Susie Ellis, who has come to be synonymous with the GWS and GWI brands, will step down on 1 January 2027.
Informa has acquired the Global Wellness Summit (GWS) and the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), bringing the global wellness event and research organisations into its medical division.
The two organisations will become part of a newly created Global Wellness Group within Informa’s Medical Division.
Susie Ellis, who founded and led the organisations for almost two decades, will step down from the business on 1 January 2027. Nancy Davis, currently chief creative officer and executive director of GWS and GWI, will lead the new Global Wellness Group within Informa’s Medical Division.
The GWS and GWI brands will be retained.
For Informa, the deal expands its presence in a wellness economy that the GWI values at US$6.8 trillion, while strengthening connections between wellness, preventive health, longevity and medicine. Informa already operates across medical, longevity and aesthetics markets through its global events, information and research activities.
The organisations' event and research activities will continue under their existing brands. The GWI, a nonprofit organisation, focuses on research, education and collaboration around wellness, while the GWS brings together leaders from business, government, academia, healthcare and science to examine developments across the wellness economy.
The deal comes ahead of the 20th Global Wellness Summit, which will take place at Angsana Laguna Phuket in Thailand from 10 to 13 November 2026. The milestone event is set to examine the future of the wellness economy, with programming spanning longevity, wellness tourism, women's health and other emerging areas.