Joan Ulrich, who has spent decades in the business of creating marketplaces for brands and buyers, has announced recently that she is retiring from Dallas Market Center in March 2024.
Ulrich career has included leadership roles across the market center and trade show landscape, from Chicago to New York to Los Angeles to Dallas. For the past five years she has served as Executive Vice President of Hardgoods Leasing for Dallas Market Center, with oversight over gift, home and design, lighting, holiday, and floral permanent showrooms.
“Joan’s positive impact in Dallas is easily seen by walking floor after floor of our marketplace, which are filled with high-quality rep groups and manufacturers,” said President and CEO Cindy Morris. “When she joined the company, we asked her to leverage her well-respected relationships and visionary leadership to attract top brands and build a great team. She has done both, and today we stand as a vibrant marketplace with buyers eager to experience our open-daily showrooms and global trade events throughout the year. We wish her well as she enters a new chapter filled with family, travel, and relaxation.”
Ulrich launched her career with Enesco, the giftware wholesale company, more than three decades ago, later joining Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI). During her tenure of 14 years with MMPI she was responsible for permanent gift and home leasing in the Chicago Merchandise Mart, 7 West 34th in New York, and the LA Mart, as well as overseeing temporary events in Chicago and Los Angeles. Following her time at MMPI, Joan spent four years at Urban Expositions, involved in various management roles within their 30-plus annual trade and consumer events, followed by her creation of UnCommon Markets, a monthly art and entertainment event based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The next trade events at Dallas Market Center include Total Home & Gift Market, January 10-16, and Lightovation, January 10-14.