UFI Names Nick Savage New Regional Manager for Middle East-Africa Region

February 20, 2018

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has named Nick Savage as the association’s new regional manager for the Middle East-Africa region.

With his appointment, the regional UFI office will relocate to Dubai, and will be hosted by the Info Salons Group.

Savage follows on the work initiated by Ibrahim Al-Khaldi, who is handing over the baton for personal reasons.

Al-Khaldi will work jointly with Savage over the next few months to facilitate the handover.

"With Nick, we have found a senior industry professional who will work as part of the global UFI team, raising the profile of the exhibition industry and creating even more value for our members,” said Sonia Thomas, UFI's COO.

She added, “Our heartful thanks go to Ibrahim for many years of dedicated service to UFI.”

Savage brings 15 years of industry experience to his new position, mainly in the Middle East region, but has also worked in Australia and the U.K. for service providers, as well as organiser/venues.

He currently works as a director for International Business at Info Salons, a job he will maintain in parallel to the UFI role.

"We have worked with Nick Savage for over 10 years and believe he is ideally suited to serve UFI members throughout the Middle East and Africa,” said Jo-Anne Kelleway, who runs Info Salons.

She added, “He is well known for his work ethics and diligence, and is well known throughout the industry for opening the Info Salons office in Dubai. His relationships with the exhibition industry will assist in strengthening UFI’s presence in the region.”

The UFI Regional Office’s main role is to serve the members of the association in the Middle East and Africa, reporting to the Paris headquarters of the association.

The UFI office is relocating from Sharjah, where it previously was kindly hosted by Sharjah Expo Centre and its CEO, the honorary UFI Board member Saif Al Midfa.

"We want to thank Sharjah Expo Centre and especially Saif Al Midfa for all their support and will have pleasure in recognizing this during a ceremony later this year,” said Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO.

He added, “We look forward to collaborating with Al Midfa and his team on other UFI projects in the near future.”

Savage and the UFI team currently are organizing a meeting in Dubai on April 25 of the honorary chapter leadership and the members in the region, to discuss the plans and initiatives for the coming 12 to 18 months.

After the recent leadership elections, the chapter is now chaired by Dr. Esfahbodi from Tehran (Iran), with Craig Newman, Johannesburg (South Africa) serving as the 1st vice chair.

Esfahbodi recently showed his commitment to UFI in a ceremony, during which he designated a space in Tehran as the honorable Chapter Chair's personal office.

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