PCMA strengthens executive leadership team


Bruce MacMillan joins as CMO, Michelle Crowley moves to Chief Growth & Innovation Officer

PCMA today announced Bruce MacMillan, an experienced leader in the global business events industry, is joining as Chief Marketing Officer, effective September 2nd.

PCMA also announced Michelle Crowley as its first Chief Growth & Innovation Officer, effective immediately.

The additions strengthen PCMA executive leadership team as it continues with its vision of driving global economic and social transformation through business events.

Bruce MacMillan

MacMillan, currently CEO of Visit DFW, a consumer content marketing venture for tourism stakeholders in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, will be responsible for PCMA’s global brand development and marketing strategies. He will lead PCMA’s marketing, events and print and digital teams, which include Convene magazine. Crowley, formerly vice president of global growth and business transformation at PCMA, will add education and product development to her current responsibilities of regional and revenue development.

“This additional talent to an already high-performing leadership team perfectly positions PCMA to continue its global growth and elevate the value we bring to our members and audience,” said Sherrif Karamat, PCMA’s president and CEO. “Bruce’s accomplishments and leadership skills, along with Michelle’s knowledge and successful track record, will enhance our capability to use business events as the platform for global economic and social transformation.”

MacMillan and Crowley join an executive leadership team that includes Mona Cotton as Chief Business Officer responsible for business development, Robert Haas as Chief Administrative Officer and Meredith Rollins, recently named Chief Community Officer for community engagement, member growth. Rollins remains executive director of the PCMA Foundation.

MacMillan has more than 30 years of experience in the global business events and tourism industry. His past leadership roles include CEO of Meeting Professionals International and of Tourism Toronto. He developed and led Vancouver, B.C.’s successful national bid for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. MacMillan also runs BANDWIDTH consultancy, advising destinations on event sales and marketing strategies and served as consortium consulting partner in the Destinations International DestinationNEXT global initiative.

“The business events industry is at an exciting inflection point right now and the vision Sherrif has crafted is an innovative strategy that I completely agree with,” MacMillan said. “Helping PCMA achieve the goal of ensuring business events drive global economic and social growth is something that aligns with my own values.”

Michelle Crowley

Crowley began her business events career at PCMA and has held various positions including senior director of global strategy and manager of global development. She oversees regional brand development, content outreach, acquisitions and operations in PCMA’s Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.

“I am excited to have this opportunity to build new value for our audience,” said Michelle Crowley, PCMA Chief Growth & Innovation Officer. “As we look at PCMA’s global reach, it is critical that we continue to focus on providing leading education that drives the industry forward. Adding education and new product development aligns well with my existing role of innovation and global growth.”


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

About PCMA

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.

About PCMA Foundation

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.

About CEMA

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.

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