Erika Welling sees the potential that new technologies can bring to us

Erika Welling, CEM, DES, has decades of experience as an innovative and highly driven marketing and operations leader in the hospitality industry.

Erica has served as a resource and mentor to many people throughout her career, including providing senior operations and marketing services to an international general service contractor in the exhibition and event industry. Prior to her work in general service contracting, Erica served as the Regional and International Director for themed restaurants and attractions, and as a Director for a prominent transportation and sightseeing company in Las Vegas.

Erika has served on the Las Vegas Hospitality Association (LVHA) Board of Directors for over 18 years and has served on the IAEE’s CEM Committee and Community, Engagement and Belonging Committee. She currently serves on the CEM Faculty, Chapter Leadership Committee, and is the Past President of the Southwest Chapter of IAEE (SWIAEE). Throughout her career, she has served on the boards of tourism, professional education, and philanthropic associations.

Erika has always incorporated her education and artistic experience from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh into her career. In her free time, she enjoys working on various art projects, reading, skiing, and hiking.

Here, Erika shares her thoughts on how technology fits into the evolving exhibitions and events business landscape.

What inspired you to join this committee and how do you see your role in bridging the gap between technical expertise and event business knowledge?

As an independent event planner, I have held various roles in the exhibition and event space, both large and small, across a wide range of industries and demographics. Wearing these many hats has brought me into the world of technology from time to time, and while I am passionate about technology, I am by no means an expert. I have a great appreciation for technology experts and believe that in our industry, and even in larger organizations with their own technology departments, we need to acquire/seek and rely on technology expertise wherever possible, especially as technology is rapidly evolving and changing.

How do you think the committee’s work can be leveraged to enhance the IT member experience within the association?

I think we need to raise awareness of the technical community and the huge impact they have on the day to day operations of our industry. We also need to increase member participation in committees and influence/encourage technical people from member organizations to get involved.

Which emerging technologies do you think have the potential to disrupt the exhibitions and events industry in the near future?

Artificial intelligence and machine learning, and how they impact information and security, as well as big data and data analytics and how data can be leveraged to achieve current and future goals. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) offer tremendous opportunities to enhance education, marketing, and data.

Which topics do you think are the most important in an event technology education curriculum and why?

Since we have small, medium, and large exhibitions/events between IAEE members and corresponding supplier organizations (some of which wear many hats, while others focus on one expertise, such as technology), perhaps we can take a multi-tiered approach to learning, such as technical education/information level one, level two, etc. Through many of the conversations I have heard, we should explore the need for information at all levels – from the basics (such as a glossary) to more complex scenarios.

What key components do you think a digital event technology toolkit should include, and how can this resource serve the exhibitions and events industry?

The toolkit should include a terminology manual/glossary, case studies, best practices, and knowledge on x, y, and z, etc. We have top international technical experts as IAEE members, and I believe we should leverage their knowledge as a key resource to focus on best practices and highest standards in the rapidly evolving and changing technologies in our industry.

Learn more about the IAEE Active Technical Committee here. Interested in serving on the IAEE Board of Directors, Committees, or Working Groups? Learn more here!