Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s Vivian Yap has been named among five global winners of UFI’s 2026 Next Generation Leadership programme, joining a select group of young industry figures granted rare access to senior mentors, international exposure and a platform at the global exhibition industry’s most influential meetings.
For Yap, an assistant business development manager overseeing exhibitions at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, the accolade brings seven months of structured engagement with global industry leaders, collaborative project work with peers from four continents and a high-profile presentation slot at the UFI Global Congress later this year.
UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, said the five winners were chosen from a highly competitive pool by a panel of international judges chaired by its president, Panittha Buri.
Now in its tenth year, the Next Generation Leadership (NGL) programme targets industry professionals with fewer than 10 years’ experience who have demonstrated both leadership potential and a commitment to innovation.
The NGL is regarded as a fast track for emerging leaders with international ambitions.
Sponsored by Clarion Events, dmg events, Informa Markets, Messe Düsseldorf and RX, the initiative offers participants mentorship and guidance from senior executives across the global exhibition industry, making it one of the industry’s most closely watched talent development schemes.
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Yap is the only winner from Asia this year and brings to the programme experience from one of the region’s flagship venues. She will work alongside Divya Jashnani of dmg events in the UAE, Ewa Łukomska-Ślęk of Poland’s Targi Kielce, Mariella Greifenberg of Messe Düsseldorf in North America, and Lebanon-based project manager Tracy Abou Jaoude of IFP Group.
The central theme for the 2026 cohort focuses on how exhibitions can remain relevant to Gen Z and younger Millennials, with participants tasked with developing practical, forward-looking approaches to engaging the next generation of attendees, exhibitors and organisers.
If exhibitions are powered by people, then the NGL programme is where the energy comes from. This year’s winners impressed with fresh thinking, fearless ideas and a real appetite to make a difference.”
– UFI President Panittha Buri
“Expect them to shake things up – in the best way possible – at the UFI Global Congress this November.”
The group will begin its programme with an in-person workshop during the UFI European Conference in Izmir, Türkiye, in June, before collaborating online over the following months. Their work will culminate in a group presentation at UFI’s 93rd Global Congress, giving Yap and her fellow winners a global stage to influence how the exhibition industry evolves in the years ahead.
