The General Assembly of EMECA (European Major Exhibition Centres Association), which convened in Milan, elected the new members of its Board of Directors and appointed Carlo Costa, chief corporate officer at Italian Exhibition Group, as vice-president. At IEG, Costa oversees operations, finance, HR, IT, legal and compliance, and the corporate activities of the group’s subsidiaries.

EMECA, based in Brussels and chaired by Elżbieta Roeske, has been active since 1992 and brings together the 25 leading exhibition venues in Europe, including Italian Exhibition Group’s sites in Rimini and Vicenza. EMECA members collectively organise 2,000 trade fairs a year, welcoming 400,000 exhibitors and 38.5 million visitors across 38 million square metres of exhibition space.

Today, Europe hosts most of the leading international trade fairs across their respective sectors and accounts for nearly half of the global market. Among EMECA’s roles is the promotion of its members at European and global levels through industry alliances with major governmental institutions.

Carlo Costa, born in 1968, is originally from Turin but has lived in Fano for 26 years, where he is highly active in local voluntary work. Married with two children, he graduated in Economics and Commerce from the University of Turin and began his career in the finance division of coffee giant Lavazza S.p.A. He then moved to the IFAS Group in Turin, at the time one of the leading automotive dealerships, owned by a Milan-based investment fund.

In 2001 Costa joined what was then the Ente Autonomo Fiera di Rimini, supporting its transformation into a joint-stock company (SpA) and all major transactions: M&A in Italy and abroad, the integration with Fiera di Vicenza- which led to the creation of Italian Exhibition Group S.p.A.- and the stock market listing. In 2022 he moved to the Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano, the consortium protecting Grana Padano, the world’s most widely consumed PDO product. In 2024 he returned to Italian Exhibition Group in his current role as CCO.

At EMECA’s latest General Assembly, members from across Europe focused on planning scenarios for the exhibition industry, the sales growth recorded in 2025 and the outlook for 2026. The agenda also included discussions on challenges arising from the uncertain geopolitical backdrop, investments in decarbonisation, the refurbishment of exhibition venues, and the development of new multifunctional spaces. There was also a focus on digitalisation, personalised services, security, and cybersecurity.

IEG, listed on the main market of Euronext Milan, is among the world’s leading exhibition organisers, with 60 trade fairs and 150 events, more than 700 employees in Italy and worldwide, and offices in Rimini, Vicenza, Milan, Arezzo, Dubai, São Paulo, New York, and Singapore, as well as in China, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. In the first nine months of the 2025 financial year, to September 30, it generated revenue of €190.8 million, up by more than 6%; adjusted EBITDA rose by 5.3% to €45.1 million, with a margin equal to 23.6% of revenue.