Hervé Sedky is leaving Reed Exhibitions, where he is president of the Americas and ReedPop divisions, and stepping into a new leadership position as president and CEO of Emerald. Sedky will assume his new role on Jan. 5, 2021.

Brian Field, Emerald’s Interim president and CEO, will continue to serve as the Emerald’s COO.

“We are thrilled to have Hervé join the Emerald team,” said Kosty Gilis, chairman of Emerald’s board of directors.

He added, “His long and successful career in leadership roles serving the business travel and events markets, along with his strategic acumen, transformative approach, and results-orientation are an ideal fit for Emerald’s next phase of growth.”

Sedky brings three decades of experience including, most recently, six years as president of Reed Exhibitions Americas, where he led a business of more than 100 annual sector-leading events in North and South America.

“Hervé is a tremendous leader whom I have known as an industry colleague for some time; he demonstrates a fantastic blend of personal leadership, industry insight, and a keen customer focus,” Field said.

He added, “I am excited to work closely with him, as we together continue to accelerate Emerald’s pathways for growth and build upon the many remarkable foundations we have put in place over this year.”

In addition to Reed, Sedky also has held a 20-year executive career at the American Express Company, where he held the title of senior vice president and general manager of American Express Business Travel, guiding the growth of a $1 billion revenue business and serving on American Express’ senior management team.

“I am excited to join the world-class Emerald team and can’t think of a better place to reinforce what people and businesses need most: human connections,” Sedky said.

He added, “If there is one thing we have learned personally and professionally from the ongoing pandemic, it is that nothing can replace the high value of the live, in-person experience. Emerald has already begun to demonstrate that face-to-face events can once again be staged safely. We will continue to enhance our customer experience with the extraordinary learning we have acquired this year and apply the kind of creativity we didn’t think possible—the kind of innovation that will drive better results, better customer experience and value.”

Emerald Expositions has more 140 events in its portfolio, including Outdoor Retailer, Surf Expo, NY Now and ASD Market Week.

On behalf of the board, Gilis thanked Field for assuming the president and CEO role for the past year.

Gilis added, “He has very capably led the organization during what has been an unexpectedly turbulent time for the industry against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, all while driving forward many important transformational initiatives for the business which have positioned Emerald to emerge stronger on the other side of the pandemic. The Board looks forward to continuing to work with Brian in his capacity as COO.”

At Reed, Fernando Fischer will be replacing Sedky when Sedky steps down officially in December. Fischer joined Reed Exhibitions as president, US in January 2020.  

Previously, he was CEO of Reed Exhibitions (RX) Brazil for three years, and prior to Reed, served as CEO of six companies in Brazil and one startup in the US across a wide range of industries ranging from consumer electronics, mobile, gaming and healthcare, to security, foodservice and industrial.