84 Business View Magazine - September 2016
The International Association
of Exhibitions and Events
Because the shows must go on
The International Association of Exhibitions and Events
(IAEE) had its beginnings in 1928, when a group of
businessmen formed the National Association of Expo-
sition Managers. “The reason they got together was to
talk about how they can have better negotiating pow-
ers with the exhibition centers that they were doing
business with,” says current IAEE President and CEO,
David DuBois. “They also wanted to better understand
best practices: ‘Hey, I’ve got this scenario; and how
do you do this; and what about this?’ Today, it’s much
more complex and more sophisticated,” he adds. “But
the basic reason to exist continues to be sharing of
knowledge, best practices, and success stories of
each of these show organizers and suppliers who sup-
port the $70 billion industry in the United States.”
“We’ve gone through several name changes to be
where we are today,” DuBois reports. Indeed, about
40 years ago, the original organization, the National
Association of Exposition Managers – NAEM – be-
came the International Association of Exposition Man-
agers – IAEM, in order to expand beyond U.S. shores.
