PCMA EXPANDS EXECUTIVE EDUCATION THROUGH PCMA INSTITUTE

New Edition of Professional Meetings Management (PMM) Textbook Available December 2025; Destinations and Venues Announced as Early Adopters to Destinaitor

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — Neil Brownlee, PCMA Chair and Visit Scotland’s Head of business events and Sherrif Karamat, CAE, PCMA and CEMA President & CEO today unveiled new education offerings and Destinaitor’s alignment with destinations and venues during a press conference at IMEX America.  

Formerly the Event Leadership Institute, PCMA Institute will offer two new global education offerings in early 2026. 

The Executive Leadership Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind, mini-MBA style program is designed for directors, vice presidents, and senior leaders with 10+ years of experience and C-suite aspirations. This six- to nine-month program will focus on applied learning through case studies and collaborative working sessions, rather than traditional lectures. Applications open at Convening Leaders 2026, with only 25 participants selected for the inaugural cohort. 

The Business Events Strategist (BES) Certification represents the global business events community’s first designation recognizing strategic excellence beyond traditional CMP/CMM credentials. This Certification, designed for professionals with more than seven years of experience, recognizes advanced expertise, contribution, and impact, without a course component. The Certification opportunity will also launch at Convening Leaders with a rigorous point-based qualification and capstone project.  

“These programs reflect PCMA’s commitment to empower the global business events community with the tools, insights, and recognition to lead with purpose, confidence, and strategic vision,” said Karamat. “We are investing in the leaders who will shape the future of business events and redefine what meaningful impact looks like across industries and societies.” 

Karamat also announced the forthcoming Volume 7 of the Professional Meetings Management (PMM) textbook, the definitive resource for business events strategists, last updated in 2015. This latest update addresses the community’s dramatic transformation over the past decade and serves multiple audiences, from students and faculty to convention services managers and seasoned professionals seeking modern best practices. The PCMA Foundation, whose mission is to advance education and research, made this critical update possible. The new edition will be available in digital and print in December 2025.  

Brownlee delivered an update on Destinaitor, the AI-powered platform developed in partnership with dFakto and supported by data partners Tempest and Simpleview, which is designed to transform how business events strategists identify and select destinations and venues worldwide. 

In an increasingly complex environment, marked by faster timelines, tighter budgets, and heightened expectations, Destinaitor integrates advanced large language models (LLMs) to curate, analyze, and match destination and venue information. Only participating entities can manage and update their respective data, and these verified partners are clearly labeled to assure users of accuracy and reliability. 

“Business events strategists have long faced the challenge of navigating scattered, inconsistent information when planning future meetings and conferences,” said Brownlee. “With Destinaitor, PCMA is bringing clarity, accuracy, and efficiency to destination sourcing through AI and verified data partnerships.” 

Introduced to the global events community within the last three months, six partners have subscribed to Destinaitor, including Alliant Energy Center (Madison, WI) Discover Kalamazoo, Visit Bellevue Washington, Visit Kansas City, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp and Quebec City.  

Introductory pricing for Destinaitor is available through the end of 2025, with annual subscription tiers of $15,000, $12,000, and $9,000 (approximately $1,000 per month).