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CHICAGO, IL (September 1, 2022) — Sherrif Karamat, CAE, PCMA and CEMA President and CEO today announced he has received the 2023 Board of Directors and Trustees Slate from Nominating Committee co-chairs Kirsten Olean, Immediate Past Chair, PCMA Board of Directors and Angie Ranalli, Immediate Past Chair, PCMA Foundation Board of Trustees.
The PCMA Board of Directors includes Directors and Trustees for PCMA and the PCMA Foundation who support the association’s mission to drive global economic and social transformation through business events.
Building upon and following the 2022 globally diverse Board of Directors and Trustees, Karamat is honored to recognize the 2023 Slate which includes the first next generation, faculty and CEMA Advisory Board members.
“We know that if we expect our industry to transform, we need to lead that transformation,” said Karamat. “PCMA is a global movement to connect people with purpose to ideas and opportunities. We remain committed to leading the PCMA organization through a customer-centric lens and we are focused on delivering what our audiences need to be successful.”
The following leaders will begin serving a one-year Executive Officer term (2023):
Chair: Desirée Knight, CAE, CMP, DES, Senior Director of Education & Meetings, American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association
Immediate Past Chair: Charles Starks, President and CEO, Music City Center
Upon PCMA membership approval, the following leaders will begin serving a one-year Executive Officer term (2023):
Chair-Elect: Leonard Hoops, President and CEO, Visit Indy
Secretary-Treasurer: Neil Brownlee, Head of Business Events, VisitScotland
The incoming CEMA Advisory Board Chair will begin serving a one-year Director and Trustee term (2023):
Colleen Bisconti, Vice President, Events and Experiences, IBM
Upon PCMA membership approval, the following leaders will begin serving a two-year Director and Trustee term (2023–2024):
Gregg Caren, President and CEO, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
Dr. Amanda Cecil, PhD, CMP, Professor, Department of Tourism, Event & Sport Management, Indiana University
Shameka Jennings, MTA, CAE, CMP, DES, Principal and Chief Events Officer, Eventsnoire
Brian Landers, CDS, Senior Vice President / Team Director, ConferenceDirect
Lauren Parr, Senior Vice President, Meetings and Learning, American Geophysical Union
Stephen Rose, Senior Vice President, Communication Services, Siemens AG
Kathleen Warden, Director of Conference Sales, Scottish Event Campus
The following leaders are serving the final year of a two-year Director and Trustee term (2022–2023):
Fernando Fondevila, CEO, Promtur Panama
Veemal Gungadin, Founder and 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
In addition, the President and CEO of PCMA and CEMA serves as a Director and Trustee:
Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President and CEO, PCMA and CEMA
The slate will be deemed confirmed by PCMA members at close of business September 30, 2022 @ 17:00 hours Chicago time.
Directors and Trustees will assume office immediately following PCMA’s Convening Leaders annual meeting January 8-11 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, OH.
For media inquiries from the Americas, APAC, EMEA, and requests for interviews with Sherrif Karamat, please contact: Meghan Risch, PCMA Chief of Staff, Vice President, Corporate Communications.
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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