March 19, 2024 12:54 AM
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Dex Torricke-Barton
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IBTM World 2018 Announces Second Keynote Speaker

The Institute of Business Travel Management (IBTM) has announced Dex Torricke-Barton (pictured above), former head of communications at SpaceX, executive communications manager at Facebook, and executive at Google, will be one of three exciting keynote speakers at IBTM World 2018, which takes place in Barcelona from Nov. 27-29.

Torricke-Barton’s session forms a key part of this year’s “innovation, technology and creativity” stream of the Knowledge Program and will kick-off the schedule on Day 3. Titled “How technology will transform the meetings and events industry,” Torricke-Barton will take audiences into Facebook’s boardroom, Elon Musk’s open-concept cubicle, the famed Googleplex and finally to the U.N. itself to share his insights.

He will share his experience working for some of the world’s most innovative and technology-driven brands and evaluate the emergence of macro societal trends, including the rise of globalization and nationalism, as well as the development of specific technologies including virtual reality and live-streaming, to forecast which technologies will take hold and how they will alter the meetings sector, work and business operations permanently.

Shane Hannam, portfolio director, IBTM, comments, “I am delighted that Dex is joining us to share knowledge gleaned from his incredible career working alongside some of the world’s most dynamic and innovative business leaders. As technology continues to impact every aspect of our industry, this session is a great opportunity to explore and understand the potential implications of some of the transformational innovations ahead.”

Torricke-Barton led executive communications at Facebook and served as Mark Zuckerberg’s personal speechwriter. He also worked alongside Elon Musk at SpaceX; Google co-founder Larry Page; former executive chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt; and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Torricke-Barton left his role as head of communications for SpaceX in 2016 to focus on a social change project called Onwards, founded in partnership with a group of Silicon Valley innovators. He is currently writing a book examining the impact of technology in solving social divides around the world.

The full program of 54 sessions that form this year’s Knowledge Programme covers eight topical content themes all aimed at inspiring and educating on the latest industry issues and hot topics so that delegates leave motivated to apply learnings to their own events. As well as innovation, technology and creativity, content falls under the following streams: industry trends; engagement and experiences; safety and security; sustainability and CSR; professional development, recruitment and well-being; business development and strategy; and marketing and digital.

New exhibitors for IBTM World’s 2018 edition include Sixt, Hong Kong Tourism, China a la Carta, Alternative Athens, Global Passenger Network, Tourism New Zealand, Standard Hotels and creative technology company Codemodeon. Returning exhibitors include Hyatt Hotel Group, Hilton, Kempinski Hotels, Germany Convention Bureau, Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau, Slovenia Meetings, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, VisitScotland and partners, Barcelona Convention Bureau, among  many others.

With Hosted Buyer recruitment underway, the team is on track to secure a high-profile group of event planners and buyers from across Europe, Asia, Australasia, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and Africa. Buyers already confirmed to attend include SONY, Samsung Electronics, Química Montpellier, SC Johnson and Grant Thornton.

In 2017 IBTM World welcomed almost 3,000 exhibiting companies from more than 150 countries, 3,463 buyers and thousands of visitors for a packed schedule of meetings, networking and educational sessions. More than 74,000 pre-scheduled meetings between exhibitors and buyers were arranged over the three days.

IBTM, part of Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading showcase for the meetings and events industry (also known as MICE) with a portfolio of five global and regional events providing business solutions on five continents. They include IBTM World, IBTM Arabia, IBTM Americas, IBTM Africa and IBTM China. For more info, visit www.ibtmevents.com  

Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organizer, with a wide-ranging portfolio of 22 international events in 13 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa. Its market-leading, business-to-business events cover all elements of travel and tourism, including leisure travel, luxury travel, meetings, events, incentives and business travel, as well as golf travel. For more info, visit www.reedtravelexhibitions.com.

 

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