Co-founder · Vice President
Jai Cole, CEM
Jai Cole, CEM, is the co-founder and Vice President of PlumCom and a business development professional with more than 30 years of experience in the exhibition, events and association industry. Throughout her career, she has helped organizations increase revenue, strengthen client relationships and uncover new business opportunities through relationship-based selling, strategic outreach and lead qualification.
Her experience spans the full event life cycle, including exhibition sales, attendance marketing, sponsorship development, conference management and seminar curation, event production, database strategy, operations and public relations. Having worked with exhibition organizations, associations and corporate clients, she understands both the operational and commercial sides of the industry, enabling her to develop practical strategies that deliver measurable business results.
Jai has earned a reputation for identifying opportunities others often overlook and helping organizations transform lead databases into qualified sales conversations. She believes that technology provides information, but relationships create opportunity, and she is known for representing every client with professionalism, integrity and respect for their brand.
Jai holds the internationally recognized Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) designation through the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), widely recognized as the global standard of professional achievement in the exhibition industry.
Her commitment to professional education has been equally significant. For more than 14 years, she served as faculty for IAEE’s CEM learning program, guiding industry professionals toward earning the CEM designation. Beyond the classroom, she contributed to the development and revision of both the sales and marketing curriculum, helping ensure the program reflected evolving industry practices. She also served for four years as faculty in George Brown College’s Toronto Event Management program.
Jai’s commitment to the industry extends well beyond her professional career. She has been an active volunteer leader with both IAEE and the Canadian Association of Exposition Management (CAEM), serving for many years on committees, task forces, executive leadership, conference programs and mentoring initiatives. She has served as a CAEM board member, presenter, conference presenter, mentor and founding advisor to the Canadian Event Planner and Exposition Advisory Council.
Her leadership and contributions have been recognized by IAEE through a featured Member Spotlight and a published endorsement on the back cover of Art of the Show, the association’s primary educational resource for CEM participants. Clients value Jai for her industry knowledge, her ability to listen, ask insightful questions and build genuine relationships that create lasting business opportunities. Her combination of strategic thinking, commercial experience and commitment to the exhibitions industry has made her a respected advisor, educator and business development professional.
