Meeting Professionals International (MPI) has announced its 2017 Board of Directors and Foundation Global Board of Trustees.
"Over the past few years, MPI has had many prominent industry leaders serve on our boards and this year is no different," Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI, said in a statement. "We have a broad mix of volunteers representing meeting planning firms, hoteliers, convention and visitors bureaus, technology and travel companies, and more."
At the helm of the new board of directors will be Brian Stevens, CEO of ConferenceDirect, who will assume the role of chair. Jim Russell, executive vice president of sales at Freeman, will be the chair for the Foundation Global Board of Trustees. Stevens has been an active MPI member since 1985 and Russell since 2010.
The new boards will take office on Jan. 1, 2017.
2017 MPI board of directors - Officers
• Chair: Brian Stevens, CEO, ConferenceDirect, California
• Chair-Elect: Amanda Armstrong, CMP, corporate travel and meetings manager, Enterprise Holdings, Inc., St. Louis, MO
• Vice Chair of Finance: Gerrit Jessen, CMP, CMM, regional managing director Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic, MCI Deutschland GmbH, Berlin, Germany
• Immediate Past Chair: Fiona Pelham, managing director, Sustainable Events Ltd and Positive Impact, Manchester, UK
2017 MPI Board of Directors - Members
• Bonnie Carlson, CDME, president & CEO, Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau, Bloomington, MN
• Jason Carroll, CMP, regional account executive, Visit Tampa Bay, Washington, DC
• Angie Duncan, CMP, CMM, US client account specialist, Touch Associates, Indianapolis
• Annette Gregg, CMP, CMM, MBA, vice president -- corporate West, AlliedPRA, San Diego
• Anne Hamilton, vice president, global travel, The Walt Disney Company, Lake Buena Vista, FL
• Michael Massari, chief sales officer, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas
• Kevin Olsen, president, founding partner, Keyway, LLC, Aurora, IL
• Steve O'Malley, division president, Maritz Travel, St. Louis
• Ken Sanders, president, Freeman Audio Visual Solutions, Dallas
• Courtney Stanley, marketing strategist, Courtney Stanley Consulting, Grand Haven, MI
• Helle Svaneborg, exhibition and conference director, Danish Pharmaceutical Information, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Marti Winer, MBA, chief of staff, Drew University, Madison, NJ
2017 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees - Officers
• Chair: Jim Russell, executive vice president, sales, Freeman, Dallas
• Chair-Elect: Jordan Clark, vice president of sales, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas
• Vice Chair of Development: Carole McKellar, MA, CMM, managing director, Northern Europe, HelmsBriscoe, Macclesfield, UK [EMEA Council Chair]
• Vice Chair of Finance: Gregg Hopkins, president, Gregg Hopkins and Associates, Orlando, FL
• Vice Chair of Programs: Chandra Allison, vice president sales, The Venetian and The Palazzo Hotels, Las Vegas
• Immediate Past Chair: Stephen Revetria, senior vice president, Giants Enterprises, San Franciso
2017 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees - Members
• Carol Bullock, senior vice president, global sales, Wyndham Hotel Group, Parsippany, NJ
• Doreen Burse, vice president, global sales, corporate accounts, Marriott International, Chicago
• D. Bradley Kent, chief sales and services officer, Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, Dallas
• Kevin Kirby, vice president business development of North America, PicSolve, Orlando
• Laurie Knapp, vice president - global sales, PSAV, Mokena, IL
• Trevor Lui, director of operations and sustainability, The International Centre, Toronto, Canada (Canada Council Chair)
• Anthony Miller, chief marketing officer, Lanyon, Dallas
• Rob Scypinski, senior vice president, hotel sales - The Americas, Hilton Worldwide, San Francisco
• Junior Tauvaa, senior vice president, Sales and Services, Visit Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
• Alison Taylor, senior vice president, American Airlines, Dallas, Texas
• Diana Voto, national sales director, Disney Destinations, Orlando (US Council Chair)
• Angela Xavier, CSP, vice president, Americas sales, InterContinental Hotel Group, Atlanta