Associations World Congress & Expo

Laura Sprechmann is Acting CEO for Nobel Media AB, the entity within the Nobel Foundation that spreads knowledge about and raises interest in the Nobel Prize-awarded achievements to a global audience, through digital media and international events. 

Previously, Laura has worked as a Senior Consultant within strategic communication at one of the leading communication agencies in the Nordics, JKL (part of MSL Group/Publicis). 

Prior to that, she has worked within the media industry as journalist (print as well as for a radio series about Latin America for BBC World Radio), Content Manager for e-learning company K-World, as well as Media Analyst at consultancy Mediavision and Head of Format Development at Meter Film & Television in Stockholm. 

Laura holds an MBA in International Management from the University of London and a BA in Communications. 

 

Paul Welander has been Senior Advisor to the CEO at Volvo Car Group since January 1, 2018. Mr. Welander served as an Senior Vice President of Vehicle Line Management at Volvo Car Corporation since October 6, 2016. Mr. Welander has had several roles in Volvo Cars Executive Management as a Senior Vice President being responsible for the following areas since 2005. Quality & Customer Satisfaction 2005-2010 and 2012-2016, Research & Development 2010-2012, Human Resources 2013-2016 and Product Strategy & Vehicle Line Management 2015-2016.

Mr Welander was borned in Bankeryd, Sweden 1958. Made his military service in Eksjö and Södertälje 1978-1979 at ING 2 and ING 1 (engineering troops). Thereafter he moved to Gothenburg to study at Chalmers University of Technology and he took his Master of Science exam in Mechanical Engineering 1983. From 1983 he has been working at Volvo Cars in Sweden and USA. Mr Welander is married and has three children.

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LinkedIn: paul-welander-a855168/

Brenda Sanderson is an association executive and designer living and working in Montréal. She is Executive Director of IxDA, the global network dedicated to the professional practice of Interaction Design and was previously Managing Director of Icograda. Through her responsibilities at Icograda and her current position, she has worked in more than 25 countries—bridging cultures, language and timezones to use design for progressive change since 2005.

As IxDA's Executive Director, Brenda leads distributed, virtual teams who organize two annual international meetings for 1500+ attendees - Interaction Week and Interaction Latin America. Other programs include the annual Interaction Awards, IxDA Design Education Summit, and IxDA Student Design Charette. 

From 1994-2005, Brenda held successively more responsible creative positions in the publishing and advertising sectors. Her work for Nova Scotia Tourism was twice awarded the Canadian Advertising Campaign of the Year and she received the Kenneth R Wilson award from the Canadian Business Press. A highlight was designing Canada's identity for Expo 2000.

Brenda has served on numerous volunteer boards, including the Data Interoperability Standards Consortium, the Ottawa Tourism Client Advisory Board, and the National Council of the Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC). She is an Ambassador for INDIGO, the International Indigenous Design Network, and a member of the Mandela Poster Project Collective (MPPC). 

Brenda is a CGD certified member of the Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC).

Annalisa Ponchia is the Executive Officer of ESOT, the European Society for Organ Transplantation for over 3500 professional in the Transplantation field. An Association Executive managing a fully independent core structure she founded for ESOT, in 8 years ago. Annalisa has deep roots in the event industry and a career as entrepreneur running her own PCO company specialized in medical meetings. Annalisa is a certified professional with CMP and CMM designations and a speaker at association and meeting industry events. 
As director of the Society headquarter office, she is responsible, with an internal team, for the organization of all scientific and education events of the ESOT, as well as for the association management.  She holds a position in the Executive Board and in Council of the Association, for which she is consulted for strategic planning, partnership projects with the Pharma Industry and fund raising activities, marketing and communication developments. She has a substantial knowledge of the association environment and processes.

Steve Price is a Chartered Engineer with a business education from Cranfield and Oxford universities. After 20 years in the chemical industry building new plants and new businesses on three continents, he used the skills and networks he’d developed to create a unique not-for-profit industry association. 

Established in 2003 the European Institute for Industrial Leadership (EIIL) helps member companies in the process, plastics and engineering sectors, to research issues likely to affect their future leadership. This research feeds into programmes which help equip ‘next generation leaders’ with skills needed in their future workplace.

Steve has a passion for developing people and has contributed on this subject as an expert to the Consultative Committee for Industrial Change at the European Economic and Social Committee. For the last twelve years he has been a member of the Advisory Board of JADE the European Confederation of Junior Enterprises, was this year appointed to the Advisory Board of the World Council for Junior Enterprise, and is also engaged as a mentor to the Executive of the Erasmus Student Network.

Tamlynne has more than 17 years of experience in the conference and association industry, both locally and internationally, having worked on some of South Africa’s largest conferences and campaigns. She has a degree in psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand, where she received an award for the top psychology student while studying part-time. Through her studies, she developed a keen interest in neuropsychology and the impact that the brain has on consumer behaviour. She is the founder and chief ideas officer of idna (pronounced idea-NA) a strategic marketing agency specializing in association brand building and event and conference management.  Her background in psychology gives her a deep understanding of the human mind and how it impacts the decisions we make. She believes that associations have a unique opportunity to inspire change and influence policy and combines her knowledge of psychology, marketing and sociology to create touchpoints that are truly unforgettable.

Sarah was appointed CARA ED in 2013 after more than a decade as a research administrator. With the support of the CARA board and many other great volunteers, Sarah has brought many new programs and initiatives to CARA and looks forward to another year of increased services to our members. A Certified Association Executive, Sarah previously worked in various progressive roles at McMaster University, Associated Medical Services, University Health Network and Hamilton Health Sciences. Sarah co-authored the reference e-book  The A-Z Guide to Research Contract Review, its companion the Research Contracts Study Guide and  Steer Your Career: A Research Administrator's Manual for Mapping Success  which are in use at 450 institutions globally. Sarah received national and international recognition for her contributions to research administration and is a faculty member in the Research Administration Certificate at Mohawk College.

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LinkedIn: sarah-lampson-54159530/?originalSubdomain=uk

Director Projects and Events at Nobel Media AB, with responsibility as Director Projects and Events. Lena has headed the International Events for Nobel Media for six years, delivering Nobel Prize Dialogue formats and series in India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Chile etc. In Sweden the Nobel Week Dialouge in Stockholm/Gothenburg since 2012. Nobel Media’s mission is to spread knowledge about the Nobel Prize-awarded achievements and stimulate interest in science, literature and peace in the line with Alfred Nobel’s vision and legacy – ´for the greatest benefit of humankind´. 

Prior to this Lena founded an events company in Sweden 1997, until it was acquired in 2007 by Imagination Ltd, a Global Brand Experience Agency in London.

Lena has also been engaged in large global events such as Olympic Bids (Stockholm 2004) and Whitbread round the World race (now Volvo Ocean Race). Experience from the media industry as Project Manager Partners and advertising for TV4 in Sweden. 

Lena holds exams in Marketing and economy from IHM in Sweden as well as diploma from Novare Leadership Academy.

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LinkedIn: lena-abrahamsson-lund-62085411/?originalSubdomain=se/

Monica Fontana was born in the United States in 1965; she moved to Europe in 1970 and grew up in Parma (Italy). In 1991, while writing her university thesis, she started working for the ERA-EDTA, a charity based in England and Wales with more than 7,000 active members, various medical journals, a guideline body, a European registry and various working groups and committees. As the person in charge of the membership office, Monica was able to be aware of all the various activities of the Association, from the Registry activities (being also appointed at the financial manager of a EU funded project linked to the Registry), the fellowship initiatives, the research programmes, the educational courses. ERA-EDTA organizes the second largest annual nephrology Congress worldwide and Monica was actively involved in many of the activities done during the annual Congress especially linked to the various committees. From 1995 until 2016, working from home, she added many other tasks to her main duties: the bylaws, advisor to the President (and Council), advertising and public and international relations. In 2015, Monica became the Executive Manager of the ERA-EDTA and the CEO of a limited company owned by ERA-EDTA that organizes medical events, thus managing all the international operative staff of the association. In 2018 Monica was appointed as ERA-EDTA Executive Director.

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LinkedIn: monica-fontana-65316995/?originalSubdomain=it
Twitter: @monicafontana13

Sarah Goddard is the Secretary General of AMICE, the Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe. AMICE if the voice of the mutual and cooperative insurance market in Europe, which is responsible for more than 30% of European insurance business. AMICE’s focus is on the advocacy, assistance and promotion agendas, and like many similar organisations runs with a small Secretariat. Prior to joining AMICE, she was the CEO of DIMA (the Dublin International Insurance & Management Association), representing the interests of international re/insurers to the Irish government and European authorities for more than ten years. During that period, she held a number of government-related appointments and was instrumental in ensuring that European Directives properly responded to the European re/insurance market needs. Her earlier career was based in the London insurance market as a communications expert, journalist, editor and commentator with global business media and specialist international insurance publications, and in-house with Lloyd’s of London.

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Twitter: @https://twitter.com/sarahgoddardins?lang=en

Dr. ir. Jeroen Knol is Managing Director of the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST) and Editor in Chief of the online SME magazine Taste of Science. EFFoST is a non-profit organization that connects food science and food technology organizations in Europe and stimulates collaboration between universities, knowledge institutes and companies. Jeroen Knol received his PhD degree in Food Science at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. Prior to EFFoST, he worked for Wageningen Food & Biobased Research successively as product developer, business development manager and senior scientist in food design and structuring. He has coordinated different multi-disciplinary projects (national, EU and international) on food reformulation, sustainable foods, novel processing technologies and product development. With his knowledge about food and the food chain, he helps organizations find solutions for a more sustainable and healthy food supply.

Nika is an experienced event project manager with 15+ years of experience in even in hospitality industry. Most recently she worked as Head of Events for World Association of Girls Guides and Girl Scouts, a membership organisation with 150 national Member Organisations with 10 million members and 1.5 million volunteers. Previously she worked in high end hotels and venues as event and sales manager, and has worked on state visits amongst other. Nika is passionate about event project management and development of processes that support delivering successful events.

Rodney Cox is the Events Director for the International Gas Union (IGU).  Founded in 1931 the IGU represents more than 90% of the global gas market through it National Association membership. Rodney has over 20 years’ event management experience, across five continents; this includes trade exhibitions, conferences and consumer shows – mostly on behalf of industry associations. He previously served as Vice President of the Exhibition and Event Association of Australia (EEAA) and twice headed the Best Show Team winners at the EEAA Awards of Excellence, for the 16th International Conference and Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG 15 Algeria in 2010) and 26th World Gas Conference (WGC 2015 in France). For more than fifteen years Rodney has lectured at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the University of Technology, Sydney.
 

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LinkedIn: rodneycoxeventinnovator/?originalSubdomain=au

Holger Omlor has been working in the MICE industry for more than 15 years. He has broad experience in designing and organizing a wide variety of conferences, meetings and events. Together with the EAIE Events Team, he ensures the high quality of the EAIE Annual Conference & Exhibition as well as other EAIE meetings and events.

Drilona Shtjefni has been working in EU affairs and projects since 2014. Based in Brussels, she has previous experience in the telecom field as a Government Affairs Coordinator for GSM Association, the biggest advocacy organisation on the telecom and IT sector. Drilona has an international and energy projects-focus background, having worked not only in Belgium, for the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea, but also in Chile for Business News Americas. 
Drilona has a double master studies on International Relations and Business Management by the University di Florence, University of Zurich and University Carlos III de Madrid. Furthermore, she has successfully completed two MOOCs at the Wagenigen University & Research on Nutrition & Health and Biobased Processes and Implementation.

Lately, she has been Charing the European Biopolymer Summit 2018, EUBCE 2018 and awarded as best Young Association Executive of the Year 2018.
 

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LinkedIn: drilona-shtjefni-a7379b85/
Twitter: @DrilonaShtjefni

Turgut Tatlisumak is professor of neurology and stroke medicine at University of Gothenburg. He was the local organizer of European Stroke Organisation Conference in May 2018 in Gothenburg, Sweden that attracted over 4 500 participants. Dr Tatlisumak is a neurologist holding degrees in medical teaching and administration. He was founding member of ESO, among the founders of ESO Conference, long-time treasurer to ESO, and currently fellow of ESO.

Director Projects and Events at Nobel Media AB, with responsibility as Director Projects and Events. Lena has headed the International Events for Nobel Media for six years, delivering Nobel Prize Dialogue formats and series in India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Chile etc. In Sweden the Nobel Week Dialouge in Stockholm/Gothenburg since 2012. Nobel Media’s mission is to spread knowledge about the Nobel Prize-awarded achievements and stimulate interest in science, literature and peace in the line with Alfred Nobel’s vision and legacy – ´for the greatest benefit of humankind´. 

Prior to this Lena founded an events company in Sweden 1997, until it was acquired in 2007 by Imagination Ltd, a Global Brand Experience Agency in London.

Lena has also been engaged in large global events such as Olympic Bids (Stockholm 2004) and Whitbread round the World race (now Volvo Ocean Race). Experience from the media industry as Project Manager Partners and advertising for TV4 in Sweden. 

Lena holds exams in Marketing and economy from IHM in Sweden as well as diploma from Novare Leadership Academy.

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LinkedIn: lena-abrahamsson-lund-62085411/?originalSubdomain=se/

Andreas Veilstrup Andersen is the CEO and President of the Liseberg Group, running one of Scandinavia's biggest amusement park in Gothenburg, Sweden. Andreas' has a legal and financial background, and has been working in the amusement park industry since 2000, first at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark, and later as Executive Director of IAAPA's (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) European operations in Brussels, Belgium. Andreas was the Chairman of IAAPA in 2018, and currently serves on the Board as an officer.’

No bio provided

For the last 15 years, Guy has been delivering award-winning consulting services focused on helping cities, governments, corporations and associations step up, scale up and speed up their sustainability programmes and smart event practices. He is a recognised expert on creating association and corporate sustainability programmes through multi stakeholder collaboration and co-creation. In 2015 Guy launched the Global Destinations Sustainability Index to accelerate the development and performance of sustainable business tourism destinations. Today over 50 cities are participating in the www.gds-index.com 

From 2006 to 2018, Guy was the Sustainability Director of MCI where he launched and managed a CSR program that positioned MCI to be an award winning sustainability champion, and the organiser of over 1000 events about sustainable development, Smart Cities and energy. Guy is a passionate and outstanding communicator, who has delivered over 300 keynote presentations and facilitated workshops engaging over 35,000 participants in more than 40 countries. Guy’s pioneering work has been recognised with 21 sustainability awards including the Events Industry Council Pacesetter Award.

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LinkedIn: guybigwood

Christian Blomstrand is professor emeritus in Neurology, at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. Earlier chief of clinical Neurodepartments at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital and for some decades scientist first within basic  Neurobiology, later within Clinical Neuroscience with focus on stroke.

Mary Ellen Brennan, SPHR, SHRM-SCP has 20 years' experience in human resources in professional associations and law firms.  Her areas of expertise include executive and leadership coaching, workforce planning, organizational culture, performance management, and work/life programs such as telework, recruiting, and project management.  She facilitates and leads personal and professional development training, as well as strategic planning and team-building retreats. She managed the development of AIHA's award-winning career stages project which defined the skills and experience needed by members at various stages in their careers, leading to additional opportunities for the association.  Mary Ellen has coached association members on resume writing, interviewing, and job search skills.  A graduate of the UMUC MBA program, Mary Ellen has continued her learning by obtaining certification in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, as well as training in Lean Six Sigma, advanced facilitation skills and project management. She holds the highest level of certifications in human resource management.  

Laura leads Accountancy Europe’s communications to increase our impact on decision makers.

A lawyer by training, she gathered broad experience in global accountancy matters since 2005, including at the International Federation of Accountants, Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants, and Dutch Association of Register Controllers. 

Andy Burman is an experienced CEO, company director and charity trustee. Having led the British Dietetic Association to become a multi award winning association over the past 16 years, he is a governance and business development expert. He is also a visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster and sits on several national committees and working groups which influence government policy. Through SEBCO Consulting he provides support and advice to the association sector. Using a variety of trusted consultants and experts he has assisted many associations to grow and develop through innovative approaches to change management.

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Twitter: @BDAAndyBurman

Andrea joined Accountancy Europe as Senior Advisor in 2018.

Previously, she was Head of Communications at the Brussels office of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, where she managed political outreach campaigns on sustainable mobility. She has an LLM in International Economic Law and has held various communications posts in trade associations and consultancies in Brussels. She is a Canadian national and began her career in international affairs in Okayama, Japan.

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LinkedIn: andrea-campbell-093a1512/

As Senior Communications Specialist at the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union in Brussels, Brigit is responsible for external communications, using digital communications, targeted campaigns, social media, and the production of infographics and videos to further AmCham EU's advocacy work. Brigit also works on branding, reputation management and positioning AmCham EU as a thought leader on key policy issues. Previously Brigit worked at global public relations firm FleishmanHillard, focused on delivering stakeholder outreach and communications campaigns for major clients in the energy sector. Brigit holds a Bachelor’s degree in Global Studies and French from the University of Minnesota and a Master’s degree in EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges. Brigit is a US national and speaks fluent French.

Inbar has escorted 60 associations and was involved in organizing over 170 association congresses. She is the former Managing director of Kenes UK and today she is a consultant and mentor of some of the largest Medical Associations in Europe, supporting them in reaching association’s goals for growth, profit, education and high level of service. Inbar has a strong financial and operational expertise and deep understanding of association’s challenges including regulations, legislation, compliance, financial planning and risk management.

Andrew Chamberlain is a former association Chief Executive and is now Managing Director of Consort Strategy, a consultancy firm specializing in leadership development, organisation improvement, good governance and business growth. For over 10 years he held senior leadership positions in professional associations and membership bodies across the UK. Prior to this he spent several years working on education and environmental policy at the Scottish Government in Edinburgh and in the Ministry of Education in Wellington, New Zealand. Based in Cambridge in the UK, Andrew travels internationally to provide consultancy support on association governance, leadership and management.
 

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Twitter: @consortstrategy

Simon Colboc is the founder of Mawen SPRL, a company dedicated to developing innovative investment offerings. He is a member of the consultative committee of FECIF, the European Federation of Financial Advisors and Intermediaries, grouping more than 15 national associations and direct corporate members and representing some 240,000 advisors at European level.
Simon has over 25 years’ experience in Financial Services, both as an executive (both in banking with Fortis and BNP Paribas and in insurance with Prudential Plc) and as a business consultant (with The Boston Consulting Group, DiamondCluster and CMI). He has lived in Hong Kong, London and Paris and is now based in Brussels with his wife and two grown-up children.

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LinkedIn: simon-colboc-5a287/?originalSubdomain=be

Michael Collins is a specialist providing consultancy and mentoring in data strategy and the use of marketing databases and CRM. He is a Chartered Marketer and a Fellow of the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing and has taught database marketing and CRM at several London university business schools. 

Why listen to this speaker
With more than 30 years’ consultancy experience in providing direction on customer insight and building customer relationships he has worked with clients in most sectors especially membership organisations and charities.

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LinkedIn: micollins/?originalSubdomain=uk
Twitter: @dmcounsel

Chris is the CEO of the DMA Group, comprising the DMA, IDM and TPSL associations. He has over 35 years’ experience across advertising and marketing experience in Europe, the USA and Asia/Pacific including senior roles at agencies, brands and technology companies. 

Chris launched his career in New York with Young & Rubicam in 1982 after two years in TV production. His 12 years at Y&R included 5 years in Asia, from 1989, initially as regional account director for Dentsu Young & Rubicam (DY&R) and then as General Manager of Wunderman Hong Kong before founding the Wunderman office in Singapore in 1992. 

Chris moved to London in 1994 as European media and sourcing director for Franklin Mint and created his own on-line catalogue company (Living Heritage) in 1998. From 2000 to 2009, Chris developed Emailvision (now Smartfocus) into Europe's leading email service provider (ESP) in his dual roles of Chief Operating Officer and UK Managing Director. 

In addition to his commercial activity, Chris has taken a lead in industry issues including legislation, best practice and education. His industry roles include being Co-Chair of FEDMA, Chair of the JIC Mail board, and seats on the boards of the Advertising Association, Asbof and CAP.

Rodney Cox is the Events Director for the International Gas Union (IGU).  Founded in 1931 the IGU represents more than 90% of the global gas market through it National Association membership. Rodney has over 20 years’ event management experience, across five continents; this includes trade exhibitions, conferences and consumer shows – mostly on behalf of industry associations. He previously served as Vice President of the Exhibition and Event Association of Australia (EEAA) and twice headed the Best Show Team winners at the EEAA Awards of Excellence, for the 16th International Conference and Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG 15 Algeria in 2010) and 26th World Gas Conference (WGC 2015 in France). For more than fifteen years Rodney has lectured at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the University of Technology, Sydney.
 

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LinkedIn: rodneycoxeventinnovator/?originalSubdomain=au

Originally trained as an Architect, Gavin initially practised in North America with a large construction engineering consultancy before returning to the UK to specialise in the energy and environmental performance of buildings in 1198.

Gavin has continued to advance this specialism through a number of positions. At the Welsh School of Architecture he was researcher within the Centre for Research in the built environment. He also held a Technical Executive role at the Chartered association of Building Engineers where amongst other activities, he led the Association's research and the rollout of Part L 2006 within Building Control. Gavin was Group Operations Director at Elmhurst Energy before taking the role as Director of BREEAM at the Building Research Establishment (BRE).

In April 2018, Gavin was appointed as CEO at CABE and is responsible for developing the position at CABE by raising the profile of the Association, with a view to increasing its influence with industry and government in order to have an impact on policy and standards. He is also responsible for promoting the unique role its members have in creating better buildings and safer and healthier communities to improve the environment and economy and further its international reach.

Camilla is an award-winning communications, marketing and membership expert with over 13 years’ experience working in strategic membership and marketing roles within B2B and B2C associations across the sport, leisure and healthcare sectors.

In her current Head of Membership role as part of the senior management team at the British Dietetic Association (BDA), Camilla is responsible for having helped transform the organisation to become member-oriented. In doing so she has significantly grown annual member recruitment, retention, engagement and satisfaction rates, and delivered a successful CRM/CMS integration project.

She won Young Association Executive of the Year in 2017, and helped the BDA and her team win Member Engagement Award 2015, Best Social Media Campaign 2016 and 2018, and Best Member E-newsletter 2018.

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Twitter: @@MillyDurrant

Amy is Educational Programmes Manager for the European Respiratory Society (ERS), a non-profit membership society with over 30,000 members representing over 160 countries worldwide, with an annual congress that attracts more than 22,000 respiratory health professionals each year.  

Amy has 14+ years of experience in working in membership organisations, with the last 10 focussed primarily on the strategy, development, implementation and evaluation of a whole range of educational interventions ranging from events, online courses, and fully blended learning structured training programmes to live broadcasted medical procedures.

Monica Fontana was born in the United States in 1965; she moved to Europe in 1970 and grew up in Parma (Italy). In 1991, while writing her university thesis, she started working for the ERA-EDTA, a charity based in England and Wales with more than 7,000 active members, various medical journals, a guideline body, a European registry and various working groups and committees. As the person in charge of the membership office, Monica was able to be aware of all the various activities of the Association, from the Registry activities (being also appointed at the financial manager of a EU funded project linked to the Registry), the fellowship initiatives, the research programmes, the educational courses. ERA-EDTA organizes the second largest annual nephrology Congress worldwide and Monica was actively involved in many of the activities done during the annual Congress especially linked to the various committees. From 1995 until 2016, working from home, she added many other tasks to her main duties: the bylaws, advisor to the President (and Council), advertising and public and international relations. In 2015, Monica became the Executive Manager of the ERA-EDTA and the CEO of a limited company owned by ERA-EDTA that organizes medical events, thus managing all the international operative staff of the association. In 2018 Monica was appointed as ERA-EDTA Executive Director.

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LinkedIn: monica-fontana-65316995/?originalSubdomain=it
Twitter: @monicafontana13

As a UK national, I worked as a senior marketing professional (Chartered MCIM) for 15 years in the UK (with assignments across Europe and the US). I have worked with venture capitalists, not for profits and SMEs, in the technology education and training market – responsible for directing marketing strategy to implementing tactical marketing and communications plans – and everything in between.

In 2010 I had the work-life balance debate and decided, with my family, to make a move to the sunny idyll of the Ardèche Gorges in SE France and set up a business as a freelance marketer. Through my freelance work, I joined PWN Global to help support their community management and flesh out their communications strategy. The more I researched the gender balanced leadership debate, the more I realised that I wanted to make this client my full time job. I took on the role of Head of Global Marketing and Communications so that I could really focus on communicating to the world about the varied range of conscious and sub-conscious barriers that exist for female leaders. I am driven by knowing that I am improving the professional world for the next generation of female leaders.

After over 11 years heading up the UK promotional merchandise association – BPMA, Gordon decided to launch his own consultancy and training business with specific focus on strategy, leadership and business growth. He has also worked in a range of different senior sales and management roles within major international drinks brands, one of which was managing Whitbread a £20m customer, he was also the youngest ever regional sales manager at 25.

Gordon has been an award judge for the BPMA student design competition, the Institute of Sales Management and the Institute of Promotional Marketing. He is a qualified digital marketer and has been the publishing director of Product Media magazine which grew from nothing to replace the industry magazine.

He was also instrumental in the first industry trade show which now with a partner company, replaced the incumbent leader and generated significant funds for the association. He launched the first Promotional Products Week and also the UKs first online education programme for the promotional products industry.

Membership revenues rose almost every year since 2007. The recession hit the industry hard. The BPMA was the smaller of the two trade associations in 2007, the other Promota is almost now non-existent. Gordon launched the BPMAs first conference in 2016 which was a huge success both in terms of engagement and profit. 

As well as running his own rewards and recognition business, he is also a key note speaker and regularly spoken at international events. He has also chaired conferences and sought excellent speakers for events.

Sarah Goddard is the Secretary General of AMICE, the Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe. AMICE if the voice of the mutual and cooperative insurance market in Europe, which is responsible for more than 30% of European insurance business. AMICE’s focus is on the advocacy, assistance and promotion agendas, and like many similar organisations runs with a small Secretariat. Prior to joining AMICE, she was the CEO of DIMA (the Dublin International Insurance & Management Association), representing the interests of international re/insurers to the Irish government and European authorities for more than ten years. During that period, she held a number of government-related appointments and was instrumental in ensuring that European Directives properly responded to the European re/insurance market needs. Her earlier career was based in the London insurance market as a communications expert, journalist, editor and commentator with global business media and specialist international insurance publications, and in-house with Lloyd’s of London.

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Twitter: @https://twitter.com/sarahgoddardins?lang=en

Prior to establishing E AND H in 2005, David held a number of senior operational and programme management positions in large organisations in the public and non-profit sectors including with the Cities of Liverpool and Birmingham, and for one of the UK’s largest Housing Associations.  In recent years, David has focused on working with Membership organisations to identify appropriate IT and CRM strategies, deliver successful CRM and website projects and improve procurement, supplier and contract management.  David also understands the Membership and Associations sector from a member perspective, having been a director and trustee of the Association for Project Management (APM) and is currently on the Institute of Directors’ Cumbria Branch Committee.

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LinkedIn: davidhartateandh/?originalSubdomain=uk
Twitter: @clearwayforward

Mounia is the scientific advisor and education manager of EASL (European Association for the Study of the Liver). After receiving her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Stockholm, Sweden, Mounia pursued her post-doctoral research in Molecular Biology at the Geneva University, Switzerland. In 2010, she was recruited to the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition at the Hospital University of Geneva. In 2015, she has decided to widen her horizons by joining EASL where she is involved in the eLearning development. Her communication skills and scientific background have allowed her to implement a new strategy for content dissemination. Her role as scientific advisor consists in collaborating and advising the Marketing and Communications, Corporate Relations and Public Affairs departments as well as the governing board.

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LinkedIn: mounia-h-888ba2165/
Twitter: @https://twitter.com/heddadmasson?lang=bg

Damian is Executive Director and founder of the Association of Association Executives, the largest information, education and networking organisation for association executives in the UK and in Europe with over 23,500 members and subscribers. The AAE organises the Associations Congress Series, Association Leaders Forums, Conferences and Masterclasses, and produces primary research reports, Association Insights magazine. Contributory membership is free of charge, and includes access to a huge and valuable resurce centre of educational and informative content.

Strategist and extreme artist painting in extreme places all over the world to explore what is required to be creative everywhere. He shares the insights to help leaders and leading organisations tackle the biggest challenges they face. He has worked with some of the world’s leading organisations including The WHO, Red Cross, UNICEF, Global Fund, HP, P&G & Unilever. He has helped leading medical associations ESDR, ESRA, EASL, ESOT and IOF develop strategies. Alex is the founding partner of Creative Leadership Partners

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/becreativeeverywhere/
Twitter: @@artisinside

Anil is a chartered civil engineer with over 3 decades of experience that includes transport planning, traffic engineering, project management and direction, business development, direction of operations and management consultancy roles. Anil has lived and worked in UK, USA, India and UAE.  

Following a long career with consultancy practices Arup, Mott Macdonald, Mouchel, WSP and Capita, Anil is currently ACE’s Chief Operating Officer. ACE is UK’s leading business association representing companies delivering professional consultancy services in the built and natural environment. In 2018 Anil was responsible for steering a reverse mentoring initiative that was well received in the industry.

Anil has a BSc (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering from University of Dundee, an MSc in Transport from Imperial College and a Masters in Project Management from Western Carolina University. He is a Member of the Institute of Directors and also a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers for which he additionally serves as a Professional Reviewer and Auditor.

Kevan Jones is the Executive Director of the Southern African Communications Industries Association (SACIA). He’s spent the last decade working in the not-for-profit sector across Africa and the Middle East. Kevan holds a master’s degree from Regents University London School of Psychology and Psychotherapy. He also holds CAE designations from both the American and Canadian Societies of Association Executives, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Association Management in the UK.

Lodewijk Klootwijk is chief executive of the European Golf Course Owners Association (EGCOA). This organization represents 14 national owners associations and more than 900 courses in 21 countries in Europe. The association was founded in 2004 and has three main goals: Grow the game of Golf, Represent the Golf Course owners on a European level and Professionalize the golf business.

Lodewijk is also chief executive of the Dutch Golf Course Owners Association. Lodewijk is member of the advisory council of the Golf Environment Organisation, treasurer of the Dutch Turfgrass research Foundation and member of the Education Policy Board of CMAE.

Lodewijk is passionate about the growth of the game of golf. He is dedicated to find what it takes to get and keep people into golf. In his 25 years in the industry in various roles he keeps picking up new insights. The world is changing, so is or should golf.

Dr. ir. Jeroen Knol is Managing Director of the European Federation of Food Science and Technology (EFFoST) and Editor in Chief of the online SME magazine Taste of Science. EFFoST is a non-profit organization that connects food science and food technology organizations in Europe and stimulates collaboration between universities, knowledge institutes and companies. Jeroen Knol received his PhD degree in Food Science at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. Prior to EFFoST, he worked for Wageningen Food & Biobased Research successively as product developer, business development manager and senior scientist in food design and structuring. He has coordinated different multi-disciplinary projects (national, EU and international) on food reformulation, sustainable foods, novel processing technologies and product development. With his knowledge about food and the food chain, he helps organizations find solutions for a more sustainable and healthy food supply.

Nika is an experienced event project manager with 15+ years of experience in even in hospitality industry. Most recently she worked as Head of Events for World Association of Girls Guides and Girl Scouts, a membership organisation with 150 national Member Organisations with 10 million members and 1.5 million volunteers. Previously she worked in high end hotels and venues as event and sales manager, and has worked on state visits amongst other. Nika is passionate about event project management and development of processes that support delivering successful events.

Following a period of teaching analytical sciences to veterinary students and zoologists Abi embarked on a career outside of the lecture laboratory to work on national programmes such as the National Teaching and Learning Programme which required leadership at the regional level.

Abi later took responsibility for the quality of London’s learning and skills provision through the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, working with central government agencies and the regulator, Ofsted on quality improvement interventions. Over the last 6 years Abi has worked with a range of professional membership bodies and associations in a transformational capacity, providing strategic and operational direction.

Sarah was appointed CARA ED in 2013 after more than a decade as a research administrator. With the support of the CARA board and many other great volunteers, Sarah has brought many new programs and initiatives to CARA and looks forward to another year of increased services to our members. A Certified Association Executive, Sarah previously worked in various progressive roles at McMaster University, Associated Medical Services, University Health Network and Hamilton Health Sciences. Sarah co-authored the reference e-book  The A-Z Guide to Research Contract Review, its companion the Research Contracts Study Guide and  Steer Your Career: A Research Administrator's Manual for Mapping Success  which are in use at 450 institutions globally. Sarah received national and international recognition for her contributions to research administration and is a faculty member in the Research Administration Certificate at Mohawk College.

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LinkedIn: sarah-lampson-54159530/?originalSubdomain=uk

Stéphanie Luong is the Vice-President of Public Affairs for amfori, the leading business association for open and sustainable trade, which brings together over 2,300 retailers, importers, brands and associations from more than 40 countries. In this position, she leads a newly integrated team including stakeholder engagement, governmental affairs activities, marketing and communications as well as the governance of the organisation itself. Stéphanie is responsible for aligning a diverse portfolio of work against critical business objectives to support the strategic marketing and communications, intelligence gathering, alliance building and advocacy to the benefit of amfori, its mission and its members. With 15 years of experience in the association world, Stephanie led several roles in communications, public relations, industry advocacy, governance and organisational transformation before becoming Vice-President of Public Affairs.

Caroline has worked in the business event industry for over 25 years, working with association and corporate clients predominantly within life science, pharma and heathcare disciplines.

During this period she has seen how meetings and events have been impacted by external factors such as: regulatory compliance; the increase in the experiential demands of delegates at face to face meetings; and the desire by organisation to create tangible legacies 

Dr. James Morgan has been marketing and producing events since 1989. He was named as one of Eventbrite’s Top 100 Event Professionals in 2016. He was also voted as one of the Top 20 Industry Changemakers for 2017 by US publication Meetings Net magazine. He is a Principal Lecturer in Event Design and Technology and the Digital Innovator at the College of Design, Creative and Digital Industries, University of Westminster, London. He is also the Founder of Event Tech Lab, a global partnership community for event technology start-ups, developers, event professionals and investors.

Gabrielle Mouterde is a successful and creative events manager with seven years’ experience delivering top quality events for membership organisations.
Gabrielle has delivered a wide range of events and helped to increase both revenue and engagement. She aspires to be the Karen Brady of the events world.

Miguel is an experienced event professional and passionate social media advocate who regularly speaks, consults, and trains teams on social media, digital marketing and event technology.

Miguel started his career as a planner and since 2009 he is focused on event technology and online communication. From 2011 to 2017 he played an important part in developing the IMEX Group’s digital content and social media presence. Since 2017 Miguel has worked independently helping organisations to develop social media and digital communication strategies.

Miguel holds a masters degree in Conference and Events Management from the University of Westminster and is certified as a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and a Digital Event Strategist (DES). He sits on the International Board of Directors of Meeting Professionals International and is past-Chair of Events Industry Council’s Industry Insights Committee.

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Twitter: @miguelseven

'Futurist' Matt O'Neill helps organisations make better decisions by understanding what’s just around the corner. He's particularly interested in the crossover between humans and technology and appreciates thoughtful, positive people who love discussing new ideas. You can find him here: http://www.futuristmatt.com/ . 

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LinkedIn: mattone/

Helen Oldfield is an experienced marketing director with 20 years’ experience working within the professional body sector. She worked for six years from 1986 for the Chartered Institute of Quality (CQI) as editor and then head of communications, and in 1993 moved to head up the marketing team for 11 years at the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM). Helen is currently Sales & Marketing Director at the Market Research Society (MRS) responsible for the organisation’s sales and marketing activities as well as managing the product teams for training, membership, and company accreditation. She is passionate about the role that professional bodies play in their sector in upskilling and enabling both individuals and organisations to make a difference and flourish.

Holger Omlor has been working in the MICE industry for more than 15 years. He has broad experience in designing and organizing a wide variety of conferences, meetings and events. Together with the EAIE Events Team, he ensures the high quality of the EAIE Annual Conference & Exhibition as well as other EAIE meetings and events.

Tajinder Panesor MInstP holds a first degree in Applied Biochemistry and a master’s degree in Environmental Pollution Science. Following the completion of his studies he joined IOP Events Ltd in April 1998, organising national and international technical training courses. 

He took up a role with the policy team of the Institute of Physics in March 2000, where he became Manager, Science Policy in June 2006. He was instrumental in raising both the profile and influence of the IOP’s policy work through a number of activities, including the publication of influential reports such as the Finances of University Physics Departments, and the Review of UK Nuclear Physics Research. 

In July 2014 he became the IOP’s Head of International and is responsible for international affairs, which includes capacity building in developing and emerging economies. In June 2016, alongside his international duties, he took over responsibility for the valued-based offer, recruitment and engagement, and the provision of careers and CPD resources in support of the professional development of members, as Head of Member Services. As of July 2018 he took on additional responsibility for membership administration, and professional registration and progression, and is now the IOP’s Head of Membership.

Annalisa Ponchia is the Executive Officer of ESOT, the European Society for Organ Transplantation for over 3500 professional in the Transplantation field. An Association Executive managing a fully independent core structure she founded for ESOT, in 8 years ago. Annalisa has deep roots in the event industry and a career as entrepreneur running her own PCO company specialized in medical meetings. Annalisa is a certified professional with CMP and CMM designations and a speaker at association and meeting industry events. 
As director of the Society headquarter office, she is responsible, with an internal team, for the organization of all scientific and education events of the ESOT, as well as for the association management.  She holds a position in the Executive Board and in Council of the Association, for which she is consulted for strategic planning, partnership projects with the Pharma Industry and fund raising activities, marketing and communication developments. She has a substantial knowledge of the association environment and processes.

Steve Price is a Chartered Engineer with a business education from Cranfield and Oxford universities. After 20 years in the chemical industry building new plants and new businesses on three continents, he used the skills and networks he’d developed to create a unique not-for-profit industry association. 

Established in 2003 the European Institute for Industrial Leadership (EIIL) helps member companies in the process, plastics and engineering sectors, to research issues likely to affect their future leadership. This research feeds into programmes which help equip ‘next generation leaders’ with skills needed in their future workplace.

Steve has a passion for developing people and has contributed on this subject as an expert to the Consultative Committee for Industrial Change at the European Economic and Social Committee. For the last twelve years he has been a member of the Advisory Board of JADE the European Confederation of Junior Enterprises, was this year appointed to the Advisory Board of the World Council for Junior Enterprise, and is also engaged as a mentor to the Executive of the Erasmus Student Network.

Valli is a senior executive in eLearning design for professional education who has created and deployed multi award-winning digital learning solutions for a global audience. Valli specialises in the development of digital learning solutions that help professionals to develop their management and accounting skills. Valli is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and of the Learning and Performance Institute and is currently studying for an MA in Education and Technology at UCL Institute of Education.

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LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/valli-rajagopal/
Twitter: @@ValliRajagopal

Lorraine has extensive events management experience having spent a year at the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, nearly five years as Head of Business and Events at the Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, over seven years at the Royal Aeronautical Society where she was head of the Conference and Events Department and almost three years at a corporate events management agency prior to that. Lorraine’s first major event was during the final year of a Maths and Computer Science degree at the University of York when she co-organised the 13th British Juggling Convention, a four day festival for over 1,000 people.  She started working for the Biochemical Society as Head of Conferences and Events in October 2016.
 
 

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Twitter: @LorraineMReese

Leslie is the Founder of Open Audience. He is an audience engagement specialist, who started the company in 2015 with a vision of making boring meetings more engaging.

Before founding Open Audience, Leslie enjoyed a 26-year career with AstraZeneca, where he held many senior leadership roles around the world.

Since establishing Open Audience, Leslie has delivered events and projects for the majority of the top ten global healthcare organisations, across four continents.

Leslie also facilitates and presents at events and provides executive leadership coaching. Recent events include executive presence workshops for global clinical leaders, operational effectiveness and engagement change programmes, and product launches.

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robertsonleslie
Twitter: @OpenAudience

Jane works with chief officers, senior teams and membership organisations/associations helping them to remain competitive and relevant, and getting the right technology to drive the organisation forward.  From a career that started in meteorology, Jane moved to IT, projects and change management, and has worked across the not-for-profit sector with a range of different organisations who were looking to change and embrace both digital and business transformation.  Jane is a specialist in helping clients find their clear way forward and developing collaborative working environments between people, organisations and suppliers

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LinkedIn: janeroyden/?originalSubdomain=uk
Twitter: @ClearWayForward

Brenda Sanderson is an association executive and designer living and working in Montréal. She is Executive Director of IxDA, the global network dedicated to the professional practice of Interaction Design and was previously Managing Director of Icograda. Through her responsibilities at Icograda and her current position, she has worked in more than 25 countries—bridging cultures, language and timezones to use design for progressive change since 2005.

As IxDA's Executive Director, Brenda leads distributed, virtual teams who organize two annual international meetings for 1500+ attendees - Interaction Week and Interaction Latin America. Other programs include the annual Interaction Awards, IxDA Design Education Summit, and IxDA Student Design Charette. 

From 1994-2005, Brenda held successively more responsible creative positions in the publishing and advertising sectors. Her work for Nova Scotia Tourism was twice awarded the Canadian Advertising Campaign of the Year and she received the Kenneth R Wilson award from the Canadian Business Press. A highlight was designing Canada's identity for Expo 2000.

Brenda has served on numerous volunteer boards, including the Data Interoperability Standards Consortium, the Ottawa Tourism Client Advisory Board, and the National Council of the Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC). She is an Ambassador for INDIGO, the International Indigenous Design Network, and a member of the Mandela Poster Project Collective (MPPC). 

Brenda is a CGD certified member of the Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC).

John Scarrott is a Trainer and Coach working with Association professionals on their approach to influential communication in areas such as selling, speaking and presenting and networking. A former Membership Director, he has over 20-years’ experience in these areas across the business to business publishing and not for profit sectors. He is Associate Certified Coach (ACC) Credentialed with the International Coach Federation and an international speaker working with Association professionals in UK, Europe, India and Australia. You can find out more about him at johnscarrott.com 

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LinkedIn: http://john-scarrott-acc-81b793a/?originalSubdomain=uk
Twitter: @JohnDScarrott

Drilona Shtjefni has been working in EU affairs and projects since 2014. Based in Brussels, she has previous experience in the telecom field as a Government Affairs Coordinator for GSM Association, the biggest advocacy organisation on the telecom and IT sector. Drilona has an international and energy projects-focus background, having worked not only in Belgium, for the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea, but also in Chile for Business News Americas. 
Drilona has a double master studies on International Relations and Business Management by the University di Florence, University of Zurich and University Carlos III de Madrid. Furthermore, she has successfully completed two MOOCs at the Wagenigen University & Research on Nutrition & Health and Biobased Processes and Implementation.

Lately, she has been Charing the European Biopolymer Summit 2018, EUBCE 2018 and awarded as best Young Association Executive of the Year 2018.
 

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LinkedIn: drilona-shtjefni-a7379b85/
Twitter: @DrilonaShtjefni

Cecilia Spoor, Leadership Programme Director, has been managing our series of CEO meetings and supporting the Network since 2010, and now manages the Associations Leadership Programme.
Cecilia has extensive experience in organising research, executive meetings and education for CEOs in the world’s leading companies, engaging with associations regularly.

Laura Sprechmann is Acting CEO for Nobel Media AB, the entity within the Nobel Foundation that spreads knowledge about and raises interest in the Nobel Prize-awarded achievements to a global audience, through digital media and international events. 

Previously, Laura has worked as a Senior Consultant within strategic communication at one of the leading communication agencies in the Nordics, JKL (part of MSL Group/Publicis). 

Prior to that, she has worked within the media industry as journalist (print as well as for a radio series about Latin America for BBC World Radio), Content Manager for e-learning company K-World, as well as Media Analyst at consultancy Mediavision and Head of Format Development at Meter Film & Television in Stockholm. 

Laura holds an MBA in International Management from the University of London and a BA in Communications. 

 

Gabriela Suhoschi has helped transform SIWI’s World Water Week from an ordinary congress into a
global movement. Over the past eight years Gabriela’s expertise in international events and business
has attracted a broad new set of actors and innovators to the world’s most influential movement
transforming global water challenges and helped place World Water Week at the heart of
international water policy. Through her efforts, and those of the World Water Week community, the
conference boasts nearly 50% participation by female water professionals and 25% by professionals
under the age of 35, numbers unseen in similar conferences, yet essential to achieving a water wise
world. World Water Week isn’t just about talking the talk, it’s about walking the walk, and setting
forward an agenda for the world we want.

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LinkedIn: gabriela-suhoschi-90431417/

Lynsey is CEO of International Digital Agency SocialB. With over 18 years’ experience, Lynsey and her team specialise in providing digital marketing training and services to organisations and Associations around the globe including Prime Global, Central Dredging Association, National Farmers Union, the ACCA to name just a few. Their client base spans far and wide including countries such as Oman, the USA, Mauritius, Jordan, Singapore. Lynsey is called upon for industry insights and comment by the media including CNBC, The Guardian, BBC News & Bloomberg as well as talking at international conferences on a regular basis.

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Twitter: @lynseysweales

Turgut Tatlisumak is professor of neurology and stroke medicine at University of Gothenburg. He was the local organizer of European Stroke Organisation Conference in May 2018 in Gothenburg, Sweden that attracted over 4 500 participants. Dr Tatlisumak is a neurologist holding degrees in medical teaching and administration. He was founding member of ESO, among the founders of ESO Conference, long-time treasurer to ESO, and currently fellow of ESO.

William has been managing events since 1996. After university he set up an event management company organising student graduation balls. Since then he has organised all manor of events for associations including The National Housing Federation, The Local Government Association, The Department of Environment, The British Bankers’ Association, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and The Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Katarina is an experienced sustainability strategist at Göteborg & Co, the DMO of Gothenburg. She is leading, supporting and developing sustainability policies, strategies and activities at destination level; and meetings and events are supported with expertise. She’s been the Head of Sustainability for several international championships held in Gothenburg. Katarina is the President of GMIC Sweden (Green Meeting Industry Council) and member of several steering and advisory committees on local, regional and national level. She’s also a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Gothenburg.

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LinkedIn: katarina-thorstensson-56375626/

I started my professional career in Financial Services and private equity, working in London, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lyon. 

After 10+ years in the financial world I made a big lifestyle change and relocated to the Côte d'Azur where I initially took some time-out to be a full-time mum and then owned and managed a small company in the electronics industry. My desire to mix with other like-minded women led me to join PWN Global as a member and I really appreciated the exchanges, learning and support this brought me during these exciting and challenging years. After stopping the business, I moved again to Lyon and joined the staff of PWN Global initially as Community Manager, moving on to focusing on the membership experience. 

I am now based in Zurich, where I continue to work for the network. I am passionate about working with PWN Global Volunteers and Members to promote our mission and vision and making my contribution to a more gender balanced leadership for the next generation.

Mark is a strategist, author, and entrepreneur. His work combines collective intelligence with networks, complex systems, behavioral science and neuroscience. He is the founder of Orcasci, a consulting firm designing scaling and network strategies with recent clients including the $1m Global Teacher Prize with the Varkey Foundation. Previously Mark co-founded Imaginatik plc, a pioneer in crowdsourcing and collaborative problem solving for innovation. During his 16 years at Imaginatik, Mark worked with hundreds of companies, including Allianz, Bayer, Cargill, IBM, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Whirlpool and Xerox. The World Economic Forum nominated him a Technology Pioneer and a Young Global Leader. Mark is a Professor at Hult International Business School.
 

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Twitter: @@mark_turrell

Frances has over ten years of experience working for non-profit membership organizations within the areas of STEM. She started off her career at The Biochemical Society, where she worked in various roles within the conference department, heading up a small team and driving the development of new program initiatives to serve the society’s growing membership. 

In 2014 she took on a new challenge of looking after Young Member Programs at the Society of Petroleum Engineers, where she was responsible for the development, planning and implementation of educational programmes and member engagement initiatives for students and young professionals on a global level. During her first year at SPE she successfully expanded an academic student quiz (PetroBowl) into a major international event reaching as far as North and South America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. 

After returning from maternity leave in 2017, she was promoted to Regional Activities Manager, Eastern Hemisphere, and currently manages a remote team of four regional staff members across the London, Moscow and Dubai offices to serve members across the regions.

Frances is very passionate about working with international members and volunteers, and tailoring regional activities to suit local needs. SPE currently has around 156,000 members in 154 countries which gives her plenty of practice with communicating across a wide range of languages and cultures.

Paul Welander has been Senior Advisor to the CEO at Volvo Car Group since January 1, 2018. Mr. Welander served as an Senior Vice President of Vehicle Line Management at Volvo Car Corporation since October 6, 2016. Mr. Welander has had several roles in Volvo Cars Executive Management as a Senior Vice President being responsible for the following areas since 2005. Quality & Customer Satisfaction 2005-2010 and 2012-2016, Research & Development 2010-2012, Human Resources 2013-2016 and Product Strategy & Vehicle Line Management 2015-2016.

Mr Welander was borned in Bankeryd, Sweden 1958. Made his military service in Eksjö and Södertälje 1978-1979 at ING 2 and ING 1 (engineering troops). Thereafter he moved to Gothenburg to study at Chalmers University of Technology and he took his Master of Science exam in Mechanical Engineering 1983. From 1983 he has been working at Volvo Cars in Sweden and USA. Mr Welander is married and has three children.

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LinkedIn: paul-welander-a855168/

Bart (35) is manager strategy and policy at trade union De Unie and member of the board at the national trade union confederation VCP, the second biggest trade union organisation in the Netherlands. Bart has been active in the association business for 13 years. After graduating as an industrial engineer he was active in the national Dutch student union (LSVb). Since 2007 Bart has been professionally active in the national and international trade union movement in diverse roles. Bart recently finished his master thesis on service ecosystem thinking at trade unions as part of his masters study on strategy and innovation management. The study provides insights into how associations can become more member-centric and thus more competitive.

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LinkedIn: bartwillems/?originalSubdomain=nl

Tamlynne has more than 17 years of experience in the conference and association industry, both locally and internationally, having worked on some of South Africa’s largest conferences and campaigns. She has a degree in psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand, where she received an award for the top psychology student while studying part-time. Through her studies, she developed a keen interest in neuropsychology and the impact that the brain has on consumer behaviour. She is the founder and chief ideas officer of idna (pronounced idea-NA) a strategic marketing agency specializing in association brand building and event and conference management.  Her background in psychology gives her a deep understanding of the human mind and how it impacts the decisions we make. She believes that associations have a unique opportunity to inspire change and influence policy and combines her knowledge of psychology, marketing and sociology to create touchpoints that are truly unforgettable.