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Unprecedented Board Structure Reflects Agility and Globalization
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (November 2, 2021) — PCMA president and CEO Sherrif Karamat, CAE today announced the 2022 Board of Directors and Trustees Slate introduced to PCMA members on September 8, 2021, has received full membership approval. Directors and Trustees will assume office immediately following PCMA’s Convening Leaders taking place January 9-12 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas.
Effective January 12, 2022, the unprecedented Board structure will consist of a governing body that encompasses Directors and Trustees for both PCMA and the PCMA Foundation. The Executive Officers approved for 2022 are:
Chairman: Charles Starks, President and CEO, Music City Center
Chairwoman Elect: Desirée Knight, CAE, CMP, DES, Senior Director of Education & Meetings, American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way (AREMA)
Secretary-Treasurer: Leonard Hoops, President and CEO, Visit Indy
Immediate Past Chairwoman, PCMA Board of Directors: Kirsten Olean, CAE, Director of Meetings, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Immediate Past Chairwoman, PCMA Foundation Board of Trustees: Angie Ranalli, CMP, Vice President of Sales, San Diego Tourism Authority
“The 2022 PCMA Board of Directors and Trustees reflects an organization that is prepared to embrace the opportunities and challenges for the business events industry in the coming years,” said Karamat. “The Board slate is not only inclusive but also focused on using the business events industry platform to realize economic and social transformation.”
The following individuals will begin serving a two-year term (2022–2023):
Fernando Fondevila, CEO, Promtur Panama
Veemal Gungadin, CEO, GEVME
Gladys O’Mahony, Vice President, Global Sales Organization, Caribbean & Latin America, Marriott International
Peter O’Neil, FASAE, CAE, CEO, ASIS International
Annalisa Baccara Ponchia, CMP, CMM, Director of Innovation & Customer Experience & Director of International Congress, AIM Group International
Chantal Sturk-Nadeau, Executive Director, Business Events, Destination Canada
Panos Tzivanidis, Director, Corporate Events & Services, International Olympic Committee
The following individuals are serving the final year of a three-year term (2020–2022):
Lisa Astorga, CMP, DES, Director of Meetings, International Society on Thrombosis & Haemostasis
Karen Cooper, Senior Manager, Event and Tradeshow Strategy, Poly
Benjamin Erwin, President and CEO, Encore
Bianca Ferrer, Creative Director, B&I Creative Group LLC
Diane Kovats, CAE, CMP, DES, CEO, International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB)
Paula Rowntree, Head of Events, Australian Psychological Society
Ana María Viscasillas, MBA, CDME, DES, CED, President and Chief Visionary, Business Tourism Services
In addition, the President and CEO of PCMA serves as a Director and Trustee in an ex-officio capacity:
Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President and CEO, PCMA
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For media queries from the Americas, APAC, EMEA, and requests for interviews with Sherrif Karamat, please contact: Meghan Risch, PCMA Chief of Staff, Vice President, Corporate Communications PCMA, PCMA Foundation and CEMA educate, inspire, and listen, 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. The role of the Foundation of PCMA is to support the mission of PCMA through fundraising and grant-giving focused on scholarships, education and research that will advance the business events industry. Annually the Foundation funds over $700K in impact, and since 1985 has funded over 2,500 scholarships, 100 research studies and education programs, and $2.7M in charitable giving. The Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA) is the eminent community for senior event executives, association peers and industry partners and is an integral component of the Professional Convention Management Association’s (PCMA) brand collective. CEMA promotes professional networking opportunities, facilitates peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and drives industry standards. Through strong relationships with strategic partners, CEMA fosters both finding innovative solutions to business issues and continuous focus on members’ career growth. For more information, please visit http://www.cemaonline.com.About PCMA
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