The MPI board of directors named Paul Van Deventer as the association’s new CEO and president on Tuesday (click here to read the full press release). His official first day is April 29; and he was in the office this week to meet the international headquarters staff and learn more about the departments and individuals serving the MPI community.

He learned a little about us. So now, let’s learn a little about him.

One+ editor Jason Hensel: Whose style has inspired you as a leader?

Paul Van Deventer: For personal leadership inspiration, I say the style of my parents and what I’ve learned from them. For business leadership inspiration, the most significant is Kenneth Chenault, CEO of American Express, because of his focus on the people and leadership development side of the business. 

JH: So, what’s your management style?

PVD: I’m a manager who likes a collaborative approach and to empower leaders by giving them a clear definition of expectations and the tools to get things done.

JH: Do you volunteer or work with any charities?

PVD: I have worked with several different charities, engaged on boards for my kids’ school systems, as well as a group called Go Lightly Travel, an educational academy built in the Detroit inner city, to help underprivileged students find a career path. Other travel executives and I made a commitment to hire students from the academy as they came through the school. It was inspirational to be involved with it. Currently, my family is engaged in supporting a homeless shelter for men in Carlsbad, Calif., by helping deliver food to them.

JH: What will you bring from your previous business experience to the association world?

PVD: My work experiences have been primarily working in the B-2-B environment, working with large employers, specifically in lots of cases, travel providers. When you look at what we’re doing at this association, it’s very relevant from a B-2-B perspective, because the funding source is primarily coming from large employers and corporations, including travel providers. I think those relationships I built and my understanding of those industries will be very helpful for us.

The other side of my business experience has been very customer and relationship focused. The association business is all about leveraging relationships, building value for our members and being able to engage and leverage the skill set of volunteers. I’ve done a lot of that in my career. 

JH: What are some of your favorite books?

PVD: I’m always reading several books at once. I read a lot of historical books, especially around military history and American campaigns. I like to read a little bit of easy-reading junk every so often, and I tend to follow my kids’ lead there. I just finished the Hunger Games trilogy. I also just read a really interesting book called The Admirals, which is about the leading admirals of WWII. You can learn a lot about leadership through history books.

JH: What’s your favorite vacation spot?

PVD: I grew up and was raised on the Jersey Shore, and I try to take my kids back there every year. It’s the most comfortable place to vacation for me. 

JH: Who are your favorite bands?

PVD: I like Bruce Springsteen, the Counting Crows. I love Jimmy Buffet shows—I’m somewhat of a parrot head. I tend to fall back in the 1970s rock era. Stones, Eagles . . . I love live music. The challenge is staying up late enough now to go see shows. Satellite radio is the worst thing ever given to me, because I drive my wife and kids crazy by going back and forth between show tunes to acid rock to classical music to some bubblegum pop from the 1970s.

JH: What are some of your hobbies?

PVD: Reading, cycling, spending time with my kids, golfing and traveling. 

JH: Do you play any sports?

PVD: I’m no longer competitive in any sports. I do a lot of road cycling. I snow ski with my kids. And I play golf. 

JH: What are some of your favorite movies?

PVD: From a funny side, My Cousin Vinny. From a historical side, I like Galliopli. From an inspirational side, I love Brian’s Song (the original, not the remake). I worked the reel-to-reel in a theater as one of my college jobs, and we showed Brian’s Song one week. I sat there and cried three times a night for a week. 

I also like The Sound of Music and The Wizard of Oz. I love the new Les Mis. It’s my favorite play, and I thought they did a great job with the movie. The only challenge was Russell Crowe’s voice was so bad. 

JH: Oh, you like plays?

PVD: I used to try to go to two a year. The last play I saw was Wicked. By the way, if you follow theater, the La Jolla Playhouse in California has been just an incredible theater system for Broadway. A lot of shows out of there end up on Broadway. 

JH: It was great getting to know a little more about you. Any other thoughts you’d like to share with the members of the MPI community?

PVD: Well, I’m excited to be back in the travel community, and I’m excited to be a part of the MPI organization and working closely with the community, and I look forward to meeting everyone face-to-face at WEC this summer in Las Vegas.

After a comprehensive search, that began in June 2012, the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Board of Directors announced Monday, the appointment of Paul Van Deventer as MPI president and CEO, filling the top leadership role for the largest global meetings and events industry association.

Van Deventer will begin his new role leading the association’s global staff, including its offices in Europe and Canada, on April 29, 2013. 

“The search committee looked at a broad array of candidates within and outside the industry,” said Michael Dominguez, MPI CEO Search Committee chair and senior vice president of sales at MGM Resorts International. “Our primary focus was to find a high-caliber, globally-minded leader with exceptional communications skills, brand building experience and the ability to drive incremental growth and engagement. Paul was that person. We believe he will prove to be a collaborative leader whose conviction, focus and intensity aligns well with the job at hand at MPI.”

Most recently, Van Deventer served as a vice president in the health and wellness division at Walgreens, the largest drugstore chain in the United States. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing revenue generation and client retention for Walgreens’ $500 million suite of employer-focused healthcare solutions. During his tenure at Walgreens, Van Deventer also led the national sales and account management team for the company’s $1 billion Prescription Benefit Management (PBN) subsidiary, Walgreens Health Initiative. 

“Having led business groups for blue chip Fortune 100 companies, Paul is a seasoned senior executive with both international and travel industry experience and a proven track record for driving growth, creating brand value and developing high-performing, engaged teams from the inside out,” said Kevin Hinton, current MPI chairman and executive vice president of Associated Luxury Hotels International.

Earlier in his career, Van Deventer spent 22 years with American Express. While there, he had direct experience with the business travel sector and meetings and events when, as senior director of multinational sales and operations, he led a $350 million global business unit with responsibility for more than 50 business travel customer service centers, 500 employees and a meetings/events group focused on the automotive industry. He also spent two years directing American Express’ $3 billion travel and corporate card businesses in Australia and New Zealand. In his last position at American Express, Mr. Van Deventer built and led a team managing $8 billion in global corporate card relationships with the company’s largest multinational customers. His team achieved annual double digit top-line revenue growth, while delivering 32 percent year-on-year international growth, $1.9 billion in new sales and achieving “world-class” status in 14 of 14 employee satisfaction dimensions.

“Paul is client-focused, smart and engaging, possessing the skills and experience to build strong relationships and transform businesses,” Hinton said. “We believe he’s the right leader to leverage our existing strengths and strategy to broaden MPI’s impact – be it through new partnerships, products or market opportunities. He will be a compelling evangelist for MPI, as we look to expand our engagement with members, chapters, the business community and the broader meetings and events industry.”

Van Deventer feels fortunate to be stepping into a strong organization primed for continued success.

“MPI has a rich history of industry leadership, education and best practice facilitation, led by a group of passionate and engaged volunteers and professional staff,” he said. “I am excited to be returning to my meetings and travel roots to help leverage MPI’s strong brand and vibrant chapter network to invigorate and engage MPI members and expand MPI’s global reach and role as an industry advocate.” 

If you were to look at any organization’s DNA, you’d see that surveys at its foundation. While not the sole driver of life, surveys are a strong part of an organization’s success and push for progress.

“Surveys are important to MPI (and associations in general) as they are a good way to learn from our membership in order help us improve,” said Marj Atkinson, MLS, CRP, MPI’s manager of research. “MPI’s goal is to serve our members—and if something needs improvement or if is going well, we need to hear about it.”

A membership satisfaction survey is just one way to accomplish this, she says. 

“We conduct surveys to gain feedback on what members need, such as educational content, opinions on our live events and how well they like some of the services we provide,” she said. “Online surveys are a relatively quick way to get a pulse on our membership.”

MPI recently sent out our annual membership survey, and we encourage everyone to complete it. By participating, you’ll personally be entered in a drawing to receive a free one-year membership extension.

Let us help you become successful. That’s what we’re here to do. 

“Hearing from our members has allowed some significant adjustments in the past,” said Randy Crabtree, MPI’s membership marketing manager. “It represents a key listening tool for us to ensure we are delivering value to the MPI community.”

Remember, the survey only takes a few minutes to complete; however it will provide MPI with a great deal of valuable feedback that will last a long time.

The number of job openings dropped in December, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Workers hired in December fell to 4.19 million from 4.4 million, causing the hiring rate to drop to 3.1 percent from 3.3 percent. 

Sounds like dire news. However, it's a different story for meeting professionals. Looking at the number of new jobs posted on our careers page, we see that there's been a 46 percent increase in postings in January over December.  

"Our industry got hit really hard by the recession, and this employment growth is also showing that we are learning to tell the story of the value of meetings and events and of the industry professionals who produce them," said Randy Crabtree, MPI membership marketing manager.

Be sure and check out the MPI careers page for the latest job postings, and follow @MPICareers on Twitter to stay even more informed about available jobs. 

Since December when the MPI CEO Search Committee officially activated the search for a new CEO of MPI with global executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, the firm has received strong interest in the position and is making great progress with a number of highly qualified and interested individuals.

“Our primary concern remains to find the right executive for this important job, and we’re prepared to take the time required to recruit the quality leader our association community needs,” said Kevin Hinton, MPI Chairman. “With broad-based input from MPI members, the international board and MPI management, the search committee’s mandate is to help us find the best possible leader, and the team at Heidrick is doing a superb job.”

According to Hinton, there is not a specific deadline to fill the position, although it remains a top priority for the Search Committee and Board of Directors. Anyone interested in applying for the position should contact Megan Black at Heidrick & Struggles directly. Megan can be reached by email at mblack@heidrick.com.

I was messing around the other day with a blank periodic table, and for fun I decided to make MPI elements for it. Can you identify your chapter's periodic element? And since there are more boxes than chapters and clubs, I put in other elements of MPI. Can you guess those? Please leave your answers in the comments. 

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) announced on Sunday at WEC 2012 a revolutionary strategic partnership with Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) that leverages both organizations’ knowledge, training, professional development and marketplace opportunities to enhance their respective members’ experience, value and industry relevance.

In this partnership, MPI will provide its industry-leading education for meeting planners at certain HSMAI events, and HSMAI will provide training and professional development for suppliers at select MPI events. 

“Our members are the heart and soul of MPI, and we’re thrilled to combine our extensive knowledge with HSMAI to offer more comprehensive events. This partnership allows us to better serve our supplier members and heightens the business value of our events for all members. This is a great step into MPI’s future,” said Cindy D’Aoust, MPI COO and interim CEO.

The first activation of the MPI HSMAI partnership is occurring now at MPI’s World Education Congress in St. Louis. Suppliers attending WEC can attend HSMAI tracks titled, “Hotel Sales Giants Talk About What’s Keeping Them Up at Night” and “ Sales and Revenue Management: Managing the Relationship.”

“We are very excited to partner with MPI and expand our reach to meeting planners while in tandem supporting MPI as they strive to better serve their supplier members at events. The relationship is a great compliment that will increase knowledge offerings and drive business opportunities at our respective events,” said Fran Brasseux, executive vice president at HSMAI.

This is the first partnership for MPI and HSMAI. MPI and HSMAI will identify further opportunities as the relationship progresses such as the possibility of joint membership.

For more information on HSMAI tracks offered at WEC, visit http://www.mpiweb.org/events/wec2012/welcome.

Yesterday, MPI announced the appointment of its new chief operating officer, Cynthia (Cindy) D’Aoust after a comprehensive search. D’Aoust will report directly to the organization’s president and CEO, Bruce MacMillan, and will lead operational deployment of MPI 3.0, MPI’s strategic business plan, through key business units of the organization.

D’Aoust brings more than 20 years of leadership experience to MPI. She has held key positions in business development, project and operations management and business intelligence with Maxvantage (the strategic alliance between Maritz Travel Company and American Express) and with the Maritz Travel Company – Meetings, Events and Incentives Division.

A recognized expert on business solutions and trends in the meeting industry, D'Aoust is frequently asked to speak at industry conferences, serve on panels and conduct education sessions focused on strategic meetings management. She has been published in several leading publications, including Future Pharmaceuticals, Business Travel News and Business Travel World and profiled in One+.

“Cindy’s leadership track record of creating value for customers and stakeholders is unparalleled,” MacMillan said. “Her familiarity with key business and professional development trends in our industry will allow MPI to accelerate effective implementation of our education and certification program.”

In her most recent position, D’Aoust was vice president of shared services with Maxvantage.

“Maxvantage, Maritz Travel and American Express are focused on innovating meetings planning and management and have always been staunch supporters of MPI’s industry efforts. We are supportive of Cindy and look forward to experience what is to come in our continued, collaborative efforts,” said Steve O’Malley, general manager, Maxvantage.

D’Aoust has been active throughout the travel and meetings industry throughout her career including with the Global Business Travel Association and an active member of MPI, most recently serving on its International Board of Directors.

“My clients, peers, colleagues and friends have provided me a wealth of opportunity, experiences and fond memories over my career. This move was an easy choice to make knowing that they are all behind me and rooting for me and MPI. Our mutual objectives haven’t changed, just the opportunity for me to play a more focused role in identifying and developing the next chapter for the meetings industry,” D’Aoust said.

Cindy D’Aoust will be relocating her family from Philadelphia to Dallas and will begin her position with MPI on April 9, 2012.

By Paulo Cunha/Outra Visão – Brazil 

Leia isto no português

On December 12, about 400 professionals from the Latin American meeting and event industry established a new debate on the professionalization of the industry in the region, including discussions of strategy, technology, trends and brands.

Held in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city and its financial capital, the first edition of MPI’s Latin American Meeting and Event Conference (LAMEC) provided rich discussions, reflections and exchanges of experiences and ideas to participants. Industry professionals from the region packed the auditorium of the elegant hotel Unique.

Among the sessions held in the main auditorium was the general session on “events that impact a changing society.” At this session, social activist René Silva revealed in detail how he handles an event that, initially planned for 500 people, saw 15,000 attendees in the Alemão Community in Rio de Janeiro, a place that until a few months ago was dominated by drug dealers and was recently occupied by the police.

The session about hybrid events, with the participation of head of event operations EMEA, SAP AG, Mathias Sondermann and Boone Associates’ Mary Boone, was also another highlight. In a crowded room, Sondermann, who came from Germany for this event, and Boone, connected with the room via Skype from her office in the U.S., presented data, facts and videos about SAP’s SAPPHIRE NOW event, one of the most successful hybrid events in the digital world.

LAMEC 2011 also marked the official launch of the MPI Learning Center in Brazil, and was attended by Didier Scaillet, MPI’s chief development officer, as well as Elizabeth Wada, president of the MPI Brazil Chapter. Excitingly, in 2012, industry professionals will be able to test for the Global CMP in Sao Paulo.

After a full day of conference, LAMEC’s first edition ended with an important debate on the legacy of the World Cup and Olympic Games. The session was moderated by Jeanine Pires, ex-president of Embratur and president of the Tourism Council of Fecomércio Sao Paulo, a professional who was directly involved in the work done by the Brazilian government to secure the events (2014 World Cup Brazil and 2016 Summer Olympics).

In this closing session, Walt Judas, from Vancouver Tourism shared his experience from the 2010 Winter Olympics and explained the strategies that the city planned to grow as an important destination for events after the games.

South Africa Tourism’s, Nomasonto Ndlovu, also attended the debate and detailed the challenges of organizing the first World Cup ever held in Africa.

Throughout the discussion, it was revealed that the challenges faced by South Africa were very similar to those experienced in Brazil, especially in regards to transportation and venue infrastructure.

The 2012 edition of LAMEC is already confirmed and scheduled for August 20, in Sao Paulo

Your name may be holding you back from that coveted CEO position, according to a recent LinkedIn study on the top CEO names worldwide.

"We started by contrasting CEOs across the globe with the average LinkedIn professional to find the top names that are over-represented among CEOs," said Monica Rogati, senior research scientist of analytics at LinkedIn. "At first glance, the top CEO names are a reflection of the CEO demographics. Looking more closely, however, we observe a different trend: over-indexed CEO names tend to be either short or shortened versions of popular first names. Onomastics specialist Dr. Frank Nuessel suggests that shortened versions of given names are often used to denote a sense of friendliness and openness. Female CEOs, on the other hand, use their full name to project a more professional image."

Maybe this study is on to something, because I see that the names Bruce (MPI) and Deborah (PCMA) are on the list. Hmm...