New president takes charge at IAPCO

Sarah Markey-Hamm (pictured), CEO of ICMS, has been appointed as the new president of The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO). She takes over from the CEO of the Kenes Group, Ori Lahav. The appointment was announced at the association’s Annual Meeting and General Assembly (AM&GA) that took place, 6-9 February in Jerusalem. The meeting saw new officers appointed to the association’s Council. Markey-Hamm had completed a one-year tenure as president-elect since IAPCO’s 2022 AM&GA held 10-13 February in Rome. She will now lead IAPCO for two years as president, following which she will serve the association as immediate past-president. ICMS is an established Professional Conference Organiser for over 50 years and has been a member of IAPCO since 2003. The PCO provides a strong representation for IAPCO in the Asia Pacific region. Along with her new role as the president of IAPCO, Markey-Hamm has been chair of ICCA’s Australian National Committee and was on the ICCA Meetings Advisory Group. She has been a board member of the Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) and past president of the Meeting Events Australia (MEA) Victorian Chapter. Commenting on commencing her presidency at IAPCO, she said: “I am excited to be commencing my tenure as president of IAPCO and would like to congratulate Ori on his tenure as president. It is not going to be an easy act to follow! I hope to highlight IAPCO’s activities within the Asia Pacific region.” IAPCO 2023 was also the occasion for the elections of one returning council officer and one new one for the available vacancies. IAPCO members present at the AM&GA in Jerusalem, as well as many joining online, voted through in-app and ballots to re-elect Sissi Lygnou, CEO of AFEA Travel Congress Services and elected Nicola Testai, CEO of OIC Group. In addition to leading AFEA, Lygnou is the president of HAPCO & DES, an association representing meeting professionals in Greece. As a re-elected council officer, she will continue her role as the chair of IAPCO’s newly formed Advocacy committee and the Marketing Task Force. New to the IAPCO Council, Testai has been the head for 10 years of OIC Group, one of the first PCOs in Italy. He is also the vice-president and PCO representative of Federcongressi&eventi. IAPCO CEO Martin Boyle commented on the start of new tenures for the members of the IAPCO Council: “IAPCO has come through the past two or so years in an extremely strong position with 100% membership retention, more new membership applications than ever before and a balance sheet that enables us to re-invest in programmes to meet the future needs of our accredited members. I am delighted to welcome Sarah Markey-Hamm as our new IAPCO president, together with Sissi Lygnou and Nicola Testai to IAPCO Council and am certain that, under Sarah’s leadership, IAPCO will develop exciting new initiatives that continue to deliver on our mission of raising the professionalism of the meetings industry globally.  Exciting times lie ahead for IAPCO and our community.”