Pancho Campo, the former tennis professional turned high profile events producer, will be the first keynote speaker at IBTM World 2020, which is being held December 1-3, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain.

In a talk titled “The Future of Events: Lessons learned from working with Barack Obama,” Campo will draw on his more than 30 years’  experience organizing major events to explore how to run an event with high profile attendees, as well as sharing practical solutions to overcome the unique challenges inherent to this type of event. Campo will also discuss how event organizers can adapt in a COVID-19 world and give valuable insight into what events of the future might look like.

“Although the current situation is worrying, the future is bright,” says Campo. “I’m very much looking forward to attending IBTM World and discussing innovative ideas and where all these changes might take the industry.”

On July 7th, Shane Hannam, portfolio director for IBTM Events, sent a message to the industry announcing that IBTM World would be held at Fira de Barcelona as scheduled.

At that time, Hannam explained that IBTM was working hard with its colleagues in Barcelona to ensure health security at the show, which he acknowledges would be a little different this year. The event will, he writes, celebrate the incredible power of the industry to help in rebuilding economies and “remember those who have suffered during this incredibly tough time.”

Meet Pancho Campo

Originally from Santiago, Chile, Campo is a former ATP tennis professional and Olympic captain, who participated in the 1992 summer Olympics in Barcelona as a coach for the Chilean team. He retired from tennis in 1995 to set up his events management company, Chrand Marketing & Events. He initially worked on sporting events such as the Davis Cup, the Pro Beach Soccer Tour and sports tournaments with fellow celebrities Andre Agassi, Stefan Edberg, Pat Cash and Eric Cantona, but later expanded to music, promoting concerts with legendary music artists Sting, Enrique Iglesias and Pink Floyd.

Campo’s interest in the environment and climate change led him to meet former Vice-President Al Gore (with whom he produced several world-class conferences) as well as U.S. Present Barack Obama and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

During the lockdown, Campo produced a virtual climate change conference called Marbella Futuro 2020, one of the first online summits to take place under COVID-19. The one-day, non-profit event brought together 61 speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds, who discussed ideas and shared inspiration in more than 35 panel sessions.

“Pancho is an inspiring and motivational speaker with a ‘can do’ attitude and a fantastic track record of producing events with some of the world’s most high-profile celebrities and leaders,” says David Thompson, event director, IBTM World. “We know that his session will be insightful and valuable to attendees and we are delighted that he will be speaking at IBTM World.”

Pancho Campo’s session will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 3, 2020, in IBTM World’s Inspire Theatre, which forms part of the event’s Knowledge Programme.