Clarion Events North America has announced that a president and CEO has joined the company from Messe Frankfurt.
David Audrain has been added as president and CEO, a newly created position.
An 18-year veteran of the exhibition management industry, Audrain spent the last six years as president and CEO of Messe Frankfurt North America, where he developed and grew a portfolio of nine exhibitions in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Before that, Audrain was COO of ConvExx, of which he was also a private equity partner. Earlier in his career, Audrain was general manager of Advanstar’s Men’s Apparel Division, vice president at Hanley Wood Exhibitions and head of a tradeshow division at Miller Freeman.
Audrain is also a past chairman of the International Association for Exhibitions and Events (IAEE).
After successfully completing two three-year contracts with Messe Frankfurt and beginning his search for a challenging new position in the spring of 2011, he began discussions with Clarion as to how they could expand in the U.S. Audrain says he plans to make a successful convention imprint for Clarion Events in the Americas, as he succeeded in doing for Messe.
“For me it was simply that the timing with the end of my latest contract that made the decision appropriate,” said Audrian. “I’ve been here six years now, and that was my target when I took over. I’ve done a lot of shows and turned the business around as much as I thought it could be and I built a great team, and I’m happy to be leaving Messe Frankfurt in very good hands.”
Audrain hedged on disclosing Clarion’s growth strategy for the U.S., but noted the company’s expertise in the defense and consumer space. Clarion has made some initial inroads into the American market to date, Audrain points out, most notably the recent launch of “Counter Terror Expo” in Washington, D.C., under the direction of vice president Wayne Crawford.
“North America is our number one target growth market, and with almost 20 years of experience in the North American exhibition industry, Audrain is the perfect person to help us expand our business into this market, including targeting management contracts,” said Simon Kimble, Clarion CEO. “I have been looking for some time for someone to help us steer our strategy for Clarion Events’ growth in the USA. It was key that we found a candidate that understood and was respected in the U.S. market but also had a good idea of how we Brits operate. David is someone I have known and liked for a while.”
