Louise Young to take up role next month following the departure of current Emap md Alison Jackson.
Emap Connect has announced the appointment of Louise Young to managing director of its home and gift exhibition portfolio, which comprises Spring Fair International and Autumn Fair International, with effect from 1st March.

Ms Young, aged 42, has over 20 years experience within exhibitions, operating across a wide range of retail exhibitions. For the last two years, she has worked as deputy to Alison Jackson, and has focused her efforts on strategy and running Autumn Fair and the greetings, home and kitchen sections at Spring Fair International.

Commenting on her appointment, Ms Young said: "I am delighted to be heading up the home and gift portfolio".

"This has been an extraordinary year for retail and going forward we will look to work even closer with our customers to help them maximise their business opportunities. With this in mind we will continue to invest in and develop our exhibitions and online resources as essential all year round transactional and sourcing platforms."

Emap Connect ceo Malcolm Gough, said: "Louise is a highly capable leader who will bring all of her experience, passion and determination to the home and gift industry. These are challenging times, but I feel fortunate that Louise has the talent and experience to take over the reins of this crucially important portfolio."

Earlier this month it was announced that Ms Jackson had chosen to leave her position at Emap to start a family.