Greg Clark, a leading advisor, advocate and mentor on cities and businesses will be the keynote speaker at the IMEX in Frankfurt Opening Ceremony 2017, and will also speak at the show’s industry-leading advocacy event, the IMEX Politician’s Forum.
With an increasing number of destinations around the globe consistently understanding the full power and impact of their ‘beyond tourism’ benefits, his contribution is likely to be widely anticipated.
Greg holds many high-level positions and honours including Chairman of the Business of Cities and Chairman of the OECD LEED Forum on Local Development and Investment Strategies. He is a Global Fellow of the Metropolitan Programme and Global Cities Initiative at The Brookings Institution, Professor and co-Chairman of City Leadership Initiative’s Advisory Board at University College London, and a Senior Fellow at the European Urban Land Institute.
Rod Cameron, Executive Director at the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC), who is instrumental in planning the Forum programme, explains:
“From his position as a global authority and advisor on city development, Greg Clark has come to appreciate the fundamental role that conferences, conventions and exhibitions play in facilitating the transitions and advancements cities and countries must make in order to pursue their economic and social development aspirations.
“At IMEX in Frankfurt, he will explain how this knowledge can be used to strategic advantage by governments, and his participation is another significant step toward the broadening appreciation of the meetings industry as an instrument of global economic and societal advancement at a time when this has become particularly critical in maintaining international progress.”
For more than a decade, the IMEX Politicians Forum has brought meetings industry leaders together with representatives of governments and government agencies to provide a platform for dialogue and a focus for advocacy efforts. In recent years, the Forum has gained more momentum, reflecting a new awareness and appreciation of the importance of political advocacy among destinations worldwide.
Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, adds: “As a global cities expert, Greg has significant insight into the role of meetings and events in transforming the economic future of cities across the world. He is one of many expert speakers and innovations we have lined up for the show, which promise to deliver unparalleled insight, education and business opportunities.”
Political advocacy remains high on the agenda at IMEX, and the Politicians Forum will once again bring together 40+ politicians, including national and regional government ministers, and political influencers plus 80 industry leaders. It is one of several of the show’s major features to receive a new format and new speakers for 2017. These include Association Day, which will have a tightly tailored new programme, and Exclusively Corporate, the show’s dedicated education and networking day for in-house (corporate) meetings planners and directors, which has also been carefully redesigned.
IMEX is also set to announce a series of new educational initiatives in the new year.
