EBACE: Processing the week
by Jay Mesinger

Now that I have arrived back home in Boulder, CO from EBACE, I thought I would process the week in Geneva through this month’s article. It was the 10th Annual EBACE Convention, a joint venture between NBAA and EBAA. I don’t think anyone would disagree that during the past 10 years EBAA’s strength as an association with great integrity and tremendous industry influence has grown exponentially. All of the influencers both internally to the association’s organization, its members and the European aviation leaders should take a well deserved collective bow for their on-going work to create this powerful show.

One of the things that clearly set this event apart from other Aviation events has been its draw of the end user. I think that much of this trend comes from a less aggregated and visible prospect and end user database. The event itself is the aggregator. In many of the emerging markets there is not the mature dealer/broker network whose self appointed job in other markets is to develop a path to the qualified prospect or end user. As the network of dealers and brokers matures over the coming years, the demographics of EBACE may change slightly to be that of a more traditional attendee; the flight department or other financial related touch points to the end user. This will not necessarily change the value proposition of the event, but possibly change some of the very exciting phenomenon of, “selling the plane and taking the order from the end user right at the static display”.

Who knows, maybe the habit of end user attendance will never change and the attendee number will just grow as it becomes populated by the end user and their growing flight department staff. From a statistics point of view this show has grown in every segment. Its exhibitor and show space rented numbers were up from last year, as was the overall attendance to the show. In fact this was the second largest show of its 10 year history! This is an amazing difference from last year’s show. This rebound really speaks to the resiliency of the aviation industry. Clearly, we are not out of our industry woods yet, but we are genuinely headed in the right direction industry wide. For me, the week was filled with opportunities to reconnect with old friends and make new ones from around the world.

Over the last several years I have made some great friends globally in the aviation industry. This event truly draws an international gathering, and not just from Europe but from much farther away. Networking of course is a primary reason to attend these functions. Expanding beyond our traditional borders gives us a great chance to make so many new friends, and in just one week at one location it is not only efficient, but it can really shorten what can often be a long relationship building process, while at the same time increasing possibilities for our businesses.

Also, I had the great distinction of being able to Co-Moderate as well as speak at a day-long joint NBAA/EBAA conference on International Aircraft Transactions. You could really see the rich diversity in the panel of speakers as well as the attendees to the conference. An amazing number of countries were represented as well as professions. When you have the opportunity to learn so much about a relevant topic like International Transactions from such an esteemed international group, and then have a robust Question & Answer period after each topic, the results are sure to be significant.

In fact, the complexities of International Transactions are another strong marker for why these shows are so powerful and the resulting networking is so critical. As a broker one might think my focus would be on the buyer or seller. That of course is where the rubber meets the road. However, in order to really attract a high level of international work, you must have a very solid network of global resources in order to complete these complex transactions.

So going to a show like EBACE was even more weighted for me on team-sourcing rather than on client-sourcing. If I were to say the one thing the International Aircraft Transaction conference taught me, it would be just how no one method or set of practices can be applied to transaction completion.

In addition, it pointed out how each case is different from the other, and how it is the people that make the transaction a success. Taking the operational and ownership priorities of each prospect into account, going to the specific global regions within that prospects operational outline, and assembling locally-based professionals into one team is the key to unlocking the success. Of course this is a very challenging process that may make up many global jurisdictions as well as cultures and language. Being a team leader on a global stage with broad leadership skills provides a perfect expectation for people investing in going to these shows.

So in summary, although the financial commitment to attend aviation conferences and forums in areas of the world that are distant from your home base is significant, if carefully thought out and executed by plan, the return value can be wonderful.

My hat goes off to Mr. Brian Humphries, President and CEO of EBAA, his staff and support team, along with Ed Bolen and his staff at the NBAA. Collectively they make the show come alive. Their collaborative passion to the success of this show and the industry at large is a testament to what the power of people coming together with a shared vision can do. It is with great pride that I sit back and report on what looks like a renewed hope and vision for our industry and its global partnerships.