DALLAS, December 9, 2019 —Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is pleased to announce the approved slate for the 2020 MPI International Board of Directors and the 2020 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees.

The International Board of Directors is the governing body of MPI and is responsible for reviewing and approving the organization's strategic plans. It oversees the financial integrity and monitors performance against achievement of strategy and long-term vision.  The Global Board of Trustees is the governing body of the MPI Foundation, with responsibility for Foundation governance, strategic planning, financial oversight, and the raising and distribution of funds.

“On behalf of the Board Development Committee, I am very proud of the qualified applications received and the rigorous discussion we had to arrive at this slate,” said Amanda Armstrong, 2019-2020 MPI Board Development Committee Chair and Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors.

“I am thrilled that each of our candidates embody the spirit of our industry and bring talent, expertise and passion to MPI.” said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI. “We are very fortunate to have them by our side as we continue to strengthen and grow MPI.”

Board members, Trustees and Officers will take office effective January 1, 2020, for the term from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

Attached below is the full slate of the 2020 MPI International Board of Directors and the 2020 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees.

2020 MPI International Board of Directors

The slate of officers includes:

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

• Chair-Elect: Stephen Revetria, President, Giants Enterprises, San Francisco, CA, USA

• Vice Chair – Finance: Bonnie Carlson, CDME, President & CEO, Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau, Bloomington, MN, 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 2020 year include:

• Tracy Judge, MS, CMP, Founder & Chief Connector, Soundings Connect, San Diego, CA, USA

• Kerry Lambert, CMP, MTA, Senior Director, Customer Success, Cvent, Arlington, VA, USA

Returning Board members include:

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

• Michelle Allgauer, CAE, CMM, CMP, Senior Vice President, Engagement & Education, Financial Services Institute (FSI), Washington, D.C., USA

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

• Jason Carroll, CMP, President & CEO, OnPoint Events Group, Tampa, FL, USA

• Antonio Ducceschi, CMM, CHBA, Cluster General Manager, Starhotels Collezione, Florence, Italy

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

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

• Michael Massari, Chief Sales Officer, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas, NV, USA

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

• Miguel Neves, CMP, CEO, miguelseven.com, Copenhagen, Denmark

• Brent Taylor, CMP, DES, CMM, President & COO, Timewise Event Management, Edmonton, AB, Canada

2020 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees

The slate of officers includes:

• Chair: Chandra Allison, Senior Vice President of Sales, The Venetian Resort and Sands Expo Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV, USA (previously elected)

• Chair-Elect: – Todd Marinko, Group Vice President, Marketing, PSAV, Dallas, TX, USA

• Vice Chair - Programs – Jennifer Beatty, Director of Business Development, International and Ottawa, Tourism Calgary, Canada

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

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

• Vice Chair Chapters – Sarah Soliman Daudin, DES, President & CEO, Soliman Productions, Inc., Orlando, FL, USA

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

New Trustees include:

• Europe Council Chair: Krzysztof Celuch, CMM, CITE, CIS, HMCC, CED, Vice – Rector/Professor, Vistula School of Hospitality, Warsaw, Poland

• Brad Dean, CEO, Discover Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico

• Mary Kreins, CASE, Senior National Sales Director, Disney Meetings & Events, Washington, D.C., USA

• Canada Council Chair: Candace Schierling, Director of National Sales, Tourism Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Returning Trustees include:

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

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

• Julie Krüger, Business Development Director – International, Freeman, Dallas, TX, USA

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

• Trevor Lui, Founder, The Highbell Group, Toronto, ON, Canada

• US Council Chair: Lisa Messina, Vice President of Sales, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas, NV, USA

• Joey Nevin, Vice President, Giants Enterprises, San Francisco, USA

• Dawn Parisi, Vice President, Field Sales, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Parsippany, NJ, USA

• Gina Samci, Senior Director, Global Accounts, Marriott International, Lincoln, NE, USA

• Ernest Stovall, Vice President of Sales, Mandalay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, NV, USA

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

• Marti Winer, MBA, Vice President of Operations, MGM Resorts Event Productions, Las Vegas, NV, 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 70 chapters and clubs in 75 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