By Mary Tucker, Sr. PR/Communications Manager

Arjun Chakravarti is Managing Partner of Cogknition Analytics, a Chicago-based Strategy and Analytics consultancy with deep expertise working with both in-person and physical event data. As a member of the Research Council, Arjun and his colleagues were proud to represent CEIR in the industry-wide effort to develop Reporting Standards for Digital Events (RSDE) and continues to work closely clients to craft highly-engaging and profitable events.

Prior to Cogknition, Arjun served as Senior Vice President of Strategy, Analytics, and Insights at GES. He was also an award-winning business school professor at Illinois Tech where he published in leading academic journals and developed graduate and executive programs in analytics, design, and management.

Trained as a Behavioral Economist, Arjun frequently keynotes major conferences and strategic leadership meetings speaking on the impact of macro and consumer-level economics on business strategy. He received his Ph.D. and MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. 

Here, Arjun shares how he and Cogknition Analytics apply CEIR research to help meet their business objectives.

CEIR: Which CEIR reports have you used to support your organizer client needs? For which purposes and how have they been used?

Arjun: CEIR continues to be a useful resource. The webinars continue are a significant way to keep a pulse on trending topics and, importantly, the issues that are top-of-mind to organizers.

CEIR: Do you use the CEIR Index Report to guide your business development planning?

Arjun: The CEIR Index Report is what many in the industry use to understand which subsectors of the industry to give business development focus.

CEIR: Where does the industry need to focus research efforts and/or to apply research available more effectively?

Arjun: I believe the industry would benefit from a better understanding of the confluence between the economy (i.e., constraints to attend) relative to the perceived benefits. It seems like this is the issue that literally every exhibitor I speak to is asking me about post-COVID because it addresses the pressure that they are facing from leadership. A current view of where attendees are and aren’t seeing value (crossed with the underlying modes in which they want to consume an event) are critically important at this time.

CEIR provides industry-leading, objective research on the exhibitions and events industry. Find out more about its mission, past and current research, and how you can maximize your business goals and objectives through CEIR research here.