Meeting Professionals International (MPI) announced last week its 2018 International Board of Directors and MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees.
"I am very proud of the interest received from our membership to be part of MPI's International Board. The new slate of directors represents thought leadership and experience that will make a difference at the leadership level of this organization. Their perspectives and contributions will help to grow and advance the global meeting and event community," said Fiona Pelham, chair of the MPI Board Development Committee.
At the helm of the new board of directors will be Amanda Armstrong, CMP, corporate travel and meetings director at Enterprise Holdings Inc., who will assume the role of chair. Jim Russell, executive vice president of sales at Freeman, will be chair of the Foundation Global Board of Trustees.
The new boards will take office on Jan. 1, 2018.
2018 MPI Board of Directors - Officers:
• Chair: Amanda Armstrong, CMP, Corporate Travel and Meetings Director, Enterprise Holdings, Inc., San Diego, CA
• Chair-Elect: Steve O'Malley, Division President, Maritz Travel, St. Louis, MO
• Vice Chair Finance: Michael Massari, Chief Sales Officer, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas, NV
• Immediate Past Chair: Brian Stevens, CEO, ConferenceDirect, West Hollywood, CA
2018 MPI Board of Directors - New Members:
• Antonio Ducceschi, CMM, CHBA, General Manager Cluster, Collezione Starhotels, Florence, Italy
• Brent Taylor, B.A., CMP, CMM, Partner, Timewise Event Management Inc., Edmonton, AB, Canada
• Michelle Allgauer, CAE, CMM, CMP, Vice President of Meetings, Marketing & Education, Financial Services Institute (FSI), Washington, DC
• Kaaren Hamilton, Vice President of Global Group Sales, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, New York, NY
• Vince LaRuffa, Senior Vice President of Resort Sales and Marketing, Universal Orlando Resorts, Universal, Orlando, FL
• Miguel Neves, CMP, Founder & CEO, Social Media Chefs, London, United Kingdom
• Stephen Revetria, Senior Vice President, Giants Enterprises, San Francisco, CA
2018 MPI Board of Directors - Returning Members:
• Bonnie Carlson, CDME, President and CEO, Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau, Bloomington, MN
• Jason Carroll, CMP, Executive Director, Tampa Riverwalk Organization, Tampa, FL
• Annette Gregg, CMM, MBA, Regional Senior Vice President West, AlliedPRA, San Diego, CA
• Kevin Olsen, President, Founding Partner, Keyway LLC, Aurora, IL
• Helle Svaneborg, Exhibition and Conference Director, Danish Pharmaceutical Information, Copenhagen, Denmark
2018 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees - Officers:
• Chair: Jim Russell, Executive Vice President-Sales, Freeman, Dallas, TX
• Chair-Elect: Carole McKellar, MA, CMM, Managing Director, Northern Europe, HelmsBriscoe, Macclesfield, United Kingdom
• Vice Chair Programs: Chandra Allison, Vice President Sales, The Venetian and The Palazzo Hotels, Las Vegas, NV
• Vice Chair Development: Trevor Lui, Director Operations and Sustainability, The International Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
• Vice Chair Finance: Alison Taylor, Senior Vice President, American Airlines, Dallas, TX
2018 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees - New Trustees:
• Europe Council Chair: Julie Krüger, Business Development Director - International, Freeman, Dallas, TX
• US Council Chair: Marti Winer, Chief of Staff, Drew University, Madison, NJ
• Canada Council Chair: Jennifer Beatty, Managing Director, resiada Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada
• Chapter Liaison: Kevin Kirby, Principal, The Kirby Consulting Group LLC, Orlando, FL
• Gary Schirmacher, Senior Vice President, Industry Presence & Strategic Development, Experient, A Maritz Global Events Company, Denver, CO
2018 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees - Returning Trustees:
• D. Bradley Kent, Senior Vice President & Chief Sales Officer, Visit Dallas, Dallas, TX
• Dawn Parisi, Vice President, Field Sales, Wyndham Hotel Group, Parsippany, NJ
• Bruce Gudenberg, Executive Director, Industry Relations, Hilton Worldwide Sales, Washington, DC
• Todd Marinko, Group Vice President, Marketing, PSAV, Coppell, TX
• Angela Xavier, Vice President, Americas Sales, InterContinental Hotel Group, Atlanta, GA
• Doreen Burse, Vice President, Global Sales, Corporate Accounts, Marriott International, Chicago, IL
• Diana Voto, National Sales Director, Disney Destinations, New York, NY
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