Informa, the London-headquartered events, digital services and academic research group, has acquired both the Global Wellness Institute and the Global Wellness Summit. Financial terms were not disclosed. Susie Ellis, who founded and led both organisations, is stepping away, and Nancy Davis takes over on 1 January 2027.
According to reporting of an announcement from Ellis, the two organisations are being folded into a newly created Global Wellness Group inside Informa’s Medical Division. Both brands and the existing teams are said to continue.
Informa is listed on the London Stock Exchange and describes itself as an international events, digital services and academic research group. It already runs events and research across medical, longevity and aesthetics.
The leadership
Susie Ellis built and led the Summit and the Institute for close to two decades. She is quoted as saying the acquisition changes nothing about the work itself.
“Nothing changes about what has made our work so special, but Informa gives us the resources and global platform to grow our organisation,” Ellis said.
Nancy Davis, currently chief creative officer and executive director, takes over the Global Wellness Group on 1 January 2027. “If GWS has helped lead the evolution of wellness for the last 20 years, now, together with Informa, we have an extraordinary opportunity to lead what comes next,” Davis said.
Nothing changes about what has made our work so special, but Informa gives us the resources and global platform to grow our organisation.
What the Institute produces
The Global Wellness Institute is the source of the market estimates most widely cited in this industry. It puts the global wellness economy at $6.8 trillion for 2024. It puts wellness real estate at $876 billion for 2025, and forecasts $1.8 trillion by 2030. It puts the US wellness economy at $2.1 trillion for 2024. All are GWI estimates of market size rather than audited revenue. The Summit is the industry’s annual gathering. Its 20th edition runs 10 to 13 November 2026 in Phuket, Thailand.
The nonprofit question
The Global Wellness Institute identifies itself on its own website as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Neither Informa nor the Institute has published an explanation of how that status will function inside a publicly traded parent. Whether the research arm is restructured, sits differently within the new group, or continues unchanged has not been stated publicly.
Skift Meetings, which reported the deal on 1 September, described it as a structural wrinkle the companies have not yet explained.
A note on sourcing
As of publication, the acquisition does not appear on the Global Wellness Summit’s press releases page, on the Global Wellness Institute’s press room, or on Informa’s own corporate news page, where the most recent item remains 6 August.
The deal has been reported by Skift Meetings, Athletech News and Australasian Leisure Management, each citing an announcement from Ellis. Marrow has not been able to inspect a public primary release. Every detail of the transaction structure and the leadership timeline in this report rests on that secondary reporting.