Advanstar Makes Room at the Top

Calanca becomes exec VP, McConnell to run entire fashion portfolio

By Michael Hart -- Tradeshow Week, 7/17/2006

Advanstar Communications has announced three major management changes, perhaps signaling plans for expansion of its tradeshow portfolio.

Tony Calanca, formerly a senior vice president at Infinity Expo and Reed Exhibitions, has been named executive vice president of exhibitions, responsible for all of Advanstar's shows.

Laura McConnell, formerly vice president and general manager of MAGIC, will now be executive vice president responsible for Advanstar's entire fashion portfolio. Chris McCabe, formerly with Reed Exhibitions, will become vice president and general manager of MAGIC, reporting to McConnell.

These are the first major management changes in what has been a busy year and a half for Advanstar. In April 2005, the company sold five divisions of the company for $185 million to Questex Media Group, a new company backed by the Audax Group and headed by longtime Advanstar technology executive Kerry Gumas.

In December, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, a Credit Suisse First Boston private-equity fund, announced it would not be selling Advanstar after all — even though it said six months before that it was on the market. At the time, CEO Joe Loggia said the decision not to sell had less to do with the qualities of the offers Advanstar had received than with the fact that it had seen a 14-percent increase in operating cash flow in the third quarter of 2005, compared to 2004.

An Advanstar spokesman said neither Loggia nor any of the three executives involved were available for comment by press time.

However, in a written statement, Loggia said, "We believe the promotion of Laura, along with the additions of Chris and Tony, will help accelerate the positive growth trajectory of our events."

If positive earnings are dictating management decisions, the latest shifts may have been motivated by recent financial reports. Advanstar's $8.6 million in 2005 net income compared with a $51.2 million net loss for 2004. Year over year, revenue from shows and conferences was up 14 percent.

Revenue in the first quarter of this year was $106.6 million, up from $90.6 million in the first quarter of 2005. Net income of $15.1 million compared with $6.1 million in the year-ago quarter. The fashion and licensing segment reported a 30-percent increase in revenue.

Advanstar hasn't yet reported its 2006 second-quarter earnings.

Calanca spent 23 years with Reed Exhibitions before leaving in early 2003 to join three other partners in founding Infinity Expo. Infinity launched and managed several shows before dissolving late last year. At the time, Calanca said, "There just wasn't enough volume there to support the four partners. It was good business, just not that much."

McConnell went to work for MAGIC in 1997 and held several positions before becoming vice present and general manager in 2002. The August 2005 edition of MAGIC Marketplace was No. 6 on the most recent Tradeshow Week 200. The February edition was No. 8.

At Reed Exhibitions, McCabe has managed the PGA Merchandise Show, BookExpo America and several consumer shows.

Advanstar currently has a portfolio of 85 events and 55 publications and directories. In 2005, it made five acquisitions and launched 18 new pharmaceutical conferences and two new magazines.