PCMA Creates Dedicated European Advisory Board to Deepen Regional Focus

PCMA is sharpening its approach to Europe with the creation of a dedicated European Advisory Board, bringing together business events leaders from across markets, sectors and professional backgrounds to help shape the association’s strategy, growth and impact across the continent.

The move represents an evolution of PCMA’s wider approach to EMEA. Informed by market intelligence, community feedback and the experience of its existing EMEA Advisory Board, the organisation is now developing distinct strategies and advisory structures for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, while keeping all three connected through an overarching EMEA strategy.

The rationale is straightforward: the business events landscape cannot be understood through a single regional lens.

“The world is changing faster than any of us can fully track, and the organizations that get ahead are the ones that can be deeply local while staying connected to something bigger,” said Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President and CEO of PCMA & CEMA. “That is exactly the combination this Advisory Board gives us in Europe — leaders who understand their markets from the inside, backed by the reach and perspective of a truly global community. Right now, that combination isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.”

The new European Advisory Board will meet for the first time in Lisbon (cover photo) ahead of Convening EMEA, taking place from 13 to 15 September 2026. Members will participate in a dedicated workshop examining the future direction and priorities for PCMA in Europe.

Its initial two-year term, running from 2026 to 2028, brings together leaders representing associations, convention bureaux, venues, agencies, technology and corporate organisations.

The newly appointed members are Monica Freire, COO, European Society of Endodontology; Sam Johnston, Manager, Dublin Convention Bureau; Patrick Keller, Director Sales – Locations of Messe München, Messe München GmbH; Sophie Morris, Managing Director, Worldspan Ltd; Christina Petrova, Senior Global Event Manager, Gartner; Steven Small, Vice President – Air Transport Events, Informa; Kim Smeets, Senior Congress Manager, European Society of Cardiology; Stephane Teboul, Co-Founder, bnetwork; and Helen van Oers, Executive Director, International Society of Endocrinology.
 

Eight leaders will also return for an extended term of up to two years: Eszter Aszody Mattiassich, Head of Global Events, Siemens Healthineers; Malin Erlandsson, Director of Sales, Svenska Mässan; Monica Garcia, Association Meetings Manager, Barcelona Convention Bureau; Clare Melton, Founder, Claremont Corporate Events Consulting; Jack Owens, Head of Sales, Horizons DMC by Tour Partner Group; Ulrike Tondorf, Brand Activation & Engagement Lead, Bayer; Eveline van der Pluijm-Degenhart, Manager Convention Bureau, Rotterdam Partners; and Kathleen Warden, Owner, K Warden Ltd.

Stephen Rose, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Communication Services at Siemens, will serve as Global Board Liaison, while Jaimé Bennett, Managing Director, EMEA, PCMA, will act as Staff Liaison.

Beyond providing strategic counsel, the Board is intended to function as a source of market intelligence for PCMA, identifying emerging trends, growth opportunities and challenges affecting Europe's business events community. Its members will also support stronger connections across markets, identify opportunities for collaboration and help ensure that PCMA’s education, experiences and community remain relevant to the changing requirements of business events professionals.

For Bennett, the new structure reflects a recognition that geographical proximity does not necessarily equate to market uniformity. “Europe is not one market, and our approach to the region has to reflect that,” said Jaimé Bennett, managing director, EMEA. “This Advisory Board brings together an incredible breadth of experience, influence and perspective from across our business events community, and their role is far from simply offering advice. We’ve listened carefully to what our community has told us, and this next chapter is about being far more intentional in how we grow across the region.”

That distinction is significant for an organisation seeking to develop its presence across a continent characterised by different economic conditions, association cultures, policy environments, business models and levels of market maturity. The composition of the Board reflects that diversity, bringing together perspectives from both the demand and supply sides of the business events ecosystem.

The creation of the European structure also comes at a moment when associations are reassessing how they operate internationally. Regional strategies increasingly need to balance global consistency with local relevance, particularly as destinations, organisers and professional communities face different pressures around talent, technology, sustainability, investment and the changing role of face-to-face events.

PCMA’s decision therefore goes beyond a change in governance architecture. The new Board gives the association a formal mechanism through which European market perspectives can feed into its strategic development, while maintaining the international connectivity that underpins its global model.

The first opportunity for the group to begin that work collectively will come in Lisbon in September. From there, its remit will be to help PCMA understand not simply where the European business events community is today, but where its different markets are heading and how a global organisation can remain relevant across all of them.
 

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