Celebrating M Q Syed: The visionary who redefined exhibitions and events

As M Q Syed, Founder Exhicon Group, turns a year older today, it's an opportunity to honour a first-generation entrepreneur whose ambition transcended expectations and transformed the very face of India’s event, exhibition, and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) landscape.

Two decades ago, when the concept of a fully integrated MICE enterprise seemed aspirational at best, M.Q. founded the Exhicon Group with a mere Rs 2,300 in capital. What began as a humble venture has since blossomed into India’s first 360-degree event and exhibition company to be listed on the stock exchange, an exacting testament to his patience, perseverance, and pioneering spirit.

But scaling vertically wasn’t enough. M.Q. charted new territories. He launched TradeFairTimes (both India and Arabia editions), the first magazine and digital platform dedicated to exhibitions in Asia, offering a crucial resource to organizers, visitors and the industry at large. His knack for creating structures that amplify impact led him to co-found the Worldwide Exhibitions Agency Asia Limited, the world’s largest exhibition space-selling agency, as well as institutions like the Imamia Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Council of Indian Exhibition Organisers, further cementing his role as an architect of industry infrastructure.

Even as his enterprises expanded across Media, Hospitality, Real Estate, FMCG, Healthcare, and beyond, M.Q. remained deeply invested in building communities. He chaired the UNCTAD India Empretec Program, was a founding director at the Imamia Chamber of Commerce, and lent his insights to judging startup initiatives like ABP News’s Hausle Ki Udaan and Startup Kokan.

Honors have followed, national and international alike. From being named among the Top 500 Brands in Asia (2018), to receiving the International MICE Promotion Award from the Government of Thailand, alongside other prestigious accolades, M.Q.’s leadership has earned resounding recognition.

Turning back the clock, his vision comes into sharper focus. In 1997 he laid the foundation for Exhicon. By 2005, TradeFairTimes was introduced. In 2014 he co-founded the Imamia Chamber and in 2018 he helped form the global entity Worldwide Exhibitions. Most recently, in a landmark moment for the industry, Exhicon Events Media Solutions Ltd, his flagship, became the first fully integrated exhibition company to be listed in India.

Yet beyond the numbers and titles lies a guiding principle: nurturing innovation and people. M.Q. mentors startups, invests in social and business initiatives and continually shapes the industry not just through market leadership, but through collective upliftment.

On his birthday, we celebrate a rare blend of entrepreneur and ecosystem builder: the man who saw possibility in events and in turn created platforms for possibilities to flourish.