What were your first career ambitions and which subjects first fired your imagination?
I studied business management and marketing after leaving school in Sydney, Australia. While I was growing up I wanted to be one of two things – a lawyer or a window decorator. I suppose, in hindsight, this showed a desire to combine both my academic and creative skills.
How did you first enter the meetings industry?
By accident or luck. I am saddened that this is the truth as I think I am in the greatest industry in the world but there was not much awareness of the conference and meetings industry when I was in school.
The owner of the Toronto Blizzard, York Hannover, at the time owned nine hotels across Canada and during my time at the Blizzard I was fortunate to move up to operations manager of the club. This allowed me the opportunity to network with various members of the leadership team at York Hannover.
Sadly, at the end of the 1984 season the North American Soccer League was in trouble.
During this period I was asked if I would consider working in the hotel industry, which I knew nothing about. The management at York Hannover made me an offer that I could not refuse and I joined the ITT Sheraton in Niagara Falls. I have never looked back since my days as a night auditor.
What were your defining early career moments?
I had two amazing people that believed in me – Doug Burrell and John Pilato. Within a year, I was a corporate sales manager and I saw first-hand the importance of events to what an organisation was trying to achieve, whether it was the launching of a product or training of their staff.
I also became aware of the enormous responsibility a conference organiser bore and it was most gratifying to feel as if I was an extension of their teams to help them stage successful events.
However, I was still thinking about being a chief marketing officer at a sports team, and was thrilled that every year that we hosted the tennis players and many of their functions at our hotels for the ATP tennis tournament.
Best career advice you ever received?
A difficult question as I value so much of what I have received over the years. But, I would say this: we achieve great things in life if we surround ourselves by those who have made great achievements.
How has the international meetings industry changed since you’ve been at PCMA?
The changes have been profound. First, when I started at PCMA, only 48% of the membership could meet outside of their home country, today that number is almost 80%.
PCMA only had chapters in the US and Canada and now we have chapters in Mexico and members in 39 countries and growing.
The rise of technology and other environmental factors have also impacted the industry and have resulted in a blending of face to face and digital events.
Today, the international meetings industry is more united and there is increasing understanding of the importance that meetings play in organisational and individual success, not to mention advancing various social and economic issues facing our world.
How have the key industry issues of the moment evolved from the main topics taking your time, say, 6-8 years ago?
I believe that we are communicating and collaborating much more than the past. I still think that we struggle with getting our message across and for far too long our industry has been an offshoot of the tourism industry.
My take is that we may use tourism assets in certain instances but our industry drives economic development, creates sustainable jobs and is critical to the economic vitality of many communities around the world. My hope is that we will continue to engage all industries that benefit from meetings and conferences and let them assist us in elevating our role in the larger business community.
Where is the PCMA at right now; what is its main USP and what is its strategy vis-à-vis other industry associations?
PCMA is ever evolving. Our statement of purpose is to inspire, connect and innovate with the world’s business events industry. We aim to provide the tools, resources and business networking opportunities our members, partners and subscribers need in order to achieve success. We focus on the highest level of education. Wherever possible we collaborate with other industry organisations if will ultimately benefits those we are attempting to serve.
What is the strategy to export the strong US PCMA brand further into Europe and other international markets?
Over the past few years we have held global professional conferences for corporate, associations and the medical communities across the EMEA and APAC regions. I cannot give away all our secrets but stay tuned for a much bigger presence in both of these regions.
Where are the main avenues of activity now for the association and how is it trying to deliver extra value for members?
PCMA activities reside in three major regions – Americas, EMEA and APAC. We are delivering increased value in many different ways from think tanks and boutique face to face events, to year round engagement in various formats that is glocalised.
What is new in the way you deliver education and continuing professional development. What trends can be observed here?
Technology is certainly playing a greater role in education delivery, but it is the immersiveness in delivery that results in a higher transfer of knowledge.
PCMA recently did a study with Marriott Hotels on five trends shaping the future of the business events industry and they include: Sensory Analytics, Content Safaris, Tribalisation, Living 360, and Immersive Telepresence. [More can be found at: www.pcma.org].
What would you pick out as your three main challenges for the association over the next 2-3 years?
Acquiring and maintaining talent is by far the most important and will always be an ongoing quest with PCMA. In addition, getting our arms around data so that we can make more informed business decisions and speed to market is also critically important. The reality is that much of our competition in the future will come from outside of our industry and developing the capabilities to be able to monitor weak signals will be important to our success.
