The UFI board of directors has elected Anbu Varathan, director general & CEO of Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) and Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) as its president for 2020-2021. The decision was made at the board meeting, which marked the start of the annual UFI European Conference in Birmingham (UK). This decision becomes effective at the conclusion of the 86th UFI Global Congress, which runs from 6-9 November 2019 in Bangkok (Thailand).
The UFI presidential trio for the 2019-20 term will comprise:
• Anbu Varathan (Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association – IMTMA, India) incoming president
• Mary Larkin (diversified communications, Portland, USA) president 2019-20
• Craig Newman (Johannesburg Expo Centre, South Africa) outgoing president.
Anbu Varathan said, “I am indeed delighted to take up this new role. UFI is the apex international body for exhibitions and I am extremely thankful to the UFI fraternity to have reposed their faith and trust in me. Indian exhibition industry and BIEC will get wider recognition and further enhance their positioning in the global map.”
Anbu Varathan is the secretary, director general & CEO of IMTMA. He is also the CEO of BIEC. He has been active in UFI for many years, supporting the association’s mission and driving developments especially in Asia. He has been serving on the UFI board of directors since 2011 and was further appointed onto the UFI executive committee in 2017. He will be the first UFI president from India in the history of the association.
An engineer from IISc, Bangalore, Anbu has working experience of more than 28 years. Prior to joining IMTMA, he was with Confederation of Indian Industry heading various key areas of technology/IPR activities.