UFI Board of Directors Elects Panittha Buri as Next President

From Left to Right: Panittha Buri, Hugh Jones, and Geoff Dickinson.

The UFI Board of Directors has elected Panittha Buri, Vice-Chairperson of Bhiraj Buri Group, as the UFI President for the 2025-26 period. Buri will join the UFI Presidential Trio as Incoming President next November, and become UFI President at the 92nd UFI Global Congress in November 2025 in Hong Kong.

The UFI Presidential Trio for the November 2024 – November 2025 term will, therefore, be:

• Hugh Jones (CEO, RX), President
• Panittha Buri (Vice-Chairperson, Bhiraj Buri Group), Incoming President
• Geoff Dickinson (CEO, dmg events), Outgoing President 

This decision will become effective at the conclusion of the 91st UFI Global Congress, which will take place from 20 to 23 November 2024 in Cologne, Germany.
 
Buri (on the right) has served as the Vice-Chairperson of Bhiraj Buri Group since October 2022. Previously, she held various roles at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC), such as Managing Director and Director of Marketing & Sales. Since 2023, Buri has taken on several prominent roles: Chair of the UFI Asia Pacific Chapter, President of the Thai Exhibition Association (TEA), and Board Member of the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB). She is also an Expert Representative for Bangna Commercial College and a Board Member of both UFI and AIPC.
 
Geoff Dickinson, UFI’s current President, comments: “I am incredibly happy that Panittha Buri will take on the Presidency of UFI in 2026. She has served the events industry passionately and committed for many years in various roles. As a board member of UFI for many years, as the Chapter Chair for Asia Pacific, and as President of the Thai Exhibition Association, she brings a high level of experience and excellent relationships with her industry peers, and as Vice Chair of the Bhiraj Buri Group, she has extensive leadership experience. She is also a very kind and caring person who will, in particular, progress the core values of UFI.”
 
Panittha Buri adds: “Thank you for entrusting me with this leadership role at UFI. I am truly honoured and humbled. I am excited about the journey ahead and am grateful for the opportunity to serve alongside each of you. Let's embark on this journey with passion, integrity and a shared vision for the next generations to come. Together, we can achieve great things.”
 
As UFI’s Incoming President, Panittha Buri will work closely with the President and Outgoing President as part of the Presidential Trio, managing UFI at the highest level and furthering UFI’s mission to connect, support and promote the exhibition industry around the world.
 
UFI was founded in 1925 as a non-profit, non-partisan, and international association. Today, it is the global association for the exhibition industry, directly representing more than 50,000 exhibition industry professionals in almost 90 countries around the world. UFI is headquartered in Paris, France, and operates four regional offices in Asia, North America, Central and South America, and the Middle East and Africa.
 
True to the association’s global presence, UFI’s recent Presidents have been from the UK (Michael Duck, 2022-23, Hong Kong (Monica Lee-Müller, 2021-22), India (Anbu Varathan, 2020-21), the USA (Mary Larkin, 2019-20), South Africa (Craig Newman, 2018-19), and Italy (Corrado Peraboni, 2017-18).