New GES president has a plan for success

Sometimes it takes an outsider to bring inner perspective. Steve Moster, who was recently appointed as president of Global Experience Specialists’ (GES) business unit, began his first job in the convention and tradeshow industry at GES in 2004. Coming from a position as engagement manager at a global strategy consulting firm, Moster made up for what he didn’t know about the industry with what he knew about business.


Moster has now merged his past business experience with six years of industry knowledge to come up with four points for business success at GES: be a customer-centric organization; engage marketing solutions to drive top line growth for clients; execute flawless operation and embody a spirit of continuous improvement.

“I came in (to GES) quickly. I wanted to learn the business from the ground up,” Moster said.

He found having the right people, with a detailed plan, makes all the difference.

“The world of business is pretty similar,” he said. “There was a lot of opportunity to dramatically change the landscape. The industry has changed. You’ve seen a lot of changes in terms of competitors – exhibit houses, contractors – and what’s happening internationally.”

As president of the business unit for a global exhibition, event and retail marketing services company, Moster plans to take his four points and put them into action with a strong focus on customer service.

In March, the company’s National Servicenter earned certification under the J.D. Power and Associates Certified Call Center Program for the second year in a row. To earn the award, a call center is evaluated for courtesy, company knowledge, customer concern, usefulness, convenience of operating hours, ease of reaching a representative and receiving a timely resolution.

Focusing on customer service is also one thing Moster relied on during the worst turns of the economy.

“I definitely went through the boom days and experienced the tough times the economy had,” Moster added. “(Customer service) is paramount. You learn that lesson during tough times.”

Because GES is a publicly traded company and has a global presence – 58 facilities in major cities in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and Germany – it withstood the last few years stronger than many of its peers. GES was able to reinvest in the company during those times.

The future, he said, is laid out by a solid plan of getting things done right and on time while making each customer – and employee – happy.

“This is not the first challenge in the history of this industry,” he said. “It’s certainly a defining moment, but in any business you continue to learn in the good times and the bad times.”