Exhibition leaders agree that the ground keeps shifting under an industry that used to feel predictable. Economic swings, new buyer habits, digital disruption and a changing workforce are constantly creating new challenges. None of it is slowing down and it doesn’t wait for you to catch up, either. The organizations that thrive will be the ones with leaders who see the shifts coming and move on them first.
No worries, the 2026 CEIR Predict Conference on 10-11 September has you covered! Predict is a strategic intelligence briefing built for people who make decisions such as CEOs, senior event leaders and anyone responsible for keeping their organization ahead of the curve rather than chasing it. By pairing hard data from the CEIR Index with original research from outside analysts, attendees experience a rare combination: the numbers that show what’s actually happening along with the context that explains why it matters.
The unique value to Predict is that rather than relying solely on industry veterans talking to industry veterans, it pulls in economists, geopolitical analysts and marketing leaders from outside the exhibitions world – voices who can spot the big-picture shifts before they show up in your own numbers. Pair that outside perspective with CEIR’s own deep well of exhibition-specific research, and you get a program built to answer one question from every angle: What should you actually be planning for over the next three to five years?
Walk in with questions about where the industry is headed and walk out with a framework for answering them yourself. Let’s preview what’s on the agenda at this year’s program.
The Global Economic Outlook & Impact on Business
Economist Tara Sinclair opens the conference with a sweeping look at the forces steering the U.S. and global economy such as inflation, geopolitics, monetary policy and trade. It’s the macro picture every strategic decision ultimately rests on, translated into what it means for B2B exhibitions.
The Business of Exhibitions: Economic Forces Shaping the Industry’s Next Chapter
Tariq Khan of Tourism Economics narrows the lens, applying the latest CEIR Index research directly to organizers, venues and service providers. Expect real talk on pricing, demand and where the actual growth is hiding.
Separating Signal from Noise: Which Industry Trends Will Shape B2B Exhibitions Through 2029?
CEIR’s own Nancy Drapeau draws on two decades of tracking the industry through every cycle and shock to sort lasting fundamentals from passing noise. This is a built-in filter for evaluating every other forecast you’ll hear (inside Predict and beyond).
The New Global Order: Geopolitical Trends and Their Impact on Exhibitions
Michele Iversen of The Chertoff Group breaks down trade tensions, regulatory shifts and geopolitical hot spots, then hands attendees practical tools for building risk strategies that hold up under real-world uncertainty.
Marketing Innovation in the Age of Disruption
American Marketing Association CEO Bennie F. Johnson challenges C-suite attendees to rethink brand strategy from the ground up. It’s a call to trade conventional marketing instincts for bolder, more relevant approaches.
Brainwave Exchange
No slides, no script – just a facilitated conversation built entirely from the room’s own experiences and challenges. This is where peer insight becomes strategy in real time.
The Innovation Shift: New Leadership Paradigms for Exhibitions Growth
Moderated by Howard Givner with Oaklins | DeSilva+Phillips, this panel of thought leaders takes on the leadership mindsets and cultural barriers standing between your organization and real transformation. Come ready to have your assumptions challenged.
Through the Looking Glass: Predictions for the Future
Closing keynote speaker Dr. Sam Potolicchio brings the conference full circle with a wide-ranging look at the political, social and environmental currents shaping what comes next – plus an honest accounting of what he predicted last year and how it played out.
The Predictable Payoff
Two days. Eight sessions. One clear thread running through every one of them: the leaders that get ahead of upcoming trends and challenges won’t just adapt to the future of exhibitions, they’ll define it. That’s exactly the position you want to be in.
