International events operator: venues, exhibitions, live production across 20+ countries
GL events operates a three-division event business—live production, exhibitions, and venue management—with 1,001–5,000 employees across 20+ countries and a public listing on Euronext Paris. The tech stack is enterprise-operational (SAP, Salesforce, Power BI, Adobe suite) with no active adopts or replacements, suggesting stable infrastructure; hiring accelerates across ops, sales, and finance, while internal projects center on major infrastructure plays (Asian Games 2026 power/HVAC, Osaka Expo 2025) and financial-process automation (SAP implementation for intercompany reporting). Pain points cluster around cost optimization, profitability of live events, and digital transformation of financial workflows—common for large, geographically distributed operations scaling legacy ERP.
GL events is a publicly traded, family-run events company founded in 1978 and headquartered in Lyon, France. It serves corporate, cultural, sporting, and inter-governmental clients through three operating divisions: GL events Live (event production and management), GL events Exhibitions (trade shows and expos), and GL events Venues (physical venue operation). The business spans 20+ countries with offices and owned/operated venues, positioning it as one of the largest integrated events operators in Europe. The operational footprint—managing food, logistics, structures, compliance, and occupancy across multiple sites—drives the company's focus on cost control and financial reporting standardization.
SAP (enterprise resource planning), Salesforce (sales and CRM), Power BI (analytics), Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office, WordPress, and design tools (SketchUp, AutoCAD, Adobe Premiere Pro). No recent migrations or new platform adoptions.
Temporary power and HVAC systems for Asian Games Aichi–Nagoya 2026, Expo 2025 Osaka, and trade show/salon operations. Also executing a 60-year anniversary campaign and rolling out SAP for intercompany financial consolidation.
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