The Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum 2014, held May 28 at the JW Marriott, Washington, D.C., drew its largest crowd yet. Now in its 13th year, ECEF attracted 206 senior executives from associations and independent event companies to hear colleagues and experts speak about a number of event and trade show topics. Greg Topalian, Reed Exhibitions’ senior vice president and the brains behind the fastest-growing division in Reed’s North American events portfolio, ReedPop (which includes New York’s Comic Con), warned that the business-to-business event model was ripe for disruption. Later in the day Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Electronics Association, talked about “Ninja Innovation,” which included strategies for building successful exhibitions, as well as lessons to be learned from your biggest mistakes.
