Purposeful Passion

As Emerald (NYSE: EEX) President of Connections, Issa Jouaneh is responsible for leading the vision, 365-day strategy, and growth of the company’s Connections division, which includes Emerald’s broad and diverse portfolio of world-class brands.

Comprised of 140+ leading B2B brands, trade shows and conferences, Issa and his team’s strategic oversight of the Connections business is paramount to ensure Emerald continues to innovate and deliver best-in-class experiences, services, and solutions with actionable results for our customers.

Issa joined Emerald in March 2021 as Executive Vice President of Emerald Xcelerator, leading the company’s market diversification strategy through new shows, partnerships, and sub-expo launches. Under his leadership, Emerald will have launched over ten new brands in 2022 and 2023 in a variety of high growth and emerging industries. Issa has over 20 years of experience leading multidisciplinary, cross-functional teams across a wide range of industries.

Issa’s professional journey includes having led technology, application, and web development teams at Electronic Data Systems for 9+ years, as well as his 14+ years at The American Express Company, including American Express Global Business Travel, where he successfully led the transformation of the meetings & events business, tripling its size and reaching over 2,400 employees in 25+ proprietary markets.

Issa holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from McGill University and a Master of Business Administration from Schulich School of Business at York University.

He resides in Toronto with his wife Veronica and their five children.