Clarion closing U.S. office

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Clarion Events has announced a strategic restructuring of its Gaming Division which involves the closure of its U.S. office in St Charles with the relocation of activities to London and the appointment of former ATE Marketing & Commercial Director Julian Graves to the newly created post of Managing Director responsible for exhibitions. Julian, whose association with IGE/ICEi/ATEI and The Betting Show dates back to 2000, takes over from Peter Rusbridge, who has chosen the restructuring process as an opportunity to pursue new avenues after 17 years' service.

Heralding the changes, Julian Graves said: "There has been a major resizing of the industries that we serve and the restructuring process is essential for all businesses in order to remain competitive and healthy. I worked alongside Peter for a number of years both at BACTA and Clarion. He has made a major contribution to the exhibitions and has decided that now is an opportune time to try something new."

He added: "The Clarion Gaming exhibition team, expertly led by Emma Green, will focus exclusively on IGE/ICEi, ATEI and The Betting Show. These events represent global market leaders and in spite of the difficult times are performing extremely strongly. They are our flagship events and we will continue to work with our customers and stakeholders including our unique 198,000-strong database of global gaming professionals to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the worldwide industry.

"I look forward to responding vigorously to the challenges ahead and channelling the undoubted dedication and creativity of the organising and marketing teams to the benefit of all our exhibitors and visitors based in 140 jurisdictions worldwide."

Mark Walker will continue to run the gaming conference business and is in the process of enhancing his team in order to continue to deliver what are widely regarded as the best b2b conference events in the gaming industry. Conferences will now sit within Clarion's dedicated conference business and will benefit from a high level of synergy and cross-over expertise.