In an effort to drive growth and a strong corporate culture, global exhibition and live events industry experiential marketing and logistics partner Global Experience Specialists (GES) recently made two major executive promotions: Jeff Quade and Jason Stead to president of GES Exhibitions – North America and GES Exhibitions – EMEA, respectively.

Deeper dive with Jeff Quade

With more than three decades of executive leadership experience at GES, Quade leads the North American business unit of GES Exhibitions, which includes its leading trade show general service contractor business, housing accommodations provider onPeak and SHOWTECH, the exclusive electrical provider in all of Toronto, Canada’s convention centers as well as the Edmonton Convention Centre. 

Known for his skills in building industry partnerships, Quade is also a former board member of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) and the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR).  

“The GES team continues its pursuit of helping our clients connect people to innovation, experiences and one another,” Quade said. “I’m proud of the team and grateful to our team members, clients and trade partners in the support of our purpose. I am excited about the direction of the exhibition industry and GES’ ability to thrive as an industry leader.”

When asked about his goals for GES’ North American division in 2024, Quade narrowed them down to three: “Foster an inclusive culture allowing our employees to thrive, do their best work and create opportunities for themselves and their colleagues; provide best-in-class execution to help our clients achieve their goals; and work with our labor trade partners to attract and develop the workforce of the future.” 

Big picture with Jason Stead

Bringing more than three decades of experience in building new revenue, growing and retaining clients, as well as developing and launching new products and services, Stead’s new role as the leader of GES’ EMEA organization involves leading two brands: GES Exhibitions, the leading general services contractor in the U.K., Europe and Middle East, and Visit, a premium event intelligence business.

Before joining GES in 2014, Stead previously held leadership positions at Nissan, EDF, Sky, ITV, Emap and Ascential.

“Across EMEA, we are dedicated to our strategic mission of building meaningful partnerships with our clients to help them grow,” Stead said. “I’m incredibly proud of the team and their dedication to the success of our business, our clients and the industry as a whole.” 

Stead added that one of GES EMEA’s biggest goals for the new year is to continue the positive cultural and behavioral changes with its current and future employees.  

“We nurture the talent we have to make significant long term, positive differences to business performance,” he said. “We will also continue to drive for quality and simplification improvements as well as working closer with our customers to make it easier to do business with GES. Our aim [is to] help our customers grow.”   

What’s next

Going forward, Quade and Stead will also be focused on accelerating GES’ commitments to environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards to be more relevant to the needs of the planet, clients, teams and the communities in which the company works, according to GES officials.

“Jeff and Jason have been outstanding leaders of innovation and change at GES, with proven track records in both business development and operational excellence to provide extraordinary service and insight to our clients,” said Steve Moster, president of GES and president and CEO of Viad Corp. “They have built world-class teams and a winning culture to elevate GES to the next level. These promotions recognize Jeff and Jason’s leadership and commitment to our clients.”

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