The inaugural meeting of The Meetings Show UK Advisory Board and Education Panel, two independent groups of industry leaders brought together to strategically advise Centaur Exhibitions on the launch of its new show, have taken place in London.
During the sessions the groups identified key areas including the need to attract the highest quality buyers from associations, agencies and corporates, while delivering a high quality education programme that all attendees can benefit from.
Chair of The Meetings Show UK Advisory Board and Managing Director of Kennedy Consulting, Paul Kennedy, said: “The Advisory Board and Education Panel provided a wealth of ideas and knowledge that will be of benefit to both buyers and suppliers attending The Meetings Show UK in July 2013.
“While it was great to confirm that our ethos and plans for the show are supported by such credible industry experts, the real success was the number of new ideas, information and advice we received.”
Chair of The Meetings Show UK Education Panel and Managing Director of The Right Solution, Sally Greenhill, said: “The meetings highlighted the need to deliver education in new, creative and focused ways. The diverse range of skills and backgrounds around the table ensured a varied meeting with input from all sides of the industry.”
The Meetings Show UK Event Director, Steve Knight, said: “It is a rare occasion that such knowledgeable and experienced individuals come together and to have them focused on the development of our show was a huge compliment and we are extremely grateful for their time, effort and energy. The outcomes and deliverables ranged from top level strategic planning to simple logistics, all of which will be considered and built into the show.”
In addition to representatives from The Meetings Show UK the following members of the Advisory Board were present:
- Paul Kennedy, Director Kennedy IntegratedSolutions (Chair)
- Sally Greenhill, Managing Director The Right Solution
- Rod Cameron, Managing Director Criterion Communications Ltd
- Chris Parnham, Managing Director Operations Zibrant
- Paul Simpson, Managing Director Visit Manchester
- Ian Taylor, Commercial Director MarketingBirmingham
- Tracy Halliwell, Director of Business Tourism London and Partners
- Fiona Chappell, Business Development Director Melbourne Convention Bureau
- Kerrin MacPhie, Director of Sales ACC Liverpool
- Jackie Brown, Director of meetings and events sales Guoman and Thistle
- Miha Kovacic, Director Slovenia Convention Bureau
- Peter Ducker, Executive Director HBAA
- Christian Mutschlechner, Managing Director Vienna Convention Bureau
In addition to representatives from The Meetings Show UK the following members of the Education Panel were present:
- Sally Greenhill, Managing Director The Right Solution (Chair)
- Paul Kennedy, Director Kennedy IntegratedSolutions
- Elling Hamso, Managing Partner Event ROI Institute
- Lesley Williams, Head of Association Sales Marketing Edinburgh
- Angie Mason, Director Absolute Corporate Events
- Heledd Williams, Head of Business TourismCardiff and Co.
- Annalisa Ponchia, Executive Officer European Society for Organ Transplantation
- Juliet Price, Director Polygon Consulting
- Caitriona Lavery, Sales Manager Hasting Hotels, Ireland
- Caroline Hill, Managing Director Compliant Venues
The Meetings Show UK’s inaugural event will take place at Olympia, London, 9-11 July 2013. The 5,000 expected visitors to the show will include 1,500 hosted buyers from across the UK and Europe.
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