MPI 2019 International Board Slates Announced

DALLAS, December 3, 2018 — Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is pleased to announce the approved slate for its 2019 International Board of Directors and the 2019 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees.

“This year’s board development committee worked hard to make sure that your new board has business strength, diversity and leadership representing our Planner, International, Destination Marketing, Supplier and Technology communities.  We wish we could have taken all who applied, but the bylaws limit the amount of people we can accept. Please encourage MPI leaders to apply next year,” said Brian Stevens, chair of the MPI board development committee and immediate past chair.

“We are very excited by the level of professional experience and business acumen each of the new members bring to our boards. The slates of both boards are representative of our diverse community and offer MPI a wealth of talent and strategic thought to guide our association into the future,” said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI.

Board members, Trustees and Officers will take office effective January 1, 2019, for the term from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019.

2019 MPI International Board of Directors

The slate of officers includes:

• Chair: Steve O’Malley, HMCC, CITP, Division President, Maritz Travel, St. Louis, MO, USA (previously elected)

• Chair-Elect: Annette Gregg, CMM, MBA, Regional Senior Vice President, PRA, San Diego, CA, USA

• Vice Chair Finance: Michael Massari, Chief Sales Officer, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas, NV, USA

• Immediate Past Chair: Amanda Armstrong, CMP, Assistant Vice President, Enterprise Holdings, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA

The new directors that will join the Board for the 2019 year include:

• Rob Adams, CEO, Bishop-McCann, Kansas City, MO, USA

• Cleo Battle, CDME, CASE, Executive Vice President, Louisville Tourism, Louisville, KY, USA

• John Ehlenfeldt, CDME, CMP, Executive Vice President, Visit Huntington Beach, Huntington Beach, CA, USA

• Leslie Menichini, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Rosen Hotels & Resorts, Orlando, FL, USA

• Miguel Neves, CMP, Social Strategist, miguelseven.com, Copenhagen, Denmark

• Stephen Revetria, Senior Vice President, San Francisco Giants, San Francisco, CA, USA

Returning Board members include:

• Michelle Allgauer, CAE, CMM, CMP, Vice President of Meetings, Marketing & Education, Financial Services Institute (FSI), Alexandria, VA, USA

• Bonnie Carlson, CDME, President & CEO, Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau, Bloomington, MN, USA

• Jason Carroll, CMP, Executive Director, Tampa Riverwalk Organization, Tampa, FL, USA

• Antonio Ducceschi, CMM, CHBA, General Manager Cluster, Collezione Starhotels, Monaco

• Kaaren Hamilton, CMP, CMM, HMCC, Vice President of Global Sales, Red Lion Hotels Corporation, New York, NY, USA

• Helle Svaneborg, Director of Conference Services, Atrium Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

• Brent Taylor, CMP, CMM, President & COO, Timewise Event Management Inc., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

2019 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees

The slate of officers includes:

• Chair: Carole McKellar, MA, CMM, Chartered FCIPD, Vice President EMEA, HelmsBriscoe, Manchester, United Kingdom

  (previously elected)

• Chair-Elect: Chandra Allison, Senior Vice President of Sales, Venetian/Palazzo Resort Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV, USA

• Vice Chair Programs: Todd Marinko, Group Vice President, Marketing, PSAV, Dallas, TX, USA

• Vice Chair Development: D. Bradley Kent, Senior Vice President & Chief Sales Officer, VisitDallas, Dallas, TX, USA

• Vice Chair Finance: Bruce Gudenberg, Executive Director, Industry Relations, Hilton, Washington, D.C., USA

• Vice Chair Chapters: Trevor Lui, Founder, The Highbell Group, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Immediate Past Chair: Jim Russell, Executive Vice President-Sales, Freeman, Dallas, TX, USA

New Trustees include:

• Sarah Soliman Daudin, DES, President & CEO, Soliman Productions, Inc., Orlando, FL, USA

• Darren Green, Senior Vice President, Sales, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, Los Angeles, CA, USA

• Jonathan Kaplan, Vice President, Global Sales Strategy, InterContinental Hotels Group, Atlanta, GA, USA

• David Kliman, CMM, President, The Kliman Group, Inc., Santa Rosa, CA, USA

• Vince LaRuffa, Senior Vice President, Resort Sales & Marketing, Universal Orlando Resort, Orlando, FL, USA

• Lisa Messina, Vice President of Sales, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas, NV, USA

• Ernest Stovall, Vice President of Sales, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV, USA

• Susie Townsend, Senior Vice President, Visitor Experience, Visit Indy, Indianapolis, IN, USA

Returning Trustees include:

• Canada Council Chair: Jennifer Beatty, Managing Director, resiada, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Europe Council Chair: Julie Krüger, Business Development Director – International, Freeman, Dallas, TX, USA

• US Council Chair: Marti Winer, MBA, Vice President of Operations, MGM Resorts Event Productions, Las Vegas, NV, USA

• Doreen Burse, Vice President, Global Sales, North America, Marriott International, Chicago, IL, USA

• Dawn Parisi, Vice President, Field Sales, Wyndham Hotel Group, Parsippany, NJ, USA

• Gary Schirmacher, Senior Vice President, Industry Presence & Strategic Development, Experient, A Maritz Global Events Company, Denver, CO, USA

• Diana Voto, CMP, MBA, National Sales Director, Disney Meetings and Events, New York, NY, USA

About MPI

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is the largest meeting and event industry association worldwide. The organization provides innovative and relevant education, networking opportunities and business exchanges, and acts as a prominent voice for the promotion and growth of the industry. MPI has a global community of 60,000 meeting and event professionals including more than 17,000 engaged members and its Plan Your Meetings audience. It has more than 90 chapters and clubs in 19 countries. “When we meet, we change the world.” www.mpi.org

MPI Foundation

The MPI Foundation is a non-profit organization that fuels the advancement of MPI members by providing them professional development and career opportunities through grants and scholarships. The MPI Foundation also propels the meeting and event industry forward by funding innovative research and pan-industry initiatives that support the strategic plan of MPI. www.mpi.org/foundation

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