Over 20 years of trade shows, after living them on the exhibitor side at Lafarge and Grohe. François Sire ran the ORFI agency from 2000 to 2016, chaired FFM2E, the French stand builders’ association, and leads the projects of The Stand Experts, which he founded in 2006, from brief to dismantling.
Paris and surroundings · Head office in Levallois-Perret · Trade shows in France and worldwide
François first experienced trade shows with no playbook, as an exhibitor. He kept one conviction: an exhibitor should be able to focus on visitors while the stand builder handles the thousand details around them.
Education
A graduate of a business school and of Sciences Po Toulouse.
Exhibitor side: Lafarge and Grohe
In the marketing departments of these large groups, he discovered trade shows without any training and saw everything that taking part involves.
2000 to 2016 · President of ORFI
For nearly 16 years he ran a 20-person agency designing and building stands, showrooms, retail spaces and reception areas, notably for hospitals, in France and abroad.
2006 · Founding The Stand Experts
He founded The Stand Experts, which he has run ever since: a stand builder that supports exhibitors from choosing the show to dismantling.
2007 to 2012 · Serving the profession
He chaired FFM2E, the French stand builders’ association (now LEADS, then Prestalians), and sat as a board member of UNIMEV, the French events industry union.
Today · The Stand Experts
Founder and project director of The Stand Experts, he follows every stand from brief to dismantling: specifications, 3D design, manufacturing and build-up, at shows in France, Europe and the Gulf. See our custom exhibition stands and our stand builder in Paris.
At a show, visitors look before they read. François ranks what is understood from 10 metres, what is discovered up close and what the team explains next, as on the SEFPRO (Saint-Gobain group) stand.
Clients, prospects, appointments: not everyone comes for the same thing. He starts from visitors to draw the zones, as on the Daiichi Sankyo stands designed for medical congresses.
When a product is understood by using it, the demo opens the conversation. That is the approach of the 3Shape stand, with its solution presentation areas.
The real return on investment is measured after closing: he pushes exhibitors to plan, from the design stage, how they will follow up the contacts made on the stand.
Projects designed and followed by François’s team for exhibitors in healthcare, industry and medical congresses. Browse all our projects.
A 60 m² stand designed to present the solutions and let visitors try them, with demo areas.
A medical area and a commercial area, with two ways of welcoming visitors depending on the length of the conversation.
Several levels of information: the brand, the solutions, the products and meeting areas.
★★★★★
“We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the excellent work you did organising our stand at SIRHA Lyon. […] Your work was outstanding, from planning and logistics to coordination and last-minute details.”
Le Groupe ODICE
SIRHA Lyon, Eurexpo · translated from French
★★★★★
“François Sire and his team have a remarkable ability to grasp our message-simplification challenges. […] Beyond the first sketches, we are always amazed by the final result and its quality of execution.”
Guillaume
Corporate Communications, MACIF · translated from French
★★★★★
“François fully met our needs, listened carefully, showed real creativity, adapted very well to our requirements and always found a solution when needed. He is extremely available and responsive. […] Excellent value for money.”
Aurore Vilette
3Shape · 60 m² stand · translated from French
François publishes trade show guides (dates, venues, exhibitors) and advice for a successful stand: budget, design, organisation. Find them in our trade show guides and our advice.
Send us your show, dates and floor space: you talk to the person who will run your project, with a first idea and a quote within 48 hours.
Reply within 48 hours · Head office in Levallois-Perret · Trade shows in France and worldwide
