June 2004
Profile: Building a billion-dollar business

Value-driven and consumer-focused, Paul Dykstra is determined to lead GES into a new age of service

By Dawn J. Grubb

In an industry where timing is everything, the year 2000 wasn’t exactly the ideal time to take charge of GES Exposition Services. In fact, as Paul Dykstra recalls, it was quite painful.

An economic downturn, further complicated by the dot-com implosion, meant Dykstra spent his first year as GES President and CEO streamlining and cutting expenses. Then the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and SARS scares of 2002 brought yet more changes and challenges. It was enough to discourage the most stalwart of leaders. But Dykstra and GES have survived, thrived and are now aiming to join the exclusive club of billion-dollar businesses.

Dykstra and GES rode out the tough years by refocusing efforts on providing outstanding customer service, something he says the company had slipped away from over time. In his short tenure, he and his team strove to redefine an exceptional exhibition experience.

In January 2004, the company introduced three online services to make the exhibitor experience more efficient. GES Interactive Venue lets exhibitors explore advertising and sponsorship opportunities in a virtual setting, and GES Online gives exhibitors a new tool for optimal planning, online ordering and reviews of show histories. The company also established ProjectPoint, a secure management service that keeps exhibitors, managers and GES connected throughout show planning and execution.

Dykstra hopes products like these will help the company continue to grow. In fact, he says GES is now well on its way to becoming a billion-dollar company by 2007. GES’s parent company, Viad Corp., reported 2003 year-end revenues of more than $717 million for its convention and event services segment, which includes both GES and Exhibit group/Giltspur. (Revenue for GES is not reported separately in its public statement.) Perhaps a lofty goal, but one that the 42-year-old believes is attainable.

“I think face-to-face marketing and the trade show industry are starting to rebound,” he says. “One event like 9-11 could set back the upward trend. But I look at corporate earnings as a leading indicator that the economy and trade show industry are turning around.”

Dykstra’s plan to take GES into the 10-figure arena may sound cliché, but he says it’s all about values, a word he tosses around much more frequently than “profits.” 

Dykstra sets his professional and personal direction by following core values gleaned from his parents and shaped by years of experience. Integrity heads the list, with courage to take risks, as well as responsibility for one’s actions, a close second.

So far, Dykstra says its his values that have made his career. In 1984, fresh out of college and toting a degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, he found himself putting those values in practice while he sharpened his business acumen at Travelers Express in a range of roles — from finance to acquisitions.

He remembers that very early in his career he was asked to oversee a project to determine the profitability of one of the company’s business segments. The task required him to deliver the report at his first face-to-face meeting with the company’s chairman.

The night before his big presentation, Dykstra learned the results weren’t very good, and he knew the chairman wasn’t accustomed to bad news. Nonetheless, he chose to give his report without attempting to sugarcoat the bad news. “He hadn’t always experienced this type of delivery from others and lauded me for being truthful and direct,” says Dykstra, who earned an MBA from St. Thomas University in 1991.

As an exhibitor for convenience store shows, he soon discovered he liked the way GES handled business. In 2000, he made the big move and landed squarely in the CEO’s chair.

His first task: Whisk general managers away from the office to brainstorm and implement the values Dykstra has used so successfully in his career. It starts with an emphasis on people — clients and employees.

Dykstra determines what clients want the old-fashioned way: by listening. Twice a year, he and his team meet with an executive advisory council made up of clients to get feedback on past performances, identify problem areas and solutions, and bounce around ideas to expand services. It was during such interactions that the ideas for the new electronic services took shape.

“We continually improve and innovate. People expect it from us,” Dykstra says. Post-show surveys of exhibitors and managers keep him in tune with trends.

Dykstra starts his day with the New York Times crossword puzzle, a love affair inherited from his father, and always finishes it. But he admits that making time for personal pursuits is a bit more difficult in the trade show business. He spends his rare free time with his girlfriend and manages to walk regularly.

His move from Minnesota to GES headquarters in Las Vegas was a welcome change for the Canadian-born, Minnesota-raised boy who relishes the year-round golf season. “I don’t miss the snow,” he says.

As for his future, Dykstra’s next goal is to unite the trade show industry. “We need more promotion of ourselves as a low-cost way to get buyers and sellers together, and to educate exhibitors so they know what makes up the rates,” he says. “And as the country emerges from the economic downturn, we need to show corporate leaders the value of trade shows.”

Another lofty goal, but Dykstra is armed and ready to tackle it.

Dawn J. Grubb is Owner and President of 24/7 Communications in Westwood, KS. She can be reached at dawn@24-7comms.com.