UFI主席Panittha Buri发表十月致会员信：任期满月之际邀会员建言，下月巴林全球大会交棒Wolfram Diener

Dear UFI Members & Friends,

I had half-written my farewell before realising I still have one more month to go. So, consider this a bonus edition… the goodbye can wait until next month!

With less than one month left in my term, I find myself thinking less about what has been done & more about what still matters.

Over the past year, I have had the privilege of meeting UFI members across regions, generations & every part of our industry — from some of the world’s largest organisations to independent businesses, emerging leaders & the many people quietly doing extraordinary work behind the scenes.

And that has probably been my biggest takeaway: UFI is its people.

Listening Along the Way

Throughout my presidency, I made a conscious effort to meet as many members as I could — not only the familiar faces, but members large & small, from different regions & different parts of our industry. I wanted to listen. To understand what was working, what was not & where UFI could do better.

Some of the most valuable conversations happened outside the meeting room — over coffee, on a venue tour, or somewhere between flights. They taught me that the most useful feedback rarely arrives in a formal session. It arrives when people feel they are genuinely being heard.

That is something I hope UFI keeps building on: listening beyond the familiar voices & making sure there is room for different perspectives around the table.

Keeping UFI Relevant

One subject I have cared deeply about is how UFI remains relevant to independent companies, smaller members & the next generation of our industry. How can they thrive? How can members get more from UFI? And how do we create space for voices that perhaps have not always been heard?

Meeting this year’s Next Generation Leaders has reminded me that our responsibility is not simply to protect what has already been built. We must create room for the people who will shape what comes next.

That feels particularly important as UFI enters its second century. Our first 100 years gave us an extraordinary foundation. The next will require us to keep evolving — how we serve members, use technology, develop talent, structure our organisation & ensure we remain genuinely global.

Tradition gives us credibility. Relevance is something we have to keep earning. These are not conversations that end with one presidency, and I hope they continue long after mine.

Global Congress & Looking Ahead

Next month, our community gathers at Exhibition World Bahrain for the 93rd UFI Global Congress — a moment to reconnect, celebrate & look towards UFI’s next chapter.

I am sorry that I will not be able to join many of you in person. I will, however, be with you on screen, including for the moment I hand the presidency to Wolfram Diener. I will save my thoughts on Wolfram for next month. He deserves more than a paragraph.

To everyone attending, I wish you a wonderful & successful Congress. And to those who, like me, are unable to make it this time, I hope our paths cross again soon.

One Month, One Ask

Before my term ends, I would love to hear from you.

What should UFI keep doing? What should it start? And, perhaps most importantly, what should it stop?

Big or small, comfortable or uncomfortable — please share it.
Simply write to me at panittha.b@ufi.org, or catch me at the next event. I will read every response.

And this is not feedback that will sit in a drawer once my term ends. After the Global Congress, I will continue to serve on the TRIO as Outgoing President, working alongside Wolfram. I will personally bring your thoughts to that table & work closely with Wolfram & the UFI team to make sure they are heard & followed through.

Handing over the presidency does not mean stepping back. I fully intend to be a very active Outgoing President — so please keep the ideas coming.

Next month, I will write to you one last time as President — with a few thank-yous, a few lessons & a proper introduction to the man taking the baton. Until then, thank you for reading & for keeping the conversation going.

Warmest regards,

Panittha Buri
UFI President

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