Message from the President and CEO

Welcome to the first edition of the PCO for 2023, on the theme of Collaboration – the Power of Us!

I love collaborating, the joy of working together towards a common goal and the exhilaration at the completion of a project is a feeling of euphoria, even after being a PCO for the last 30 years. Over the past few weeks, I have had the privilege of collaborating with the IAPCO Council members, headquarters staff, and IAPCO partners and colleagues at our Annual Meeting and General Assembly in Jerusalem for a very memorable and impactful experience.

A very special highlight during the meeting was the opportunity to engage and exchange ideas and contribute collectively, with our IAPCO family, to pack food parcels for SAHI - an organisation that was set up to help teenagers better themselves by volunteering to help others. Everyone was committed and even took initiative to speed up the process by tidying empty boxes and setting up a satellite packing table, helping to complete the task in no time. This was a collaboration in its purest form, and upon reflection, it made me proud to be a part of this special community.

Upon returning to Melbourne, another great collaboration was in action, AIME (Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event) at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year, AIME celebrated its 30th year, marking 30 years of partnership and unity in the Asia Pacific region. Great collaborations don’t just happen. Like any relationship, it takes partnership and a sense of mutual purpose to make it work well, and then the “magic” happens. As I embark on this new journey of being President of IAPCO for the next two years, I welcome the opportunity to collaborate with you.

Please do engage.

As I travelled home from Jerusalem following our 2023 Annual Meeting and General Assembly, I reflected about the many conversations I had with our attendees with a combination of humility and encouragement.

It is true what Henry Ford meant when he said: “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” This was no more evident than from those conversations and what I experienced onsite. Our IAPCO member hosts, Kenes and Ortra, demonstrated what it means to collaborate for the greater good, not only in the design, development and delivery of our programme and logistics but also through the experiences and knowledge we all gained from the diverse line-up of speakers and cultural experiences whilst there.

IAPCO continues to move forward with our community to achieve great success together. With a 100% membership retention rate in 2022, coupled with an increase in new priority programmes and heightened interest in membership and commercial partner enquiries we start 2023 with optimism and confidence. Similarly, our members have reported significant increase in current business activity and future opportunities across all regions as well as creating new alliances and collaborations that bring mutual long-term value to their clients and the wider meetings and events industry. Yes, there may still be some bumps in the road ahead, but with a collaborative mindset and the willingness to continue to push on, success is inevitable.

This edition of The PCO, features a number of articles and editorial contributions from our community that joined us either in-person or on-line in Jerusalem and represents a snapshot of the vision and determination of some, the collaborative mindset of many and the community that exists amongst all.

I hope you enjoy and are as encouraged as I am …