Lyn Lewis-Smith, chief executive of Business Events Sydney, and Gary Grimmer, chair of GainingEdge specialist consultancy, received the inaugural Iceberg Excellence Awards for Advocacy of the Business & Professional Events Sector. The awards were given out by chair of the Australian Business Events Association, Peter King (pictured left with the award winners) at the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Exhibition (AIME) Leaders Forum in Melbourne this week.
The Iceberg, founded by James Latham, is presented by the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) and supported by leading industry associations, events, media, and ambassadors seeking to illustrate the value of business events beyond tourism to governments and community investors.
“Lyn has been at the vanguard of the research, data, and storytelling of our sector. Working with her colleagues from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Lyn has built the pillars of advocacy that have advanced the narrative of the business events sector beyond its consumption economy,” Latham stated.
He added: “No-one has devoted more to policy engagement than Gary. His understanding of business & professional events as drivers of governments’ social, economic, and societal agendas and goals has enabled the sector to be recognised as a change agent, and not just a travel agent.”
Working with professors Carmel Foley and Deborah Edwards of UTS, Lewis-Smith inspired the UTS ‘Beyond Tourism Benefits: A Social Legacy’ Report, ‘The Power of Conferences’, and ‘The Legacies of Business Events’ which have been shared and replicated worldwide as blueprints for sector storytelling.
Grimmer’s work includes the ‘Meet Denmark Report’ and ‘BestCities Global Alliance Legacy Measurement’ project, both of which have been instrumental in highlighting the broader impacts of business events beyond immediate economic benefits. Grimmer has chaired The Iceberg’s Global Advisory Board since its inception.
