International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), managed by ASM Global, recently held an Exhibitions in Focus event to share information and resources that optimise the streamlined planning of trade and consumer exhibitions at the venue.
An initiative led by ICC Sydney’s director of event services, Malu Barrios, alongside senior manager, business development – international & exhibitions, Helen Mantellato, and senior manager, event operations, Jimmy Kadwa, the knowledge exchange and networking event explored content ranging from employment law (Respect@Work reforms), risk and safety to technology, logistics, customer experience services and included sustainability, marketing and precinct updates.
ICC Sydney CEO and group director – convention centres, ASM Global (APAC), Geoff Donaghy said exhibitions were an extremely important market segment for Sydney that accelerated productivity, networking and provided a platform for entrepreneurship. He added that the Exhibitions in Focus event provided an opportunity to meet with the industry to continue to constantly improve services, and deliver the very best experiences for exhibition organisers and their stakeholders.
While hosting its Exhibitions in Focus initiative, ICC Sydney welcomed Talk2 Media and Event’s largest-ever Good Food and Wine Show last month. Four of the venue’s exhibition halls were home to 305 exhibiting food and beverage suppliers as they interacted with 31,300 attendees.
Talk2 Media and Events’ CEO, Matt Pearce, said the venue’s initiative Exhibitions in Focus supported knowledge exchange, partnership and forward planning of events.
Having returned to ICC Sydney to deliver the Naturally Good Expo in June, Diversified Communications Australia head of delivery, Lisa Meehan, said the Exhibitions in Focus event marked an important milestone for exhibition organisers to best enhance their planning and delivery of shows at the venue.
Tim Collett from Specialised Events, which runs Foodservice Australia and the Franchising Expo, said the ICC Sydney’s initiative demonstrated the venue team’s commitment to service excellence.
“Food events can be complex from an operations perspective. That is why we value the openness and professionalism of the team. Getting together to discuss how we can make exhibiting easier, more sustainable and more inclusive is really valuable,” Collett said.
Donaghy continued: “Opportunities that drive trade, investment and innovation are made possible through exhibitions and the business connections that are sparked on the expo floor. The economic and social impacts of these shows and the audiences they attract, are enjoyed by our Sydney community as well as regional economies.”
He has over 28 years of experience with Hyatt, including 14 years in general management roles in Australia, Japan and China.
