On the first full day of sessions at the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) World Education Congress (WEC) at the Mandalay Bay Resort Convention Center in Las Vegas, the theme of “transformation” was especially timely. As an organization that has seen a tremendous amount of changes within the past year — including the
appointment of a brand-new president and CEO only three months earlier following a nearly year-long search — MPI is focusing greatly on how its more than 20,000 worldwide members can transform themselves as the meetings industry continues to evolve.
“If you think about WEC, and you look around, you’ll notice one consistent theme: transformation,” newly appointed president and CEO Paul Van Deventer said at a media briefing earlier today. “We’re really focused on that. The meetings and event industry is changing. We want to transform to serve our members as well as to serve the industry. By developing and offering new tools, techniques, and learning experiences, we want to help meeting planners evolve as well.”
The opening general session featured a brief presentation from keynote speaker and TED Senior Fellow Candy Chang, a designer, artist, and urban planner who encouraged attendees to view meetings and events as communities and opportunities to share conversations that could very well change the world. “There’s great power in knowing you're not alone ... by having more ways for us to share ... we can become our best selves,” Chang remarked during her speech.
Part of MPI’s own transformation includes
a new board of directors and a new chair, Michael Dominguez, senior vice president of sales for MGM Resorts International. MPI also announced the appointment of Pierre Fernandez as MPI’s senior director of European operations, overseeing European membership, chapter relations, sales, and strategic partnerships. Fernandez was pivotal in the founding of MPI’s France-Switzerland chapter and has worked for Four Seasons Resort Provence and Disneyland Paris Business Solutions.
Dominguez, who succeeds immediate past chair Kevin Hinton, executive vice president of Associated Luxury Hotels International, says that MPI’s overall strategy will not change, despite the tremendous changes taking place within the meeting industry. “Our strategy hasn’t changed, but the world is changing and the economy is changing,” says Dominguez. “The one thing we can promise is that things will change.”
While MPI’s overall business strategy will remain in place, the organization has recently embarked on a number of new partnerships meant to grow its global reach. Earlier this month, MPI became
a founding industry partner of bXb Group’s BOB.tv platform. BOB.tv (short for “Best of Business”) is set to debut at next month’s ASAE Annual Meeting & Expo in Atlanta.
Today, MPI also signed an official memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) to collaborate with each other on education for meeting professionals in Thailand. “The strategic importance of this partnership will positively influence the meetings and events industry in Thailand,” said Nichapa Yoswee, TCEB director of MICE Capabilities Department after signing the MOU. “We need to raise the caliber of meetings and events professionals in Thailand to meet global meeting standards. The partnership today will make and enormous contribution to this goal by bringing MPI’s global expertise.”
Thailand’s meeting industry is growing: Last year, the country hosted 7,382 MICE events and welcomed a total of 895,000 MICE visitors. This year, Thailand expects to welcome approximately 940,000 MICE visitors and generate revenues that total more than $2.93 billion. MPI hopes the new partnership will expand its reach within Asia where it currently has chapters in South Korea and Japan.
One thing that MPI is transforming, however, is its member magazine. Beginning next month, One+ will be re-launched as The Meeting Professional, the title it was previously published under from 1997 to 2008.
WEC will continue until Tuesday, July 23, with a total of more than 60 different education courses and various networking opportunities taking place throughout Las Vegas.