Filippo Rean named president of RX France

FRANCE: RX has handed the keys to its French operation to Filippo Rean, appointing him president of RX France in succession to Michel Filzi, who steps back on 14th September ahead of retirement early next year, capping 27 years with the company. It is a changing of the guard that RX has been careful to frame as continuity rather than upheaval, with Filzi staying on as special advisor until April 2027 to smooth the transition.

Rean is no outsider brought in to shake things up. He joined the group as director of MIPIM, the world’s leading commercial real estate and smart city show, and has since worked his way through the organisation. As managing director of the real estate division at Reed MIDEM, he ran the MIPIM, MAPIC and PropTech portfolio of shows across Cannes, London, New York, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Milan, Moscow and Tokyo, sitting on the Reed MIDEM executive committee and overseeing a multicultural team of more than 100 people spread across four global locations. Under his watch, the division delivered margin growth exceeding 10 per cent compound annual growth, acquired leading events in high-growth regions including Russia and India, and launched new show concepts from scratch. Earlier still, as director of MIPIM and MIPIM Asia, he drove a change agenda that reshaped strategy and culture, rebuilt the team, and delivered 30 per cent revenue growth while repositioning the flagship Cannes event for a changing market.

Rean’s path into events ran through a decidedly different world first. He worked at GE Capital, rising from head of investment strategy for Europe at GE Capital Real Estate to director of business development for Europe at GE Capital Real Estate Investment Management. Before that came a stint as a senior consultant at Bain & Co in Milan, and a role as assistant brand manager at Procter & Gamble in Rome. His career began, rather unusually for a future events boss, as assistant to the military advisor to the Italian prime minister, a posting in Rome that sits somewhat incongruously alongside the trade-show floors he would go on to run.

Most recently, Rean has served as managing director of RX France, a stint that has now positioned him as the natural successor to the top job.

Hugh Jones, chief executive of RX, didn’t hold back on the praise. “Filippo is a highly respected leader with a strong track record of driving growth and transformation,” he said. “The future of our industry will be defined by our ability to combine the power of face-to-face events with data, digital capabilities and deeper customer engagement. Filippo is exceptionally well placed to lead RX France through that next chapter and unlock new opportunities for growth.” Jones also made a point of thanking Filzi for what he called an exceptional contribution to RX and the wider events industry, noting that Filzi led RX France while overseeing a portfolio of more than 30 leading events and steering the organisation through a period of significant transformation and growth.

With Rean now at the helm, a leader who has quietly built margin, revenue and geographic reach across nearly every division he’s touched, and Filzi easing out gracefully rather than walking straight out the door, RX is betting on a leadership handover built for stability, precisely what a portfolio of 30-plus major events needs least disrupted at the top.