#Eventex Awards Spotlight: AIM Group International

Eventex Awards is more than a competition recognizing excellence in the field of events. Through the years, the awards have become an industry showcase of the best practices, the most original ideas, and the top innovations of today as well as a fountain of ideas for those seeking inspiration.

In this series of interviews, we will present you some of the most distinguished Eventex winners over the past few years.

AIM Group International is among the leaders in the organisation of congresses and events. AIM Group’s predecessor, AISC, was founded over 50 years ago in Rome by Enzo Buongiorno – a pioneer of the conference sector in Italy. In 1990, the company acquired MGR, a Milan-based events organiser and thus added incentive travel, conventions and medical education to its portfolio. A few years later, the name was changed to AIM Group International, as the company set out its European expansion strategy. The group now employs nearly 400 permanent staff  from over 25 countries and has offices in Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Florence, Hamburg, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Munich, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Prague, Rome, Sofia and  Vienna. AIM Group organises over three thousand events and meetings every year.

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AIM Group has been participating in the Global Event Awards since 2013. In 2014, they took over the People’s Choice Category by winning 2nd and 3rd places for the World ATM Congress 2013 and the ESOT Vienna Congress 2013! In 2016, they also took the silver for Best Event Agency.
For the 8th Edition of the Global Event Awards, AIM Group International will be competing in 4 categories – Best Association Meeting, Best Conference, Best Medical Congress and Best Scientific Congress.

ESOT 2013 - left: Nicky Lauda; bottom right: Ecosystem Distribution Point

Patrizia Buongiorno, Vice President and Managing Director of AIM Group International, has been on the Eventex jury panel three years in a row – between 2015 and 2017. The medical-scientific world has always been Patrizia’s forte, but still, under her leadership, the Group has managed to successfully diversify its portfolio, perhaps due to her diverse competences and interests. In addition to her core responsibilities at the company, Patrizia also teaches tourism management and marketing at the Universities of Economics of Rome and Milan, serves as co-Chair of INCON and is acting Secretary-General of Fimac, the International Foundation Doctors for Central Africa – a non profit organization that aims to improve the health conditions of people in Central Africa through cooperative humanitarian projects.

In the Events Industry, the name AIM Group is synonymous with…
In fact, the acronymum of AIM stands for:
A for AISC, the first company of our founder Enzo Buongiorno based in Rome (1960).
I for IOS, a company founded by Enzo Buongiorno, the first company specialised in medical education founded in Italy in 1985.
M for MGR, the first company acquisition in Milan starting the development of the Group (1991).
But AIM today is synonymous of “To AIM at the objectives of our clients”, “your preferred partner” is not only our pay off,  it is our philosophy.

You publish white papers focusing on a variety of issues related to event management and organization on a regular basis. Can you summarize though, how do you approach the creation of an event at AIM Group? What’s your creative process?
We love writing white papers, our team likes to share their experiences and expertise.
When we start a project, we first define a dedicated team for the client, then we start a long work of research: getting to know the client and the needs helps to create, to work on a proposal and to find creative and innovative solutions.
Then, it’s with the help of technology, the flexibility of our teams and a transparent approach that the event at AIM is created.

What is it like working at AIM Group International?
It is a never ending experience, we always push for organizational change involving everybody in the process in order to improve our services and delivery. We always refocus our energies to help making change successfully.

In theory, organizing a conference or a professional congress is associated with more constraints than say, organizing a corporate theme party… Would you agree?
Well, today compliance is everywhere, it is just a matter of understanding the area and the clients’ needs. Of course, it all varies from event to event and especially from the objectives to reach, achievable either with a unique teambuilding or with a funny party or with a traditional lecture.
Nevertheless, what we should never forget is the experience: participants must live an experience and remember it.

In your opinion, to what extent does luck play a role in event organization?
I do not think it is a matter of luck, what it is crucial for an event organizer is planning and having more than one option, having plan B and C.
If you are lucky it is fine but if you are not? We must always work in the very bad luck plan and have a backup plan ready for the worst scenario!

What projects are you working on right now?
We are focusing on long term clients and on global accounts reinforcing our strategic and sales team and we have a very good portfolio of conferences for the coming years… conferences for the next  Eventex awards!

How do you imagine the conference of the future 100 years from now?
I can’t say what is going to happens in 100 years! Let’s say, planning conferences with human and robot interaction having humans and robots as participants!

What is the best thing about participating in an awards competition?
The teambuilding that we create among the teams that have organized the conference and that apply for the award generate incredible synergies.

What have you taken away from Eventex Awards competition?
The Eventex competition stands for effort: competitions make people proud and foster creativity and innovation.

What advice would you give to future contestants?
If you do not win, it helps anyway. In life you won’t always be recognized for just showing up, but the first lesson to learn is that showing up is half battle to set yourself up for success.

What were the biggest challenges of the past year?
Keeping the pace of the change, the world and the meeting industry as a consequence is changing rapidly, we always have to revise our approach, train our people to better serve the new needs arising from clients.

What are you looking forward to?
We have an exciting year to come ahead, the need for networking and collaboration are stronger than ever, let’s plan strategically our future!

The 8th edition of the Global Event Awards will take place on February 20, 2018 when the winners will be revealed at an special online ceremony.
You can enter the competition by November 15, 2017.

Register now at a special price, fill out your entry later!

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