Forty-six meeting and travel professionals have earned the new Certificate in Meeting Management (CMM) from Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the organizations announced last week.
The CMM recipients are the first to receive the certificate since its curriculum was updated last year.
"The teams at GBTA and MPI could not be more pleased with the positive feedback we've received from this first class of participants on the redesigned CMM program," said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI. "We commend each of these leaders on this milestone achievement and wish them unlimited success in the future."
GBTA and MPI launched their joint CMM in 2013, offering courses derived from the best of GBTA's Strategic Meetings Management Certification (SMMC) and MPI's Certificate in Meetings Management (CMM) program. They began revising the program in December 2013 to teach not only meeting planning and travel management skills, but also business acumen.
The program in its current iteration includes three phases: During phase one, participants complete two self-led webinars and spend 3.5 days enrolled in onsite business education courses taught by university professors the University of Virginia's Darden School of Bsuiness; topics include risk mitigation, business analytics and compliance, and strategic negotiation, among others. Phase two includes a virtual boot camp with on-demand classes on either meetings or travel management. Finally, phase three consists of an independent work-based project. Upon completion of all three phases, participants are granted the CMM designation.
"With MPI, we designed the updated CMM program to help meeting and travel professionals bolster their business management skills and advance their careers," said Daphne Bryant, GBTA Foundation executive director. "These 46 leaders did just that through the intensive study program we've developed that will leave them poised to drive business success in their companies."
The latest class of CMM graduates commenced study in November 2014 with an immersion program in Riviera Maya, Mexico. The next CMM immersion programs take place Aug. 27-30 in Denver; Oct. 1-4 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Oct. 22-25 in Mexico City; and Nov. 12-15 in Anaheim, CA.
For more information, including a complete list of CMM graduates, visit MPI's or GBTA's website.
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