A special report from The Meeting Professional archives: With the IMEX America tradeshow nearing, a look back at our 2017 profile of Ray Bloom, chairman and founder of the IMEX Group.

Say the name Ray Bloom to meeting and event leaders and professionals around the world, and words such as integrity, energy, passion, giving and unrivaled come to mind. So do phrases such as always fun to be around, big smile and best in class.

Bloom, the inspiration behind the IMEX Group, the worldwide exhibition juggernaut for incentive travel, meetings and events through its IMEX in Frankfurt and IMEX America trade shows and hosted buyer program, shies away from the flattery.

Humble and gracious, two other terms used about Bloom, are more his style.

Make no mistake, though. Every word about Bloom is spot on and reflective of the man who followed his dream and became a meeting and event industry icon, staying true to himself every step of the way and loyal to his family—the one at home and the one at the office.

“The reason we’ve been able to build IMEX in Frankfurt and now IMEX America is due to the IMEX team,” he says. “I’m in awe, really, of their work. I’m extremely proud of the way that they work throughout the year. When they come to shows, they’re absolutely exceptional.

“Every accolade I might get personally, as far as I’m concerned, is on their behalf because they do the job. I work very closely with them. [My daughter] Carina works very closely with them. But really, it’s due to this team that we’ve been able to achieve what we have.”

Those words speak to the class and humility that Bloom exudes, whether you are an old friend or someone he just met. Spend just a few minutes with Bloom as he scurries about the massive trade show floors in Frankfurt or Las Vegas—keep up if you can—and you’ll experience Bloom at his best, really. A wave here, a handshake there, prodding questions about a new exhibit, constantly stopped by old friends and quick to greet a new face. Bloom is in his comfort zone when he can meander at his own pace from aisle to aisle, booth to booth.

“Ray has this huge relationship capital,” says Carole McKellar, managing director, Northern Europe, for HelmsBriscoe, and vice chair of development for the MPI Foundation Board of Trustees. “When I see the relationships he has built around the world, they’re not just superficial relationships. He really gets to know people and really gets to understand them. I think that’s something very special.”

Fiona Pelham, CEO of Positive Impact Events and a former chair of the MPI Board of Directors, says Bloom’s approachability is yet another of his positive traits.

“One of the biggest impacts he’s had is showing that you can be a leader, you can innovate and you can create something new,” she says. “And you can also be open to speaking to the future generations of our industry and encouraging them with that leadership.”

Bloom and his team have come a long way from the early 1980s when he was working at his family-owned Volkswagen Audi dealership in Hove, East Sussex, in England to today with his very successful IMEX Group.

IMEX in Frankfurt has grown into a mega-event for 3,500 suppliers from more than 150 countries who gather to network and do business at Messe Frankfurt. The most recent show in May drew more than 14,000 participants and 68,500 appointments. In 2011, Bloom brought IMEX to Las Vegas and every fall the IMEX Group puts on the largest meeting industry trade show in the U.S., drawing more than 12,000 total participants, including 3,200 hosted buyers from 60 countries.

Bloom may not have imagined he would have that kind of success when he and longtime friend Ian Allchild launched Incentive exhibition in 1984, followed shortly thereafter with EIBTM in Geneva, where his wife Claudine’s family lived.

“I went to a tea party one afternoon with my sister-in-law Erica and there was a sales manager from Palexpo,” he says, referring to Geneva’s Exhibition and Congress Centre. Bloom accepted an invitation to tour Palexpo and came away determined to run a show there.

The IMEX Group is a family affair and it was during his tenure with EIBTM that his daughter, Carina Bauer (MPI U.K. & Ireland Chapter), now CEO of the IMEX Group, found her calling.

“We always had a gala dinner around our shows,” Bloom recalls. “Carina and her sister Natalie each had a table to host at these gala dinners. So they started coming when they were very young teenagers. They then visited the show so I guess it must have started sometime around then.”

Bloom would later sell EIBTM to Reed Exhibitions and had a non-compete for two years. In the interim, he and the family launched a coffee shop venture in England with 12 locations. But by 2001, he was back in the meeting and event business with IMEX.

“When we launched the new show, I thought it would be good to take advantage of both the hosted buyer program and a major market,” Bloom says. “I thought Germany was the appropriate place to put the show. Frankfurt, I thought, was suitable. It had wonderful exhibition halls and excellent hotels.”

The relationship with Germany has been strong for both the IMEX Group and the German meeting and event industry.

“It is a great, huge influence,” Heike Mahmoud (MPI Germany Chapter), director of conventions for visitBerlin, says of IMEX. “I’m very proud that Ray decided to bring IMEX to Frankfurt because it influenced the industry not only in Germany but worldwide. He really changed the industry. That means, to me, to bring people from around the world together; to accept other cultures, different views; and create a platform for the leaders in our industry.”

Mahmoud is nearly brought to tears when she recalls how Bloom joined her for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

“I have never seen him in such an emotional mood,” she says. “He was so thankful that he could be a part of it. We stood side-by-side. I will never forget it.”

What Bloom and the IMEX Group did for Frankfurt, he’s done for Las Vegas through a relationship forged with MPI.

“[MPI] said, ‘We have an idea. You’re a specialist in trade shows, we’re specialists in education and professional development,’” Bloom says. “I thought that was a fantastic idea and that’s how IMEX America started. We became strategic partners. There was clearly a need for a good show.”

Along with the trade show, he also brought the hosted buyer program, a major driver in the success of IMEX.

“He has made a huge impact on North America and how we do business relative to networking, trade shows and exhibitions,” says Chandra Allison (MPI New Jersey Chapter), vice president of sales at the Venetian, the Palazzo and Sands Expo, home of IMEX America. “It’s about the way he has been able to collaborate with the industry to make [IMEX America] so impactful.”

Bloom’s passion is more than meetings and events. There is his family, starting with his wife of 45 years, Claudine. The two met in Switzerland—he was a friend of her cousin—and they now have two daughters and four grandchildren. Claudine can often be found at shows working the registration booth or helping in some way. Through it all, she not only loves her husband, but supports and respects his success.

“He’s exactly the same man [at home] as he is when he’s working,” she says. “He never stops. If you blink, you miss him. He’s very clear headed and he can see the solution to a problem very, very quickly. He’s not terribly practical with his hands, but from a business point of view, he’s very astute. I’m very proud of what he’s done for the meeting industry.”

Carina has been his partner in business, but also has perspective as his daughter.

“My dad was great,” she says. “He was always a calm influence at home. He’s not somebody who gets angry or annoyed very easily. He was somebody who wanted to give us great experiences and help us achieve our potential.

“I’ve been working with my dad pretty much since I left university. It does change your relationship to a degree, but I guess in a sense it makes us closer than other fathers and daughters might be.”

Bloom found other ways to mix his passion with his strong sense of business: football—soccer in the U.S.—football and football.

“I don’t think we’ve got enough time to talk about his love for football,” says his good friend Robert Comer. “He loves all football. Whether it’s big British teams or whether it’s European teams, football is a genuine passion.”

Bloom is director of the Brighton & Hove Albion football club (he’s also vice president of the Sussex Young Cricketers) and rarely misses a match.

“My enthusiasm for football is the same as when I was a teenager or even before that,” he says, noting that he started playing when he was about two and hinting that it was a late start. “I played a great deal and tried to make myself as good as I could be, but it wasn’t very good. I still continue to play a lot, if you call it playing because now I have two grandsons [in England]. When I take them to our club’s training ground about once a month we have a good kick-around there.”

His goal with Brighton & Hove Albion has been to advance to the Premier League from the Championship League, and that became a reality just a few months ago. He also follows England’s national team and has been to seven World Cups.

There are no hints at retirement. For now, his devotion remains to the IMEX Group, the industry, his family and his football.

“Good old Ray Bloom,” says Elliott Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC, the CVB in Washington, D.C. “The thing that I have been impressed most about with him is that he really listens. Not only does he listen, he pays attention, he’s engaged and he’s always there for all of us.”

Mike Massari (MPI Philadelphia Area Chapter), chief sales officer for Caesars Entertainment, says Bloom is “the type of individual that I want to be. I want to be a good man, I want to be a good father, I want to be a good businessperson. I want to live my life with integrity and honesty.

“If you look at Ray and the people he associates himself with, if you look at his daughter, look at the people that work for him and the customers he has. Look at the way people talk about him and his business. Look how he does it with honesty and transparency. He’s become all the things that I endeavor to be. I admire Ray Bloom because he’s done things the way I consider to be the right way.”

How about adding these two words when the name Ray Bloom is mentioned: love and respect.

Industry Leader Award

The MPI Industry Leader Award, presented to Ray Bloom at the 2017 World Education Congress in Las Vegas, was established in 2015 to recognize individuals who through their personal and organizational commitments have made a significant, lasting and positive impact on MPI and our community. Through their leadership, creativity, passion and generosity they have advanced our profession, our industry and MPI, ensuring the long-term sustainability of our association.