Many men and women have inspired and taught me a lot about the exhibition industry, but the largest influencer is my mom, Denyse Selesnick. Mom started out as a trade magazine  publisher, and, as she tells it, started her own exhibition because, “if my competitor could do it, how hard could it be?”

As we are on International Women’s Day it’s time to take stock of where women are in the exhibition industry – and where we’ve come from. Most organizations, globally, are made up of well over fifty-percent women. This includes the large multinationals and small entrepreneurial companies.

Many men and women have inspired and taught me a lot about the exhibition industry, but the largest influencer is my mom, Denyse Selesnick. Mom started out as a trade magazine  publisher, and, as she tells it, started her own exhibition because, “if my competitor could do it, how hard could it be?”

Her first show was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in 1973 in a hall where the Staples Center now stands. It began with an earthquake and ended with applause. Literally. As we grew up, my three siblings and I worked mom’s shows, refilling magazine bins and even once filled in as registration temp staff, typing badges for exhibitors during move-in as the temps were late!

In the summer of 1977, Mom launched what was her first of many shows in Mexico (pre-NAFTA). She was the first North American – and the first woman – to produce and hold a trade exhibition in the country. There were no convention centers in Mexico City at the time, so they rented the Camino Real Hotel’s parking lot, brought in a couple of generators, and held Contexpo (apparel equipment and machinery) there. At the time, the exhibition industry was in its infancy, long before Reed, UBM or even EJ Krause had Mexico on their radar.

When you talk to trailblazers like my mom, they don’t talk about forging new paths and how important it was to do. Instead, most say that they did new things because they wanted to. That no one else had done that very thing wasn’t a deterrent – because it hadn’t been done before was not a valid reason not to do it. (Hint Hint for the rest of us!)

In her very storied exhibition industry career, Denyse has served as a role model to many besides me and my siblings, encouraging her peers along with those my age to reach for the stars. Some of her accomplishments include being CEM #50 and serving on the SISO Board for years – along with successfully bringing thousands of new-to-market companies to the US, Mexican and Latin American markets.

Who inspired you? What can you do today to inspire others?

A blog by Stephanie Selesnick, International Exhibition Consultant, Trainer, Blogger

& Founding Partner of the North America Women in Exhibitions Network Chapter

Media enquiries:
e: info@womeninexhibitions.com