certain In the next five to ten years our industry will see faster changes than it has seen in the past 50 years We want to provide our members with the best possible support in order to cope with this process Personally the new tasks will surely be tied to a noticeable increase in my long distance travel activities What issues should be strengthened Paul Let s take digitisation Because we are only at the beginning of the road This does not mean that it brings an existential threat to the exhibition industry but we need to adapt Or we observe that unlike before exhibitors in Europe focus more on key markets such as Ger many Exhibitions in smaller countries need to address these ques tions Kai Another example is human resources Our industry has to find out how we can win young talents to work in the exhibition industry and how to find the next generation of leadership Or green events which are increasingly receiving more attention What can the UFI do for its members in these issues Kai As for green events UFI formed a sustainability working group five years ago It has produced very valuable insights that we have made available to our members Other working groups have produced similar types of insights Paul The ultimate aim is that our members deliver quality services at a top level We would be happy as an association to make our expert ise available Just as important is the know how transfer among our selves 9 FOCUS TradeFairs Internation al 5 2015 90 YEARS OF UFI Back to the future The global association of the exhibition indus try will convene its general assembly from 4 to 7 November at the spot where it was founded in 1925 Milan Paul Woodward will pass on the torch to the new Managing Director Kai Hattendorf Both of them respond to a joint interview with TFI

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