UFI Elects First President from India

May 16, 2019

The UFI Board of Directors has elected Anbu Varathan president of UFI for 2020-2021, making him the first person from India to hold this role in the history of the association. The decision was made yesterday at a board meeting kicking off the annual UFI European Conference in Birmingham, U.K.

"I am delighted to be part of UFI’s top leadership in the coming years and to continue with the development and support that UFI has provided the industry for so long,” said Varathan. “As the first president in UFI’s history based in India, I’m even more pleased to have been elected to this position, and it is a great honor for me to fulfill my duties.”

Varathan brings great depth of experience to this new role, as he’s also director general and CEO of Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association, organizer of the IMTEX exhibitions. He is also CEO of Bangalore International Exhibition Centre in India.

Active in UFI for years, especially serving the association in Asia, Varathan has also served on the board of directors since 2011. Two years ago, he was further appointed onto the UFI Executive Committee.

“I am pleased to welcome Anbu to his new role in the UFI leadership team as the incoming president,” said Craig Newman, UFI’s current president. “Together with [2019-2020 President] Mary Larkin, I’m looking forward to our close collaboration and wish him every success in performing all the important duties that are required of this position.”

Newman, Larkin and Varathan will work closely as the presidential trio, managing UFI and helping to continue its global mission to connect, support and promote the exhibition industry worldwide.

Founded in 1925, UFI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan international association representing more than 50,000 exhibition industry professionals in nearly 90 countries. It operates four regional offices in addition to its Paris headquarters.

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