Now that the private equity firm Apollo has completed its acquisition of Emerald and Questex, it has established a new corporate brand under which Emerald and Questex will operate using their existing names. The new brand, Forge, is a global B2B events-and-media company that brings together Emerald's portfolio of trade shows, conferences and related solutions with Questex's events, media brands and digital-engagement platform. Forge owns about 160 events across various vertical markets.
The combined company is designed to engage with customers before, during and after the events themselves. "To forge is to bring distinct strengths together, through pressure and precision," reads the company's press release.
Apollo is one of the nation's largest private-equity firms, with a vast portfolio that includes the Venetian Las Vegas and The Travel Corporation.
Executive leadership named
Former Questex CEO Paul Miller has been named CEO of Forge, and former Emerald CEO Hervé Sedky has become senior advisor. The following appointments, announced in July, make up the Forge C-suite:
- Vince Dimaggio, CFO
- Issa Jouaneh, COO
- Kate Spellman, chief commercial officer
- Kurt Nelson, chief talent officer
- Sara Altschul, chief legal officer and company secretary
Forge has now appointed a board of directors. Joining CEO Paul Miller on the board are:
- Andy Bird, former president of Walt Disney International and former CEO of Pearson
- Lara Boro, former CEO of the Economist Group and former CEO of Informa Intelligence
- Simon Kimble, former CEO and executive chair of Clarion Events
The board will guide the company's long-term strategy as it invests in its portfolio and expands the markets it serves.
B2B events for numerous sectors
Both Emerald and Questex have served a variety of industries. Emerald identifies its markets as design and construction; food, pharma and health care; gift, home and general merchandise; industrial and marketing; luxury; action sports; and tech, advertising and marketing. The company is known for large exhibitions such as the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show and the CEDIA Expo, which serves the A/V integration market.
Questex defines its markets as life sciences, health and wellness; living, which includes residential and operational real estate, hospitality and destination-related sectors; and entertainment and infrastructure, which counts media, event design, networks and telecom among the sectors in that category. The company is known for such events as the Be + Well | Beauty and Wellness Show.
Betting on B2B events
The deal demonstrates Apollo's confidence in the events sector as well as an appetite for the mountains of data and subsequent insights that should result from such a merger. "As AI and digital tools rapidly expand the ways professionals connect and share information, they are simultaneously elevating the value of trusted, in-person gatherings, where industries come together to do business, build relationships and make consequential decisions," said Shahid Bosan, managing director at Apollo.
