Shoe Show Gets COO

Stone to start running WSA Show in '05, Infinity contract up in the air

By Heidi Genoist -- Tradeshow Week, 7/5/2004

Diane Stone joined the World Shoe Assn. July 1 and, effective Nov. 1, will assume the newly created position of COO. Due to what she described as an internal pro-cess, Stone said she would be interim COO for four months, and then "the 'interim' will go away."

For the last nine months a volunteer president, board of directors and advisory board, in addition to a small staff ranging from administrative assistants to a membership coordinator, have steered the association. Each of its semiannual WSA Shows rank among the largest exhibitions in the United States, coming in 19th and 20th, according to the Tradeshow Week 200.

WSA Executive Director Chris Aiken remains on a leave of absence that began last Sept. 25. "Chris is the executive director of WSA. He's still an employee of the WSA," explained association President Mitch Fisherman, a regional sales manager for Nine West. "Diane is in an interim position and, this coming November, will take the leadership of the association."

In Aiken's absence, Infinity Expo Group of Shelton, Conn., has managed the WSA Shows, which in 2003 netted around 660,000 square feet and drew upwards of 1,100 exhibiting companies and 10,000 professional attendees each. Fisherman said Infinity would continue its management of the shows through the next event, scheduled Aug. 5–8 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center and Mandalay Bay Convention Center. "We are undecided on whether to continue with them after that," he added. "They've done a great job for us, and we're very happy with them."

Stone has an extensive background in show management, including an executive position at Channel Events and upper management posts at Advanstar Communications and Expocon Management. Prior to accepting the job at WSA, she spent five months as a consultant with the Toy Industry Assn., "relative to the strategic direction of their show portfolio," Stone said.