September 2004
Profile: The IT girl

Partnerships and alliances have helped Christina Condos revitalize the former PC EXPO into TECHXNY, a week-long business technology showcase. Find out how she plans to keep one of the last horizontal IT trade shows standing.

By Dawn J. Grubb

When Christina Condos was offered a transfer in 1986, she faced a tough choice. She could follow the advice of her close-knit family and remain in New York, or she could head for a new life in Atlanta to continue her marketing communications manager role for Contel Information Systems. Remembering her mother’s admonitions that she and her sisters should always be able to stand on their own, Condos packed her bags and left her
comfort zone. “I was gone 13 years and upset a lot of family members, but it was the best decision I ever made,” she says. “It really helped me grow up.”

Strong family ties taught Condos the importance of relationships, a commitment that would serve her well during a career that has evolved from outside sales of IT events to her current position as Show Director for New York’s Technology Week, TECHXNY (formerly PC EXPO), an extravaganza of special events for the IT industry. In fact, relationships — in the form of strategic partnerships — would help Condos reinvent one of the IT industry’s longest-running trade shows and change business as usual.

Condos’ first expo experience came during college while attending a show for a software company where she worked part time. “I loved it!” she says. “I knew I wanted to be in marketing and communications for trade shows.” After earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Adelphi University in 1982, she joined an integrated software company as a Marketing and Communications Manager and sold $1 million in products at COMDEX.

Although her career hit a few bumps with a couple of layoffs, Condos never lost her drive. “When you’re in marketing,” she says, “you get laid off a lot.” She again stepped outside her comfort zone, venturing into sales. Condos worked as a sales rep for HA Bruno, the original producer of PC EXPO, for a decade. When the opportunity to manage the show came up in 1998, she jumped at the chance and moved back to New York.

Launched in 1983, PC EXPO had grown into a large-scale event with some 800 exhibitors and 73,000 attendees at its height in 1998. But times had changed, and PC EXPO didn’t adequately address the industry any longer. “It didn’t tell the whole story — most of our exhibitors didn’t have PC products,” Condos says. “We looked at ways we could make the show better but maintain our roots.”

Attendees wanted deeper content than the seminars offered and exhibitors demanded ROI. Customers didn’t need simple product information; they could find that on the Internet. To make the show relevant, Condos needed to find a way to emphasize education and training, foster networking and offer exhibitors press attention, speaking engagements and sponsorship opportunities.

Her solution: completely change the structure of the show into a week of industry events — similar to New York’s prominent Fashion Week and Manufacturing Week. By forming partnerships with related associations, companies and events that complemented the show rather than competed with it, Condos could offer a broader, deeper perspective on hot topics and better serve her audience.

Relaunched in 2001, Technology Week New York (TECHXNY) features about 100 partnerships, some with other subsidiaries of CMP Media LLC, which owns TECHXNY. For example, CMP’s Network Computing magazine provides programming on storage issues, while other magazines publish ads and allow access to their lists in exchange for exposure through content, speakers and branding opportunities at TECHXNY. Condos offers partner associations discounts for members in return for e-mail promotions. Co-location is also important: This year the Consumer Electronics Trade Expo and Wireless Workforce will join TECHXNY, bringing the total number of co-locations to six.

“Our show is all about partnerships and alliances,” Condos says. “As we prove that this structure is successful, more events will want to come on. New York is a great venue. I see us getting bigger and bigger.”

Not that bigger is always better. In the wake of 9/11 and budget cuts, attendance has shrunk from 50,000 in 2001 to 20,000 in 2003. Yet Condos focuses on quality over quantity. While she plans to grow the show’s attendance, that growth won’t come at the expense of a quality audience. “This structure brings in more high-quality attendees and exhibitors. We’re starting to see people spend more,” she says. “The challenge is always keeping the show fresh and not falling into the trap of letting anything and everything in.”

This commitment to quality means maintaining solid relationships. Although Condos oversees all aspects of TECHXNY — including marketing, operations, sales, public relations and the conference program she’s never too busy for longtime customers. “I still consider myself a salesperson,” she says. “I’ve known many of my customers for years, and we understand each other’s needs. I’m lucky to have customers who trust me.”

Condos spends her own time working out at 5:30 a.m. every day. She and her husband, Greg Evans, enjoy caring for their two adopted retired racing greyhounds, Shopper and Harley. And Condos also spends time with her aunt Ilene, who inspires her with an amazing will to live after the death of both her sons.

Satisfying relationships — with family, staff members and customers — are the cornerstone of Condos’ success. “I’m proud of the relationships I’ve made and of knowing that I have a good reputation in the industry,” she says. “You have to get up in the morning and be happy about your work. In the trade show business, you work the whole year for three days. I love the event, but I also feel good about helping companies do well.”