Expo News
EXHIBITOR Magazine Assembles All-Star Panel to Judge its Expo 2012 Awards Competition

Last month, EXHIBITOR magazine launched its Expo 2012 Awards competition, honoring the best exhibits and pavilions from this year's World's Expo in Yeosu, South Korea. The competition is currently accepting entries (for more information on entering, visit www.ExhibitorOnline.com/Expo2012/CFE). Recently, Travis Stanton, editor of EXHIBITOR magazine, announced the all-star panel of multidisciplinary design, marketing, and communications experts who will be judging the competition.

“We are extremely excited about this awards program,” said Stanton. “Our Expo 2010 Awards became one the world's most prestigious honors for the organizers and design, construction, and architecture firms who created the pavilions, presentations, and exhibitions on display at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. Similarly, this competition will honor the best work on display at Expo 2012. So to help us select the best the World's Expo has to offer, we've assembled a very impressive panel of architectural- and experiential-design rock stars to jury the competition.”

Four of those rock stars were recipients of Expo 2010 Awards for their work on various pavilions in Shanghai, China, including the Germany Pavilion (winner in the Best Pavilion and Best Activity/Interactive categories), the World Wide Fund for Nature Pavilion (winner in the Best Exhibit category), the Israel Pavilion (winner of the Editor’s Choice Award), and the Information and Communications Pavilion (which received Honorable Mentions in three different categories).

“The World Expo combines art, technology, and marketing unlike any other global event on this scale. Expos like the one in Yeosu take what we do every day on the exhibition level and turn up the immersive-experience volume to eleven,” said Expo 2012 Awards judge Errol Ahearn, vice president, executive administration for design and creative at Global Experience Specialists Inc. “I know all exhibitors and marketers can benefit from studying these amazing temporary spaces in South Korea.”

“This competition represents an exciting opportunity for some of the world's best designers, who are responsible for the inspired structures on display in Yeosu, to be recognized for their efforts,” said Stanton. “Not only do they get the honor of having their work critiqued by this all-star panel, but they also have the chance to win top honors and some serious bragging rights to boot.”


Below is a list of EXHIBITOR Magazine's Expo 2012 Awards judges. Click the names in orange for their bios. For more information on the competition and how to enter, visit www.exhibitoronline.com/topics/expo2012/CFE.

Errol Ahearn vice president, executive administration for design and creative, Global Experience Specialists Inc., Avon, MA	Haim Dotan founder, Haim Dotan Ltd., Tel Aviv, Israel	Christian Lachel vice president, creative director, BRC Imagination Arts, Los Angeles	Julien Le Bas senior vice president, creative and design, Jack Morton Worldwide, Munich, Germany
Benedict Meissner managing director, EWI Worldwide, Hamburg, Germany	Patrick Snee creative director and principal, Blue Telescope, New York	Lennart Wiechell managing partner, Schmidhuber + Partner, Munich, Germany	Tom Yurkin experience designer, Freeman, Dallas

Errol Ahearn, vice president, executive administration for design and creative, Global Experience Specialists Inc., Avon, MA

As vice president, executive administration for design and creative at Global Experience Specialists Inc. (GES), Errol Ahearn is based in the Boston client-care center managing a specialized network of designers who focus on large accounts in various industries. With more than 25 years of experience, including 20 years with GES, Ahearn has designed successful programs for clients such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Novartis AG, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., Procter & Gamble Pet Care, and Neutrogena Corp.

Having worked exclusively within the health-care sector for the last 18 years, Ahearn serves as one of the GES subject-matter experts on the industry and continues to help GES define its global expertise in building and implementing world-class exhibit programs. As a creative leader, Ahearn has won many awards including the 2011 International Business Award’s Creative Executive of the Year, the 2010 Exhibit Designers & Producers Association Designer of the Year, and the prestigious In-Awe award. His work has also been featured in trade magazines such as EXHIBITOR, Exhibit Builder, and Event Design. During the past 10 years, he has been a featured speaker on the topics of interactive technologies, international exhibiting, and integrated design strategies, at events such as the Event Design Summit and EXHIBITOR Show.

Ahearn’s projects allow him to travel around the world, and in 2010, he attended the World Expo in Shanghai, China. He spent 10 days touring and gathering design and technology trends. While there, Ahearn produced detailed reports and visual case studies to share with GES’ global design teams. He also shared experiences through GES’ website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and various industry webinars, and on GES’ blog Defying Convention.


Haim Dotan, founder, Haim Dotan Ltd., Tel Aviv, Israel

Professor Haim Dotan, international architect, poet, philosopher, educator, and artist, graduated from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles with Bachelor's of Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees. Following a career in Japan and the U.S., where he had a practice in Manhattan, he established the firm of Haim Dotan Ltd. in 1990 in Tel Aviv, Israel. The office focuses on innovative cutting-edge architecture, research, and construction, and designs private and public projects in China, Asia, the Persian Gulf, Africa, Israel, and Europe.

In 2011, Dotan was awarded the Architect of the Year Award by the distinguished national magazine “Economics.” In 2010, he was chosen as the “Most Distinguished Architect” by the Israel Association of Architects. And in 2008, he won the Israel Foreign Ministry DBOT Tender as the developer, contractor, designer, and architect of the Israel Pavilion for Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. In 2007, he was nominated for the Israel Prize in Architecture.

Among his most distinguished projects are the Israel Pavilion at Expo 2010, the Performing Art Centers in Ashdod and Rehovot, the Campus at the University of Ashdod: Sami Shamoon College of Engineering in Beer Sheva, the American International School in Even Yehuda, the Alon Building for High Tech at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, the Azrieli Institute of Enrichment in Beer Sheva, and the Segoe Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning in the Technion, Haifa (with architect Piltzer).


Christian Lachel, vice president, creative director, BRC Imagination Arts, Los Angeles

As one of the themed entertainment industry’s leading creative directors, Christian Lachel brings incredible creativity, leadership, design expertise, business acumen, and strategic thinking to BRC’s clients and projects. His design philosophy of immersing guests in the “emotional experience and story” is at the heart of his contributions to numerous breakthrough projects for a diverse range of clients, from entertainment attractions, major brands' visitor centers, corporations, world-expo pavilions, museums, cultural offerings, nature and heritage attractions, government agencies, and global tourist destinations.

Lachel worked extensively on the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China. Providing creative assistance for a variety of pavilions including the China National Pavilion, USA Pavilion, and SAIC-GM Pavilion, he led the creative team for the Information and Communications Pavilion from tender through production. Collaborating closely with senior leadership at China Mobile and China Telecom, he helped create and produce a unique interactive pavilion experience that aligns with the future vision of both companies. The result was an award-winning pavilion that was a big hit with audiences, emotionally connecting the story of communication with kids and families.

An industry leader in integrating sustainable principles into all manner of design and production, Lachel is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, a LEED-accredited professional, and a past board member of the Society for Environmental Graphic Design. He occasionally teaches courses in Experience, Entertainment, and Environmental Design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, where he graduated with honors. Lachel will be attending Expo 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea, later this month.


Julien Le Bas, senior vice president, creative and design, Jack Morton Worldwide, Munich, Germany

Julien Le Bas, senior vice president of creative and design at Jack Morton Worldwide, is an award-winning creative director and registered architect, with more than 10 years of international experience in the experiential-marketing industry.

He has worked with clients such as IBM Corp., Nike Inc., Intel Corp., Sony Corp. of America, Nokia Corp., Honda Motor Co. Inc., General Motors Co., and Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., in the U.S., Australia, Europe, Asia, and Middle East. His expertise and strategic thinking in permanent architecture, exhibits, media, interactive design, and scenography have fueled many significant corporate events and consumer experiences.

Le Bas received a Master of Architecture degree from La-Villette Architecture School in Paris. His passions include photography, vintage European cars, and homemade vacuum tube Hi-Fi equipment.


Benedict Meissner, managing director, EWI Worldwide, Hamburg, Germany

Benedict Meisner is the managing director of EWI Worldwide in Hamburg, Germany, and has more than 10 years of experience in exhibitions, trade shows, and pavilions at World’s Fairs. As EWI‘s project manager, Meisner recently completed the exhibition construction in the German Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China. This pavilion was honored with EXHIBITOR Magazine’s Expo 2010 Award for Best Pavilion and also received numerous prestigious international live communication awards for outstanding achievement in design, such as the Red Dot, an ADC Nail, iF Gold, and the ADAM award.

EWI Worldwide partnered with numerous companies to successfully execute this program and delivered to the great satisfaction of “ARGE Deutscher Pavillon” – the consortium in charge for the whole project, consisting of Nussli, Milla & Partner, and Schmidhuber + Kaindl.

Meisner holds a degree in Business Studies from Germany’s Ravensburg University, with a focus on exhibition, congress, and event management.


Patrick Snee, creative director and principal, Blue Telescope, New York

Patrick Snee brings more than two decades of media-industry experience to Blue Telescope, where he oversees all creative processes. Before founding Blue Telescope, Patrick worked as an art director, animator, and interactive programmer for a variety of leading Web and interactive design firms.

At Blue Telescope, Snee works hands-on exploring new technologies and cutting-edge interface designs for clients ranging from Pfizer Inc. and Sony Corp. of America to the USS Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, and the New York Hall of Science. An avid World’s Fair aficionado, Snee presented at EXHIBITOR2009 on World’s Fair design innovation and has attended world expos in Germany, Japan, Spain, and China, and will be attending Expo 2012 in Yeosu, South Korea, as well.


Lennart Wiechell, managing partner, Schmidhuber + Partner, Munich, Germany

Lennart Wiechell is a creative visionary, but combines this with a love of built reality. While studying at the Technical University of Braunschweig, he participated in work projects in Italy and as a research assistant for Prof. Meinhard von Gerkan. Having graduated, he subsequently spent seven years working for Graft in Berlin. This collaboration with Graft resulted in him expanding and managing the Berlin studio, as well as designing and implementing various hotel, spa, wellness, and residential projects.

In 2007, his path led him to Schmidhuber + Partner in Munich, and he became partner of the management board in the company with 70 architects and interior designers. He is the leading manager for international architecture projects and temporary brand pavilions. Wiechell was responsible for the architecture of the German Pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. With his interdisciplinary team, he manages clients such as Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., Samsung Group, Sony Corp., Electricite de France (EDF), and Knauf Gips KG.


Tom Yurkin, experience designer, Freeman, Dallas

Tom Yurkin is a creative leader within the experience industry, and well beyond. With a finely honed aesthetic sense, a fresh perspective, and a true passion for design, he approaches each project as a new opportunity to see what’s possible.

Yurkin is constantly challenged to create dynamic, deeply experiential environments for B2B and B2C engagements, and as such, he fuses well-established design principles with cutting-edge techniques, progressive style, and the very latest in material offerings. Yurkin delivers novel, trend-setting solutions for brand-conscious clients including Oprah, 3M Co., General Electric Co., Ralph Lauren Corp., Conde Nast (Wired magazine), and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

An alumnus of the School of Industrial Design and Visual Communication Design at Ohio State University, Yurkin has also studied design and architecture at the Paris Louvre as a student of Parsons School of Design. In 1984, he was chosen by Yale University to study design principles taught by various design icons including Armin Hofmann, Paul Rand, and Wolfgang Weingart in Brissago, Switzerland.

Yurkin is also a member of the Advisory Board for Gravity Free, a multidisciplinary design innovation conference; creative director for the Exhibit Designers and Producer's Association's student-design competition, and a member and section chair of the Industrial Designers Society of America.


For more information on the competition, visit www.ExhibitorOnline.com/Expo2012/CFE.



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The leader in trade show and corporate event marketing education, Exhibitor Media Group publishes EXHIBITOR magazine - best practices in trade show marketing. EXHIBITOR also produces EXHIBITOR2013, the trade show and corporate event industry's top-rated educational conference; EXHIBITORFastTrak regional accelerated learning conferences; EXHIBITOR eTrak live online educational sessions; and GRAVITY FREE, the World's Only Multidisciplinary Design Conference. EXHIBITOR is the founder and sponsor of CTSM (Certified Trade Show Marketer), the industry's only university-affiliated professional certification program. EXHIBITOR'S website, www.ExhibitorOnline.com, is the trade show and event community's most comprehensive online resource.

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