Professor Joe Goldblatt
Professor Emeritus
Professor Joe Goldblatt is, according to John Wiley & Sons publishers, “the foremost authority in the world of events” and he held the world’s only professorial chair in planned event studies for ten years at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh Scotland.
His first book was described by the President Ronald Reagan’s White House Social Secretary as, “A gift from the master”. He is the author of the first textbook in the field of events management that has been continuously published for 30 years. He is also the author, co–author and editor of 37 books in the field of events management.
During his career he produced events featuring President Ronald Reagan, Barbara Bush, Oprah Winfrey and event Donald Trump. He was the founding president of the International Special Events Society (ISES) (now known as the International Live Events Association) and was the developer of the original Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP) international qualification program. He has received two honorary professorships from leading Universities in the Peoples Republic of China. He received the first ever Lifetime Achievement award for service to the industry from ISES. Special Events Magazine also awarded him a lifetime achievement award.
In 2008 he was the first educator to be inducted into the International Festivals and Events Association Hall of Fame. The City of Edinburgh, Scotland awarded him the Burgess of the City Award in 2018 for his charitable and civic acts. In 2017, Professor Goldblatt retired from full-time teaching and academic research and was appointed as the Senior Development and Alumni Associate of Queen Margaret University.
He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with his wife Nancy and they are the parents of Max, a professional actor and Sam, a senior marketing executive for the Capital Theatres in Edinburgh and the co - founding producer of the Edinburgh 48 Hour Film Project and the author of The Complete Guide to Greener Meetings and Events (Wiley, 2011). Joe and Nancy are also the proud grandparents of their amazing Scottish born grandsons, Hamish and Guthrie.
