Developing a new trade show concept involves many steps. To lower the barriers to organizing a new trade or consumer fair, the foundation ExpoTalent was recently established. The foundation offers free expert advice and practical support to anyone with a promising idea for a new fair. The goal: to enable the events industry to continuously innovate and respond to market developments. ExpoTalent is an initiative by trade show professionals Ton Otten, Ids Boersma, and Gert-Jan van den Nieuwenhoff and is financially supported by Koninklijke Jaarbeurs, RAI Amsterdam, and Rotterdam Ahoy.
From Promising Idea to Trade Show
ExpoTalent is a non-profit initiative aimed at lowering the threshold for organizing new trade and consumer fairs. By providing free expert advice and practical support, ExpoTalent aims to help the events industry launch new trade show concepts. Ids Boersma, co-initiator: “Trade shows still play a very important role in society today. They are places where people come together, business is conducted, and knowledge is shared. But it is also crucial for the trade show industry to keep innovating. In practice, people often encounter many obstacles when developing a new trade show concept. To remove these obstacles, we established ExpoTalent. With our knowledge and expertise, we advise people on how to develop their idea into a true trade or consumer fair.”
Expertise in Trade Shows
The founders of ExpoTalent have years of experience in the trade show industry. Ton Otten, co-initiator: “We are very pleased with the financial support from Jaarbeurs, RAI, and Rotterdam Ahoy, which allows us to offer our expertise for free to anyone with an innovative trade show idea but who doesn't know the path to realization. I emphasize that ExpoTalent focuses on the entire Dutch trade show industry, not just the locations in Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Rotterdam. Gert-Jan van den Nieuwenhoff, co-initiator: “ExpoTalent targets both innovative trade show concepts and emerging talent. Think of students, innovative entrepreneurs, and industry organizations. If people think they have a great trade show idea, we warmly invite them to sign up. I look forward to getting started!”
Bio of ExpoTalent Initiators
Ids Boersma has a background in (international) marketing and worked for RAI Amsterdam for a total of 25 years. He began his career there as a Communications Manager, later becoming Trade Show Manager and then Business Unit Manager of the Maritime Product Group, which included fairs like HISWA and the Dubai Boat Show. With the rise of the internet, Boersma was asked to oversee the setup and development of online media as Director of Online. He then became responsible for all international activities of RAI as Director International. Finally, Boersma was appointed General Director of the Trade Show Division, making him a member of the executive board of RAI Amsterdam.
Ton Otten began his career in 1984 as a Business Controller at Koninklijke Jaarbeurs, where he developed into Finance Director, Managing Director, and Director International. The past twenty years have been mainly focused on realizing the growth of foreign investments in China and Southeast Asia.
Gert-Jan van den Nieuwenhoff started his career in the travel industry. In 1988, he was a project manager at MECC Maastricht and later head of Congress Affairs. He then spent four years as Deputy Director of Koningshof, followed by a role as General Manager of Rotterdam Ahoy from 2001 to 2019. Additionally, Gert-Jan has been chairman of ICCA Netherlands and CLC Vecta for many years.
