Industry Veteran Is New TSEA Leader
Schuldenfrei selected for mix of association and show experience
By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 4/18/2005
Industry veteran Stephen Schuldenfrei's mix of show and association management experience won him unanimous board backing as the Trade Show Exhibitors Assn.'s new president.
"This is just the perfect job for me," said a jubilant Schuldenfrei, who was selected from a pool of 500 potential candidates. "I've run shows, I've been a TSEA member and I've been a supporter of TSEA because they were my customers as a show producer."
Schuldenfrei picked up association experience as executive director of the Society of Independent Show Organizers, president of the Exposition Operations Society and as an administrative manager of Helicopter Assn. Intl. He was a tradeshow director at Miller Freeman, the Interface Group and, most recently, Access Intelligence.
"We got more than 500 resumes and at least a dozen proposals from association management companies," said Andrew Dudek, TSEA chairman-elect. "We unanimously agreed that Steve was the right guy for the job. He had all the qualities we were looking for."
Dudek, tradeshow manager for Telcordia Technologies, said some applicants had strong association management experience and some had solid show management credentials. But Schuldenfrei's combination of both made him a standout.
Schuldenfrei was also willing to relocate from Washington, D.C., where he'd moved to take the job with Access Intelligence, to Chicago, where TSEA has headquarters at McCormick Place. Locating the association headquarters there makes sense, Schuldenfrei said, because "all of our members come through there, sooner or later."
Schuldenfrei, who left Access Intelligence in January as part of a downsizing, said his top priorities would be increasing membership and upgrading member benefits and services. Although TSEA recently sold TS2 — the Trade Show About Trade Shows to Natl. Trade Productions, the association is still responsible for the show's conference content.
Dudek, a member of the search committee, said he was impressed with a Schuldenfrei presentation that advised show organizers not to be greedy. "He understands that the exhibitor is the person paying for everything at these events," Dudek said.
Indeed, Schuldenfrei named the high cost of exhibiting as the industry's most pressing problem. "The gap has been narrowing between the cost of exhibiting versus the cost of making a sales call. And it's not because the cost of a sales call is going down, it's because the cost of tradeshow exhibiting is going up," he said. "The strategic advantage that tradeshows had over other forms of selling seems to be in jeopardy."
Schuldenfrei said educating exhibit managers is another area he's eager to tackle. "There's always a lot of turnover in organizations. Typically, the person gets thrown in and then does 14 shows in a few months."
He has already met with TSEA staff and will assume his new post June 1. He replaces Michael Bandy, who resigned as president in December to form an independent association management company with his wife, Dee Dee.
Bandy, a TSEA employee since 1987 and president since 1998, submitted a proposal to head the association through his firm, Bandy & Associates. However, Dudek said the proposal didn't include a commitment to work out of the McCormick Place office. Bandy's resignation called on him to leave his post March 31. He recently extended the arrangement, agreeing to remain president until June 1 and as a consultant until the end of July.
"He's been working hard, right up until the last minute, and we're sad to lose him," said Dudek.
Bandy said Schuldenfrei is a good choice. "We're going to work very hard to make it a seamless transition," said Bandy, adding that he's known Schuldenfrei for more than two decades.
He said the recent sale of TS2 has paved the way for TSEA to concentrate more on services for its members. "I'm very pleased with the selling of the tradeshow. That really cleared the way for TSEA to concentrate on becoming an association."
Dudek said he'd like to see TSEA expand its role as an industry advocate, tackling issues such as high drayage fees and unwieldy work rules. "We would like more members, but I think it's more important to represent the industry, whether they're members or not."
