Meeting Professionals International (MPI) announces the approved slate of volunteer leaders for its Board of Directors and the MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees in 2017. Board member selections are effective January 1, 2017, for the term of January 1 through December 31, 2017.
Brian Stevens, CEO of ConferenceDirect, will assume the role of chair of the MPI Board of Directors; he has been an active member of MPI since 1985. Jim Russell, Executive Vice President, Sales at Freeman, will become chair of the MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees; he has been an active member of MPI since 2010.
“Over the past few years, MPI has had many prominent industry leaders serve on our boards and this year is no different. We have a broad mix of volunteers representing meeting planning firms, hoteliers, convention and visitors bureaus, technology and travel companies, and more,” said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI. “It is an honor to have each of these individuals commit their time and energy to supporting MPI and the MPI Foundation, and we believe their collective contributions will be instrumental to growing our global community.”
Every year, MPI seeks industry champions who are passionate about the association’s mission to serve on its international board as well the foundation’s board. The nomination process is open to all MPI members in good standing worldwide and is managed by an independent board development committee, which interviews all applicants and then evaluates each candidate's skill set against clearly defined requirements and competencies.
“Our volunteer leaders are critical to advancing the strategic direction of MPI, and I am continuously humbled and impressed by their steadfast commitment to serving our global community,” added Van Deventer.
2017 MPI Board of Directors – Officers
- Chair:Brian Stevens, CEO, ConferenceDirect, Calif., United States
- Chair-Elect: Amanda Armstrong, CMP, Corporate Travel and Meetings Manager, Enterprise Holdings, Inc., St. Louis, Mo., United States
- Vice Chair of Finance: Gerrit Jessen, CMP,CMM,RegionalManagingDirector Germany,AustriaandCzechRepublic,MCIDeutschlandGmbH,Berlin,Germany
- Immediate Past Chair: Fiona Pelham, Managing Director, Sustainable Events Ltd and Positive Impact, Manchester, United Kingdom
2017 MPI Board of Directors – Members
- Bonnie Carlson, CDME, President & CEO, Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau, Bloomington, Minn., United States
- Jason Carroll, CMP, Regional Account Executive, Visit Tampa Bay, Washington, DC, United States
- Angie Duncan, CMP, CMM, US Client Account Specialist, Touch Associates, Indianapolis, Ind., United States
- Annette Gregg, CMP, CMM, MBA, Vice President – Corporate West, AlliedPRA, San Diego, Calif., United States
- Anne Hamilton, Vice President, Global Travel, The Walt Disney Company, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., United States
- Michael Massari, Chief Sales Officer, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas, Nev., United States
- Kevin Olsen, President, Founding Partner, Keyway, LLC, Aurora, Ill., United States
- Steve O’Malley, Division President, Maritz Travel, St. Louis, Mo., United States
- Ken Sanders, President, Freeman Audio Visual Solutions, Dallas, Texas, United States
- Courtney Stanley, Marketing Strategist, Courtney Stanley Consulting, Grand Haven, Mich., United States
- Helle Svaneborg, Exhibition and Conference Director, Danish Pharmaceutical Information, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Marti Winer, MBA, Chief of Staff, Drew University, Madison, N.J., United States
2017 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees – Officers
- Chair: Jim Russell, Executive Vice President, Sales, Freeman, Dallas, Texas, United States
- Chair-Elect: Jordan Clark, Vice President of Sales, Caesars Entertainment, Las Vegas, Nev., United States
- Vice Chair of Development: Carole McKellar, MA, CMM, Managing Director, Northern Europe, HelmsBriscoe, Macclesfield, United Kingdom [EMEA Council Chair]
- Vice Chair of Finance – Gregg Hopkins, President, Gregg Hopkins and Associates, Orlando, Fla., United States
- Vice Chair of Programs – Chandra Allison, Vice President Sales, The Venetian and The Palazzo Hotels, Las Vegas, Nev., United States
- Immediate Past Chair: Stephen Revetria, Senior Vice President, Giants Enterprises, San Franciso, Calif., United States
2017 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees – Members
- Carol Bullock, Senior Vice President, Global Sales, Wyndham Hotel Group, Parsippany, N.J., United States
- Doreen Burse, Vice President, Global Sales, Corporate Accounts, Marriott International, Chicago, Ill., United States
- Kevin Kirby, Vice President Business Development of North America, PicSolve, Orlando, Fla., United States
- Laurie Knapp, Vice President – Global Sales, PSAV, Mokena, Ill., United States
- Trevor Lui, Director of Operations and Sustainability, The International Centre, Toronto, Canada (Canada Council Chair)
- Anthony Miller, Chief Marketing Officer, Lanyon, Dallas, Texas, United States
- Rob Scypinski, Senior Vice President, Hotel Sales-The Americas, Hilton Worldwide, San Francisco, Calif., United States
- Junior Tauvaa, Senior Vice President, Sales and Services, Visit Anaheim, Anaheim, Calif., United States
- Alison Taylor, Senior Vice President, American Airlines, Dallas, Texas, United States
- Diana Voto, National Sales Director, Disney Destinations, Orlando, Fla., United States (US Council Chair)
- Angela Xavier, CSP, Vice President, Americas Sales, InterContinental Hotel Group, Atlanta, Ga., United States
