Alice Mathu, vice president of business development and partnership at IAAPA, the global association for the attractions industry. She is an exhibition and trade show manager with extensive experience in planning and executing events and coordinating sales, exhibitions and meetings both nationally and internationally. She has extensive experience coordinating expos, particularly in Asia, having produced different shows in Macau, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Mathu’s strengths range from sales, logistics, project oversight and event management and she has been with IAAPA since March 2006. One recent innovation that she has overseen is IAAPA’s new global Hosted Buyer Program. The first program ran during IAAPA Expo Asia 2023 and was also offered as part of IAAPA Expo Europe 2023 and IAAPA Expo 2023.
As part of this scheme, the association hosts new buyers from across the globe, enabling them to connect with exhibitors and IAAPA members during pre-arranged appointments. The exclusive Hoster Buyer Program has been created to help companies to optimise their time and budgets as they network, learn about new trends and ideas, share experiences and discover new suppliers from around the world.
“A key benefit to being an IAAPA member is the relationships built and fostered at our various global IAAPA expo events,” said Mathu. “We have been looking for new ways to enhance the value for our exhibitors at IAAPA expos, this is one objective toward achieving that goal. The timing of this new offering aligns with the return of IAAPA Expo Asia, which has not taken place since 2019.”
Mathu holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in community development with a minor in communications from Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya. She has a certificate in event management from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and a certificate in exhibition management (CEM) from the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE). She is also a certified meeting professional (CMP) from the Convention Industry Council (CIC).