•    Ray Bloom is the chairman and founder of the IMEX Group, which organises worldwide exhibitions for the incentive travel, meetings and events industry in Europe and the USA. The award-winning IMEX in Frankfurt exhibition takes place at Messe Frankfurt, Germany, every May. The inaugural IMEX America took place at the Las Vegas Sands Expo, 11 – 13 October 2011 and will continue to take place each October in Las Vegas.

•    Ray Bloom has been a successful entrepreneur for many years. He commenced his career in the motor industry where his family’s Volkswagen Audi dealership won the Diamond Pin Award (the highest Volkswagen Award given to dealerships worldwide).

•    He subsequently entered the hotel industry and then the exhibition industry where he built up EIBTM (European and Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition), which was sold to Reed Exhibitions in 1997. In addition, Bloom built up the leading sales and promotion exhibition, Incentive World (London), which was also sold to Reed Exhibitions in 2000.

•    Whilst founding and developing what have become the leading trade shows in the meetings and incentive travel sector, Bloom also became heavily involved in numerous industry associations and has been recognised in a variety of ways. These include being inducted into the CIC (Convention Industry Council) Hall of Leaders (1991); being awarded UK Personality of the Year by Meetings & Incentive Travel Magazine (1993); recipient of the ICCA (International Congress and Conventions Association) Presidents Award (1997) and being inducted into the WATA (World Association of Travel Agencies) Hall of Fame in 2000.
•    Bloom served on the Board of Trustees for the MPI (Meeting Professionals International) Foundation from 1996 – 2002 and MPI’s Global Strategy Taskforce Committee from 2006 – 2008. He also served on the Board of Trustees for the SITE (Society of Incentive & Travel Executives) Foundation between 1993 and 1999 and, until recently, was Treasurer for the SITE Foundation. He currently serves on the MPI European Council.
•    In October 2010, Bloom was presented with the Corporate Order of Skal Merit and in October 2011 he became the first person to receive the ICTP (International Council of Tourism Partners) “Industry Visionary” Award.

•    Bloom’s views and opinions on the meetings and incentive travel industry are widely sought after and he is a regular speaker at industry events around the world.