Two meetings, housing and event management companies, Chicago-based Travel Technology Group and Atlanta-based Ambassadors, have merged, they announced yesterday, forming what they say is the nation's "most experienced event housing management powerhouse."The new, combined company—which will be called TTG|AMB—will undergo a strategic re-branding initiative this fall and will now offer a new menu of event management services for its corporate clients, including:• Room block reservations• Event marketing• Housing management• Hotel, flight, car and destination attraction booking"Though Travel Technology Group and Ambassadors were competitors, we shared the same vision of redefining event housing management," TTG|AMB President Michael Howe said in a statement. "This merger has brought the best of both companies together, and our strategy is to continue delivering outstanding customer service, a flexible event management system and innovative solutions for event management."TTG|AMB will be led by a new leadership team consisting of executives from both Travel Technology Group and Ambassadors. Howe, previously TTG's senior vice president and CFO, will be president and CFO while Bob Derham, co-founder and managing director of TTG, will be vice chairman of the board.Other appointments include Tim Whorton as managing director and executive vice president, sales and new business development; Todd Lambert as chief operations officer; Scott Tallarida as executive vice president and chief technical officer; Jennifer Kimball as senior vice president, operations; Rose Dubrovich as senior vice president, sales and new business development; and Dahlia El Gazzar as vice president, marketing.