IAEE Holds First Virtual Women’s Leadership Forum, Honors Nancy Walsh

September 15, 2020

The International Association of Exhibitions and Events(IAEE) held its first fully virtual Women’s Leadership Forum, featuring education sessions for women at all stages of their career, on Sept. 9.

This year’s program included sessions like “Truths Female Leaders Need to Know,” “Innovation is Everybody’s Business: How to Be the Innovator and Leader Your Team and Clients Need When Times Are Uncertain,” Cultivating Connectivity, One Step at a Time” and “BrainSHIFT: Mindful Leaders Rise Above the Panic.”

“Since its inception in 2013, the Women’s Leadership Forum has become a must-attend event for industry professionals seeking a deeper level of inspiration and motivation that they can use both personally and professionally to take their career to the next level,” said IAEE Executive Vice President and COO Cathy Breden. “The program is tailored to the unique perspective that women bring to the industry and offers powerful tools delivered by dynamic presenters from diverse areas of expertise.”

The program also included the announcement of Nancy Walsh, president of Informa Markets’ fashion portfolio, as the recipient of the 2020 IAEE Woman of Achievement Award. Walsh joined Informa Markets in January 2020 from Freeman, where she held the position of senior vice president of brand experience. Previously, Walsh had a 32-year career with Reed Exhibitions.

“Nancy’s career has been an outstanding exercise in professionalism, dedication and accomplishment that deserves recognition on many levels,” said Kellie Shevlin , IAEE awards committee chair and executive director of Craft Beverage Expo. “As a woman in the exhibitions and events industry, she acts as a role model for future female leaders of our industry to emulate, and she embodies the merits that the IAEE Woman of Achievement Award is intended to honor.”

Learn more about the Women’s Leadership Forum here, or register for this month’s regional half-day forum in Dallas on Sept. 24 here.

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