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Cybersecurity – Top 10 Things Planners Need To Know-NOW!

Cybersecurity is a growing threat and strategies to protect your organization should be included your event's risk management plan.

July 25, 2017 - Video

Designing Engaging Experiences Across Cultures – Does One Size Fit All?

Make your meetings count by honing your cross-cultural skills to uncover a simple, yet effective framework that will transform your perspective on culture.

July 24, 2017 - Video

VEI: Designing a Digital Event That Engages and Connects a Global Community

Learn how the Internet Society designed their first virtual event that brought participants together from 141 countries and exceeded everyone's expectations.

January 12, 2016 - Video

Corporate Meetings HQ: SMM: Leveraging Your Program’s Engagement Strategy to Reach Your ROI Potential

This session will share McDonald’s success story of taking their SMM program to the next level through the development of an attendee engagement program.

January 12, 2016 - Video

Convene Live Presents: Mergers & Their Effect on the Meetings Industry

Major companies have been consolidating across the hospitality, technology and travel industries and we haven’t seen the last of these mergers.

January 12, 2016 - Video

The EFPIA Disclosure Code One Year Later – The Impact on Current and Future Medical Meetings

Getting European physicians to attend global meetings is a growing concern due to the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries & Associations (EFPIA) guidelines.

January 12, 2016 - Video

Event Intelligence On the Show Floor: Using Data To Improve Exhibitor Performance

The presenters will share how UBM Live organizers used data to demonstrate their value proposition and enhanced their team's ability to sell smart and tailored solutions to improve exhibitor performance.

January 12, 2016 - Video

Protect Your Brand From Emerging Risks That Threaten Future Business Events

Mitigating risk is a must so you're not caught off guard at your next event. Hear how threats can also increase the value of your brand by showing delegates their safety and security is your top priority.

January 12, 2016 - Video

Reach Win-Win Agreements & Increase Your ROI When Contracting Speakers

This session challenges the assumption that it's impossible for an organization, attendees AND speakers to all gain value out of a speaker contract.

January 12, 2016 - Video

How to Build Trust, Accountability & Team Synergy in Your Virtual Workplace

If you don’t currently work virtually or have virtual work relationships chances are you will in the near future.

January 12, 2016 - Video

Impactful F&B – Designing Culinary Experiences That Satisfy and Engage

Knowing your audience and defining F&B's role in your event will guide smart design decisions and ultimately deliver a memorable culinary experience.

January 12, 2016 - Video

Be People Smart & Watch Workplace Productivity Soar

Use the tools provided in this session to recognize your individual style and how it compares to others to become a more effective leader.

January 12, 2016 - Video
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Sherrif Karamat, President and Chief Executive Officer

Sherrif Karamat, CAE, is President and Chief Executive Officer of PCMA. Karamat also serves as President of the PCMA Foundation and Publisher of Convene magazine.

As CEO, Karamat leads the vision, mission and promise for PCMA’s global family of brands. Karamat serves the greater business events industry as a prominent business architect, enabling our community to become a catalyst for economic and social progress, organizational success, and personal and professional development.

In his previous role as Chief Operating Officer, Karamat led the development and implementation of PCMA’s new vision: driving global economic and social transformation through business events. In addition to his responsibilities at executive level, Karamat also directed streamlining of PCMA’s content creation and delivery channels into one organization. He oversaw partnership, business services, membership, business development and technology teams.

As part of PCMA’s growth strategy, Karamat has led a major data intelligence program and played a key role in the 2017 acquisition of Incentive Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific (ICESAP).

A leader in the business events industry, Karamat previously served as Vice President of Business Sales and Services for Toronto Convention & Visitors (Tourism Toronto). He has served on various boards and is currently a director on the Destination International Board of Trustees.

Karamat is a life-long learner. In addition to completing his bachelor’s degree and Masters of Business Administration from York University in Toronto, Canada, he has completed postgraduate certificate programs at Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. At Harvard Business and Law School, he completed a program on strategic negotiations for senior executives and a program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one on data intelligence and big data.

Robert Haas, Chief Innovation Officer

Robert Haas supports PCMA’s new product and service initiatives as its first Chief Innovation Officer. He utilizes data, content and personalized experiences to help PCMA better understand its members’ needs and develop an audience-focused strategy.

Haas has more than 15 years of database marketing, product development and consulting experience from working in business-to-business and business-to-consumer industries. He understands how innovation, research and technology intersect and evaluates what is leading edge versus cutting edge.

Haas will leverage data to determine best practices in business events and how the industry can drive global economic and social transformation.

He previously served as PCMA’s Vice President of Business Development and Data Intelligence. Prior to joining PCMA, he was Senior Vice President of Strategic Product Development and Marketing at Scranton Gillette Communications Inc. Haas has also worked in direct response marketing for Tribune Direct.

He has a bachelor’s degree in international business from St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.

Premium Content Subscription

Want access to all of PCMA’s cutting-edge sessions and research?

Subscribe annually or monthly to access on demand Convening Leaders, Education Conference, webinars, research and other exclusive content.

What’s included?

  • 100+ Convening Leaders and Education Conference Sessions
    Get insights on negotiations, meeting design, the latest tech trends, and strategically managing events.
  • Earn & Learn
    Maintain your professional certifications with our industry-leading content for CMP and CASE in one convenient location.
  • 30+ PCMA Webinars On Demand
    Get the latest on technology, marketing, “how tos” and trends to push your events to the next level.
  • Checklists and Templates
    From Risk Management, to room sets, PCMA provides you with the resources you need to get the job done.

Not available for purchase at this time

This course is currently not available for purchase. Please check back soon!

Mona Cotton, Chief Development Officer

As Chief Development Officer, Mona Cotton leads the Business Development, Client and Member Services, and Business Services teams. She has more than 20 years of business leadership experience in the areas of partnership, sponsorship, business development, media publishing and business services.

Cotton, a PCMA leader for more than 15 years, takes a strategic approach to transforming PCMA’s client relationships and business opportunities. Her role at PCMA is to facilitate connections between business-to-business organizations and business-to-consumer operations, identifying opportunities to fuel economic and social progress and success for PCMA and its members, customers and clients.

While she has watched as business events shifted from logistics to engagement, Cotton said the value of relationships remains steadfast in the industry.

Prior to PCMA, Cotton led and supported various sales efforts at the National Association of REALTORS, Airborne Express (now DHL) and Fox Associates, a Chicago-based magazine representative firm. She received a bachelor’s degree in marketing and advertising from Indiana University.

Michelle Crowley, Vice President, Global Growth and Business Transformation

Michelle Crowley oversees regional brand development and content outreach as PCMA’s Vice President of Global Growth and Innovation. Crowley’s responsibilities include overseeing acquisitions and operations in Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

She leads PCMA’s global growth strategy by evaluating and identifying how the organization can deliver value to its members through new and existing business models.

Crowley began her career at PCMA and continues to work with global travel brands, build strategic relationships and partnerships with key markets, and design year-round engagement campaigns. She has held various positions at PCMA including Senior Director of Global Strategy and Manager of Global Development.

Crowley is an MBA candidate at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She received her bachelor’s degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Meredith Rollins, Executive Director, PCMA Foundation

Meredith Rollins is Executive Director of the PCMA Foundation, working to empower individuals and advance innovations in the business events industry.

She manages Foundation operations including social impact projects, research, awards and recognition, fundraising and individual giving. She works with a talented PCMA team and passionate group of leaders on the PCMA Board of Trustees to make an impact each year.

The PCMA Foundation aims to advance lives through education, networking and scholarships and to foster personal connections through face-to-face interactions.

Rollins joined PCMA in 2007 and held roles in project management, global development and account management with the PCMA partnership program. She was Director of Strategic Development for the Association for Corporate Growth, a global community for middle-market M&A business leaders from 2012 to 2015. Rollins become Executive Director of the PCMA Foundation since 2015.

Rollins received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Joycelyn Winnecke, Chief Marketing and Experience Officer

Joycelyn Winnecke is PCMA’s first Chief Marketing and Experience Officer. She oversees global marketing and communications, content creation and delivery, and audience development for events, media channels and education products.

A veteran journalist, media executive and civic leader, Winnecke formerly was President of Tribune Content Agency where she spearheaded a financial turnaround of the legacy content syndication and licensing business. Prior to that role, she was Vice President and Associate Editor of the Chicago Tribune where she helped engineer the digital transformation and led the creation of several successful audience and revenue initiatives including Blue Sky Innovation and Trib Nation, staging as many as 100 live events each year. As a journalist, she reported and led coverage of politics, lifestyle and culture.

Winnecke was Managing Editor of the Chicago Sun-Times and City Editor at the Indianapolis Star before joining the Chicago Tribune. She worked as a Washington correspondent in the Scripps Howard News Service bureau and for 10 years also wrote a weekly column on food and cooking for Scripps Howard.

Her leadership has been recognized by many, including Crain’s Chicago Business “40 Under 40’’ and the Today’s Chicago Woman list of “Most Influential Women in Chicago.’’ She serves as President of the YWCA board of directors and on the President’s Advisory Board for Governors State University. She is a member of The Chicago Network, the Economic Club of Chicago and the International Women’s Forum.

Winnecke earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Indiana in her hometown of Evansville and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Gina Meier, Director, Human Resources

Gina Meier is Director of Human Resources for PCMA, a position she has held since 2006. She is responsible for helping PCMA execute its vision of driving global economic and social transformation through its human capital.

Her responsibilities including professional development, culture, talent development, employee integration and employee engagement.

Meier began her human resources career in 1999 as human resources manager for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide LLC, now a subsidiary of Marriott International Inc. She previously worked as director and manager in Starwood’s housekeeping division.

Meier received a bachelor’s degree in hotel/motel administration and management from Eastern Illinois University.

CASE Online Course

What is CASE?

The Certified Association Sales Executive 10 module online course is an interactive, self-paced, certificate course that fills your knowledge gaps, builds your business acumen and teaches you how to become an association mastermind. Discover how to anticipate the needs of your clients and be perceived as a partner, not just a vendor.

What’s Included?

  • Each of the first 9 modules features a self-assessment quiz to test your knowledge and ensure you have retained the course material
  • Modules 2-10 lead you through the steps to build an effective Account Plan for a client of your choosing; through research exercises and a SWOT Analysis you’ll identify opportunities on how you can best partner with your customers in the future
  • The course culminates with you presenting your strategic solutions to your target client and then guides you through a goal setting exercise you can apply to your future endeavors
  • After completing all ten modules, you’ll earn a CASE® certificate and 70 Clock hours
  • Includes online course exam and review
  • Professional Meeting Management® 6th Edition relevant chapters
  • Principles of Association Management 4th Edition textbook

Business Event Bootcamp

Take the next step to becoming an Event Producing rock star!

The strategies critical to keep business events vibrant, compelling and successful are constantly changing. Enter, the PCMA Business Event Bootcamp.

This online and self-paced event course is designed to give you and/or your team unlimited access to the latest trends and critical information for successful event planning.

  • Earn approved CE toward your CMP and CAE
  • Each module can be purchased separately for a customized learning program
  • Cost effective solution, built for your busy schedule

How can a team benefit?

Some corporations or associations don’t have the luxury of in house training that keeps their teams up on the latest success strategies for events. What happens after training is just as important as what happens during training.
Each module in the Business Event Bootcamp training program comes with a facilitator’s guide for team leaders. This guide is designed to help you navigate your team through each lesson and reinforce learning in the days and weeks following the training courses. Within each guide, you’ll have access to practical activities, reflection questions, and tools to take your team deeper into the course content and facilitate on-going conversations on the topics covered.

APAC Registration