PROFESSIONAL CONVENTION MANAGEMENT - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- CEO, Deloitte Digital
- Chief Experience Officer for Deloitte Digital
Amelia Dunlop is the chief experience officer for Deloitte Digital and leader of the US Customer Strategy and Applied Design practice for Deloitte Consulting LLP, where she helps companies develop winning strategies that combine innovation, creativity, and digital strategy. Dunlop writes and speaks regularly about human experience, creativity, and customer strategy, and contributes to the Wall Street Journal's CMO Journal and Adweek.
Job Titles:
- Founder / Principal, Fruition Co
Amy Blackman was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. After receiving an MA in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University, she moved to LA and had a successful 18-year run in the music industry, managing the global businesses and careers of multi-Grammy Award-winning music artists and producers. Her music management career culminated in being named a Cultural Ambassador for the US State Department across two different presidential administrations. She produced public diplomacy missions in 18 countries, and several regions that had never before seen live music from the West. Dreams fulfilled, she sold her house, quit her job, and took a two-year sabbatical, attending Georgetown University for a Global Executive MBA. She was recruited to run the North America subsidiary of a global multimedia design agency, and then was appointed VP at Contend Immersive, where she ran a global team of rogue, vanguard, and brilliant strategists, designers, artists, branders. Her latest venture, Fruition.co is the coalescing of her life, work, and academic adventures. For fun, Amy does international channel swimming expeditions.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Immediate past Foundation Chair
Job Titles:
- CMM - Director / Trustee -
Barbara has spent her career as a writer and editor working for a variety of nonprofit and news publications, ranging from a stint as a science reporter and columnist at The Daily Oklahoman to covering arts and humanities at Stanford University for the Stanford News Service. She joined Convene in 2008 as senior editor and became the magazine's director of online content in 2013. bpalmer@pcma.org
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Director
- Immediate past Chair
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Co - Founder
- CEO, Splash
Ben Hindman is the CEO and co-founder of event marketing platform, Splash. Ben brings to life his vision of democratizing event marketing across an organization by giving people the tools to market and scale event programs that are branded, measurable, and compliant. Ben has an unstoppable passion for bringing people together through events. Before launching Splash, he led the national events program for Thrillist, crafting one-of-a-kind experiential programming to match the brand's in-the-know digital reputation.
Job Titles:
- Chief Marketing Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
Bruce MacMillan is responsible for PCMA's global brand development and marketing strategies as PCMA's Chief Marketing Officer. He leads the marketing, events and print and digital teams, which includes Convene magazine.
MacMillan has more than 30 years of experience in the global business events and tourism industry and has worked with business enterprises on every continent. His past leadership roles include CEO of VisitDFW, a regional consumer content marketing venture, CEO of Meeting Professionals International and CEO of Tourism Toronto.
He developed and led Vancouver, B.C.'s successful national bid for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. MacMillan also runs BANDWIDTH consultancy, advising destinations on event sales and marketing strategies and served as consortium consulting partner in the Destinations International DestinationNEXT global initiative.
MacMillan has received numerous awards including twice being named one of the Top Twenty most influential people in the global MICE industry.
Job Titles:
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Executive Vice President, Events and Education Services / SmithBucklin Corporation / Secretary - Treasurer
- Executive Vice President, Events and Education Services / SmithBucklin Corporation / Trustee
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President of Creative With Opus
- Executive Vice President of Creative, Opus
Caryn Mambro is the Executive Vice President of Creative with Opus and loves big, brave, bold ideas. She is headquartered in Boston and has been engaging creative ideas for a variety of brands including google, Linkedin, Alteryx, Uber and AnitaB.org. Prior to joining Opus, Caryn was a Creative Director at some of the world's best ad agencies including JWT, McCann and Doner. Her strategic, collaborative and creative management style has influenced brands like AutoTrader, Coca Cola, Domino's, GMC, Foster Grant, Mazda, Boston Children's Hospital, The UPS Store and Subway. Caryn has launched and led creative teams through multi-platform integrated campaigns while always bringing passion and business acumen to the work. Her extensive background of over 30 years includes knowledge of both creative and production, giving her an edge in understanding a concept through finished execution. Caryn makes ideas come to life beautifully and her enthusiasm is equally infectious while presenting in a conference room or singing karaoke.
Casey has spent her career thus far exploring the hospitality space. She served as online editor for the American Hotel & Lodging Association's Lodging magazine before joining Convene in 2017. She graduated from Rider University, where she majored in journalism and American Studies. cgale@pcma.org
Job Titles:
- Director
- Meeting Industry and Business Development Consultant / Director
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Chairman of the Board
- Director
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
- Grants and Research
- Immediate past Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Director
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Director
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Director
- Immediate past Chair
Job Titles:
- Director
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- Education Scholarship
Job Titles:
- DES - Director / Trustee -
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Immediate past Chair
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
Job Titles:
- Director of Human Resources
Gina Meier is Director of Human Resources for PCMA, a position she has held since 2006. She is responsible for helping PCMA execute its vision of driving global economic and social transformation through its human capital.
Her responsibilities including professional development, culture, talent development, employee integration and employee engagement.
Meier began her human resources career in 1999 as human resources manager for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide LLC, now a subsidiary of Marriott International Inc. She previously worked as director and manager in Starwood's housekeeping division.
Meier received a bachelor's degree in hotel/motel administration and management from Eastern Illinois University.
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Immediate past Chair
- Secretary - Treasurer
- CAE / President and CEO
Job Titles:
- Director
- Trustee
- President & Chief Executive Officer / Events
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Chief Executive Officer
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
Before joining the team as managing editor in 2020, Jen spent more than a decade contributing to titles in the travel, hospitality, and lifestyle space, including Travel + Leisure, Roads & Kingdoms, Southern Living, and of course, Convene. She also has had brief interludes in public relations and sales. If not writing, she is probably planning her next trip. She resides in Charleston, SC (but will call any place with a Wi-Fi connection home). jdienst@pcma.org
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Immediate past Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President - Industry Development
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Chairman of the Board
- Director
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
- Immediate past Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- Chief Marketing and Experience Officer
- First Chief Marketing and Experience Officer
Joycelyn Winnecke is PCMA's first Chief Marketing and Experience Officer. She oversees global marketing and communications, content creation and delivery, and audience development for events, media channels and education products.
A veteran journalist, media executive and civic leader, Winnecke formerly was President of Tribune Content Agency where she spearheaded a financial turnaround of the legacy content syndication and licensing business. Prior to that role, she was Vice President and Associate Editor of the Chicago Tribune where she helped engineer the digital transformation and led the creation of several successful audience and revenue initiatives including Blue Sky Innovation and Trib Nation, staging as many as 100 live events each year. As a journalist, she reported and led coverage of politics, lifestyle and culture.
Winnecke was Managing Editor of the Chicago Sun-Times and City Editor at the Indianapolis Star before joining the Chicago Tribune. She worked as a Washington correspondent in the Scripps Howard News Service bureau and for 10 years also wrote a weekly column on food and cooking for Scripps Howard.
Her leadership has been recognized by many, including Crain's Chicago Business "40 Under 40'' and the Today's Chicago Woman list of "Most Influential Women in Chicago.'' She serves as President of the YWCA board of directors and on the President's Advisory Board for Governors State University. She is a member of The Chicago Network, the Economic Club of Chicago and the International Women's Forum.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Trustee
- Immediate past Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- Strategic Business Development Director
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Chairman of the Board
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
- Immediate past Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- Director
- Immediate past PCMA Chair
Job Titles:
- Director
- Secretary - Treasurer
Job Titles:
- DES - Director / Trustee -
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Immediate past Chair
- Secretary - Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Strategic Business Development Director
Job Titles:
- Director, Business Development
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Director
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
- Immediate past Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Chief Community Officer
Meredith Rollins is Executive Director of the PCMA Foundation, working to empower individuals and advance innovations in the business events industry.
She manages Foundation operations including social impact projects, research, awards and recognition, fundraising and individual giving. She works with a talented PCMA team and passionate group of leaders on the PCMA Board of Trustees to make an impact each year.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Global Growth and Business Transformation
Michelle Crowley oversees regional brand development and content outreach as PCMA's Vice President of Global Growth and Innovation. Crowley's responsibilities include overseeing acquisitions and operations in Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
She leads PCMA's global growth strategy by evaluating and identifying how the organization can deliver value to its members through new and existing business models.
Crowley began her career at PCMA and continues to work with global travel brands, build strategic relationships and partnerships with key markets, and design year-round engagement campaigns. She has held various positions at PCMA including Senior Director of Global Strategy and Manager of Global Development.
Crowley is an MBA candidate at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She received her bachelor's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Michelle joined Convene in 2003 and has overseen the growth of the magazine to a monthly award-winning print and digital publication. She has more than 30 years of experience as an editor and writer, and began her career as a nonfiction book editor at Random House. Prior to joining Convene, Michelle served as editor for variety of trade publications and websites in such industries as commercial real estate and food and drug retailing. mrussell@pcma.org
Job Titles:
- Chief Development Officer
As Chief Development Officer, Mona Cotton leads the Business Development, Client and Member Services, and Business Services teams. She has more than 20 years of business leadership experience in the areas of partnership, sponsorship, business development, media publishing and business services.
Cotton, a PCMA leader for more than 15 years, takes a strategic approach to transforming PCMA's client relationships and business opportunities. Her role at PCMA is to facilitate connections between business-to-business organizations and business-to-consumer operations, identifying opportunities to fuel economic and social progress and success for PCMA and its members, customers and clients.
While she has watched as business events shifted from logistics to engagement, Cotton said the value of relationships remains steadfast in the industry.
Prior to PCMA, Cotton led and supported various sales efforts at the National Association of REALTORS, Airborne Express (now DHL) and Fox Associates, a Chicago-based magazine representative firm. She received a bachelor's degree in marketing and advertising from Indiana University.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Development
Job Titles:
- CAE - Director / Trustee -
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Chairman - Elect
- Director
- President
- Trustee
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Chairman of the Board
- Director
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
- Director, Meeting Services
- Immediate past Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Sales and Marketing, the Americas / Hilton Hotels Corporation
Robert Haas supports PCMA's new product and service initiatives as its first Chief Innovation Officer. He utilizes data, content and personalized experiences to help PCMA better understand its members' needs and develop an audience-focused strategy.
Haas has more than 15 years of database marketing, product development and consulting experience from working in business-to-business and business-to-consumer industries. He understands how innovation, research and technology intersect and evaluates what is leading edge versus cutting edge.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- President
- CAE
Sherrif Karamat, CAE, is President and Chief Executive Officer of PCMA. Karamat also serves as President of the PCMA Foundation and Publisher of Convene magazine.
As CEO, Karamat leads the vision, mission and promise for PCMA's global family of brands. Karamat serves the greater business events industry as a prominent business architect, enabling our community to become a catalyst for economic and social progress, organizational success, and personal and professional development.
In his previous role as Chief Operating Officer, Karamat led the development and implementation of PCMA's new vision: driving global economic and social transformation through business events. In addition to his responsibilities at executive level, Karamat also directed streamlining of PCMA's content creation and delivery channels into one organization. He oversaw partnership, business services, membership, business development and technology teams.
As part of PCMA's growth strategy, Karamat has led a major data intelligence program and played a key role in the 2017 acquisition of Incentive Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific (ICESAP).
A leader in the business events industry, Karamat previously served as Vice President of Business Sales and Services for Toronto Convention & Visitors (Tourism Toronto). He has served on various boards and is currently a director on the Destination International Board of Trustees.
Karamat is a life-long learner. In addition to completing his bachelor's degree and Masters of Business Administration from York University in Toronto, Canada, he has completed postgraduate certificate programs at Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. At Harvard Business and Law School, he completed a program on strategic negotiations for senior executives and a program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one on data intelligence and big data.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Operations
Job Titles:
- Director
- Secretary - Treasurer
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Immediate past Chair
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Chairman of the Board
- Trustee
- Immediate past Chairman of the Board
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Vice President Direct Sales and Business Development
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Chief Executive Officer / AMC Institute
- Chief Executive Officer / Association Management Company Institute
- CMP, CAE
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Principal / VRS Meetings and Events, Inc. Immediate past Chair
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Chairman of the Board
- Director
- Secretary - Treasurer
- Trustee
- Immediate past Chairman of the Board