‘Capable Instead of Hopeless’

ECEF 2026 will take place on May 27 at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington, D.C.

Edwina Kulego, who, in 2021, was named vice president of international business development at Informa Markets, the events organizer company whose portfolio comprises more than 450 international B2B events and brands across a variety of markets, was promoted to vice president of global business development and growth, fashion, at the end of 2025. She has spent 16 years in the trade-show industry, and even more time in the fashion industry. Recently, she started a LinkedIn video series “From Intern to VP,” a nod to her own career path, starting as an intern at both Essence Communications and Tommy Hilfiger from 2007-2009.

Edwina Kulego

Kulego, who makes her home in New York City, was raised in Sweden. She speaks several languages — “Swedish, obviously, as it’s my first language,” she told Convene. “I speak English, and then two of my Ghanaian dialects. My parents were both born and raised in Accra [the capital of] Ghana, and when my grandmother came to live with us in Sweden, she didn’t speak any Swedish, so we learned two of our dialects.” Having worked for fashion retailer Inditex in Copenhagen at the start of her career, she said, “I can get by with my Danish.”

All of which is to say that Kulego’s global business development role “feels very much aligned with who I am and what I like to do,” she said. “It’s a department that I was able to cofound. It didn’t exist before a colleague and I [wondered], ‘Why aren’t we centralizing our international efforts? Why isn’t there a team that’s translating sales kits and traveling and meeting with key partners?’ It’s become my baby in the company.”

Kulego, who was a recipient of Trade Show Executive’s Women to Watch Award in 2023, spoke on a panel at the Trade Show Executive Summit in Palm Springs last October. The award is given to 10 women each year in recognition of their innovation and industry impact, and the publisher continues to engage with the honorees in the following years. The purpose of the panel “was to bring women who have won this award back to the event to share how their careers have evolved since they received it,” Kulego said. “I was one of four women on the stage [who talked] about what it means to be a mother in the events business, the things that we struggle with, the things that we need help with from our counterparts, career development, initiatives we’ve developed, and what matters to us in the events business.”

Sam Lippman of Lippman Connects, organizer of ECEF, was in the summit audience, “and he was the first person who stopped me as I was walking out,” Kulego recalled. Lippman told her that he loved what she had to say. “This international lane that you’re in is so interesting, and thinking more as a global citizen, especially with everything happening in the world,” he told her. “There’s a message here about what it means to be global, what it means to think with an international lens.”

Lippman asked her to keynote the 2026 edition of ECEF, May 27 in Washington, D.C. Convene spoke with Kulego to learn more about the message she will share with the audience.

What will be the gist of your talk?
“I really want to focus on that global mindset,” Kulego said. “Sam mentioned to me that there are going to be executives or leaders in the room that just don’t work globally. They don’t have an international operation. They may not even have someone on their team that is thinking about it.

“I think, for me, the goal is to just to land the idea of having that mindset at all. When you’re thinking about hiring on your teams, [the value of] having a diverse perspective, if you are interested in growing your business internationally. I’d like to leave the audience with some takeaways on what I did when I started building this department.

“We started off really small. We were just looking at data, like where are customers coming from right now? We have a big group of Italian brands that come to our shows. Italy should probably be one of the first places that we explore partnership. Maybe we can work with the Italian Trade Commission, or we could reach out to the Chamber of Commerce in New York to see if we can have a meeting just to see what their initiatives or priorities are.

“I’ll be providing key takeaways on how I was able to build this department within Informa, which is a huge player in the business.”

Kulego said she will be drawing from examples of the business benefits of having an international mindset. One example she shared was that the concept for McDonald’s Happy Meal came from a fast-food initiative in Guatemala in 1977 — a small meal for children with a toy. It was released nationwide in the U.S. in 1979.

“The Happy Meal has now become a phenomenon that all McDonald’s chains have. That’s just one example of how internationalization can really catapult and develop your business in ways that you can’t imagine. Leaning on new perspectives, being able to draw inspiration from how other businesses are doing overseas, that’s going to be one of the big messages. I want to leave the audience with a desire to look beyond the States, but also to communicate the value of the U.S.

“Most international countries want to work with the U.S. They want to trade with the U.S. The U.S. is still held in very high regard when it comes to business and when it comes to trade and commerce. [I won’t be] solely focusing on opportunities outside, but more about us operating within the U.S., also understanding our strengths and how we are viewed globally.”

Kulego will draw on her experience at Informa to share the benefits of an international mindset with ECEF attendees. Photo courtesy Cole Curtis.

How has the changed international perspective on the U.S.  affected your role?
“It’s certainly a complex environment,” Kulego said. “We’re hearing concerns from some of our partners and customers about navigating international travel and trade regulations, which can create uncertainty for businesses. However, we remain committed to supporting our customers and fostering strong relationships. Our events have always been a platform for growth and collaboration, and we’re working hard to ensure that continues.”

How do you navigate this challenging environment?
“We focus on transparency and communication,” Kulego said. “Our priority is to keep our customers informed about the latest developments and provide them with the tools and resources they need to succeed. The global fashion market is facing a range of challenges, including shifts in supply chains and rising costs, but we’re optimistic about the resilience of the industry and the opportunities ahead. While uncertainty remains, we’re dedicated to helping our customers adapt and thrive.

“The question I always pose to my team is, in every meeting: ‘What can we do? What do we have at our fingertips? What connections do we have?’

“It allows for me to arm my team with tools and make them feel capable instead of hopeless. It also shows our customers that we care. We go out of our way, we try. Sometimes I’m able to find solutions and at other times I’m not, but I’m very transparent. I think that that goes a really long way.”

Michelle Russell is editor in chief of Convene.

Find out more about ECEF 2026.