Dave Young, head of production at ICC Belfast, has been named in the 2025 cohort for the prestigious 2025 AIPC Future Shapers programme, alongside representatives from Cape Town, Sydney, Paris and Miami. He is the only UK and Ireland representative selected among 14 successful applicants.
The 2025 AIPC Future Shapers programme, is a seven-month accelerated leadership course, which aims to propel the industry’s developing leaders to the next level in their careers, through a series of masterclasses, ideation and business case development skills and the opportunity to promote their solutions to challenges currently faced by convention centre managers.
Dave Young (pictured) has supported the successful delivery of some of the largest business events in Northern Ireland, including CYBERUK, One Young World, and the UK Space Conference. He has previously been named Event Technologist of the Year at the Event Tech Awards in 2021 and is the chair of the AEV Technology Working Group.
Iain Bell, acting chief executive of ICC Belfast, stated:“Dave is an innovator, an expert and a technical leader and we’re thrilled to see him getting the opportunity to further develop his skills along with the best in the world.”
Dave Young said: “I am honoured and excited to have been selected for the 2025 AIPC Future Shapers programme. It’s a leadership development opportunity on a global scale like nothing else. My nomination reflects the hard work and dedication of my entire team at ICC Belfast, so I’ll be looking forward to bringing my experiences back home to support and mentor the next generation of event technical producers.”
AIPC chairman, Greg O’Dell said: “Now in its fourth year, AIPC’s Future Shapers delivers a winning formula for preparing high achievers to grow their skills, build resilience and help shape the future of our industry.
“I know this year’s students will again embrace the programme and impress venue management leaders across the globe and I can’t wait to see what they deliver on stage during the 2025 AIPC Conference at the Shenzhen World Exhibition and Conference Center next June.”
AIPC CEO, Sven Bossu said he was looking forward to supporting the next generation of CEOs to think and act like leaders over the seven-month course.
“AIPC Future Shapers is an interactive roadmap towards excellence in convention centre management, requiring intense commitment and engagement of the participants and in return the candidates not only accelerate their leadership capabilities, they build a new global network of peers while being provided the opportunity to help shape the future of the AIPC Community.
“Each year we see benefits that continue to evolve into legacy solutions. Projects to improve client communication, streamline venue operations and enhance industry knowledge sharing and education are all at varying stages of implementation and we look forward to curating new outcomes with the year’s diverse and experienced cohort,” Bossu said.
AIPC is the International Association of Convention Centres. With members from over 60 countries, it is the industry body dedicated to professional convention and exhibition centre management.
