EMEA Advisory Board

Call for Volunteers

PCMA is seeking up to 10 business events leaders from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) to serve on its 2026-2027 EMEA Advisory Board.

Serving on the EMEA Advisory Board offers a unique opportunity to help shape PCMA’s strategy and growth across the region, contribute to industry advancement, and collaborate with a diverse group of senior leaders from across the global business events community.

Members provide market intelligence, strategic insight, and forward-looking perspectives on industry trends, emerging opportunities, challenges, and evolving market dynamics. Their expertise helps inform PCMA’s decisions as the organization continues to strengthen its global community and advance the business events industry.

As ambassadors and advocates for PCMA, Advisory Board members help amplify the organization’s voice, strengthen its presence across the region, and identify opportunities for engagement, collaboration, and growth.

Key Responsibilities:

The EMEA Advisory Board will consist of up to 15 members and:

Serve as ambassadors for PCMA, helping expand awareness, participation, and community across the EMEA region.
Provide strategic insight and feedback on community growth, member value, education, experience design, and market engagement strategies.
Identify opportunities for partnerships, alliances, customer engagement, and industry collaboration.
Support initiatives that advance PCMA’s strategic priorities and regional objectives.
Share ongoing market intelligence and emerging industry trends.
Champion PCMA initiatives by participating in, facilitating, or connecting colleagues to regional events and engagement opportunities.

Term and Commitment:

Advisory Board members serve a two-year term, with the opportunity for renewal upon mutual agreement.

Members are expected to actively participate in quarterly virtual meetings and contribute to Advisory Board initiatives throughout the year. The Advisory Board also convenes in person at least once annually, typically in conjunction with a major industry event.

As part of their onboarding, newly appointed members are required to attend in-person Advisory Board meetings in Lisbon, Portugal, 12–13 September 2026, immediately preceding Convening EMEA (13–15 September 2026).

From time to time, task forces may be established to advance specific initiatives or strategic priorities.

The EMEA Advisory Board is supported by the PCMA EMEA team, with the EMEA Managing Director as key staff liaison.

Advisory Board service is voluntary and unpaid. Members are responsible for their own travel, lodging, and related expenses associated with participation in in-person meetings and events. Candidates should have, or reasonably expect to have, the support of their employer (if applicable) to fulfill the time and financial commitments associated with service on the Advisory Board.

Eligibility:

Before applying, please ensure you meet the following criteria:

Based in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa
Minimum of 10 years of experience in the business events industry
Senior leadership experience (Director-level or above)
Global responsibilities and/or international business experience

PCMA welcomes applications from leaders representing diverse sectors, perspectives, backgrounds, and geographic regions across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Applications for the 2026-2027 EMEA Advisory Board closed on Monday, July 20, 2026.

Qualifications of Nominating Committee Members

Applicants must have significant knowledge of the business events industry or skills in helping evaluate Board candidates.

Applicants must have:

Commitment to PCMA and an understanding of the vision to help inform decisions
An understanding of growth and fixed mindsets
An understanding of the industry pulse and PCMA’s commitment to leading the global industry through recovery and beyond
A high level of emotional intelligence and ability to work collaboratively to achieve committee goals
A good appreciation for cultural and business operating norms around the world
The ability to access and identify a diverse range of candidates based on board requirements, and an appreciation for the importance of diversity
An unbiased commitment to finding the most qualified candidates based on criteria established by the Governance Committee.

The Nominating Committee:

Is responsible for selecting a diverse board that is balanced in skill sets, knowledge, and experience
Understands PCMA’s vision, plans for the future, and how to determine the evolving needs of the organization from a board criteria perspective
Values and promotes consensus, cooperation, and participation among all members and as individuals, should not represent any segment or constituency group of the membership, representing instead the interests of the entire association.

If you agree to be considered as a member of the Nominating Committee with PCMA, you should be aware of the following criteria and time commitment:

It is an intensive commitment to serve for approximately four (4) months. While the Nominating Committee is selected in April 2023, the call for the 2024 Board nominations does not start until mid-May 2023.
The months of July and August will be spent on written application evaluations. The exact amount of time is usually based on the number of candidates that are applying. For reference, 34 applications were reviewed in 2022.
Between Sunday, August 20 – Thursday, August 24, the committee will meet in person in Chicago to conduct video interviews and final deliberations to select the slate. It is critical that all Nominating Committee members participate together in person and attendance at these meetings is mandatory. Limited funding for airfare and lodging is available, if requested.
The Chair and members of the Nominating Committee will be responsible to notify all Board candidates whether they have been selected or not.
Once the slate has been established in August, the committee’s work is mostly completed unless the slate is challenged by the membership.

Selection Timeline

PCMA has established the following timeline for the nominations process:

Friday, March 10, 2023 at 5pm Chicago time: Deadline for the written applications.
March 13 – March 27, 2023: Written applications are evaluated after which shortlisted candidates may be invited to partake in a video conference interview.
Month of April 2023: Video conference interviews are conducted by two members of the Governance Committee.
By Friday, April 28, 2023: All candidates are notified whether they have been selected or not by members of the Governance Committee.

A Global Leader in Business Events

PCMA, PCMA Foundation and CEMA educate, inspires, and listens, creating meaningful experiences where passion, purpose and commerce come together. We are the world’s largest community for Business Events Strategists, providing senior-level education, networking, and market intelligence for the global business events industry. Our mission is to drive social and economic progress through business events. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, PCMA has 17 North American Chapters, regional communities in APAC, EMEA, and LATAM, and members in 59 countries. The Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA), a PCMA subsidiary, advances strategic event marketing and marketing communications for senior-level event marketers and industry professionals. Visit us at pcma.org