Associations World Congress

Chloé has 15 years’ experience of working in the Associations Industry, providing leadership across all areas of Association management & operations, membership, stakeholder engagement, communications and marketing. She has various leadership positions on Boards, advisory bodies and expert committees, where she has demonstrated effective experience in strategic planning and implementation.

Chloé worked at the International Water Association from 2005 to 2018 where she was responsible for developing and executing a global growth and engagement strategy for a network of +60K members including national members, corporates, universities and individuals. Her professional experience includes international management and leadership, membership management, membership retention & growth, change management, strategic planning, organisational communications, digital engagement, awards & events management, sponsorship and partnership development, committee management, programme development, internal communications and brand management.

As a globally recognised thought leader in the Association sector, Chloé is a regular speaker on issues pertaining to Membership, Communications and Digitalisation at many industry events and also regularly contributes to industry magazines on issues ranging from Communicating Brand Value to Association Impact & Legacy.

She is a nominated Active Member of the Union of International Associations (UIA) and a Board Member of the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE) where she also chairs the Communications & Membership committee.

Greg is an association executive with over 10-years of experience leading business development and strategic outreach in the non-profit sector. Working for international organisations and associations, he has been responsible for marketing, branding and communications as well as partner and member engagement. In his past responsibilities, he has helped secure and retain income in the form of sponsorship, membership and event registration working in a diversity of locations including Ethiopia, China, France and Malaysia.

Chloé has 15 years’ experience of working in the Associations Industry, providing leadership across all areas of Association management & operations, membership, stakeholder engagement, communications and marketing. She has various leadership positions on Boards, advisory bodies and expert committees, where she has demonstrated effective experience in strategic planning and implementation.

Chloé worked at the International Water Association from 2005 to 2018 where she was responsible for developing and executing a global growth and engagement strategy for a network of +60K members including national members, corporates, universities and individuals. Her professional experience includes international management and leadership, membership management, membership retention & growth, change management, strategic planning, organisational communications, digital engagement, awards & events management, sponsorship and partnership development, committee management, programme development, internal communications and brand management.

As a globally recognised thought leader in the Association sector, Chloé is a regular speaker on issues pertaining to Membership, Communications and Digitalisation at many industry events and also regularly contributes to industry magazines on issues ranging from Communicating Brand Value to Association Impact & Legacy.

She is a nominated Active Member of the Union of International Associations (UIA) and a Board Member of the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE) where she also chairs the Communications & Membership committee.

Valli is the founder and managing director of Digital Learn Ltd, an eLearning company specialising in workplace focussed learning solutions. While working at ACCA as Head of Learning Innovation, she created and deployed multi award-winning digital learning solutions for a global audience, and she continues to work with ACCA on many of their online learning solutions. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and of the Learning and Performance Institute and has a Masters in Education and Technology from UCL Institute of Education. 

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

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.

Twitter: @lynseysweales

Clare Hodgson is head of professional development products at ACCA. Clare is responsible for ACCA’s global online CPD product offering, designed to support ACCA members enhance their careers by developing their skills and knowledge. Clare recently led the project team to launch ACCA’s mentoring programme.

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. They support 219,000 members and 527,000 students in 179 countries.

At the Consortium, Rachel’s role is to be the voice of the member network at HQ. She looks after the member strategy and is the first point of call for member enquiries. Rachel also leads the ambassador programme for the Consortium, supporting our representatives all over the globe. 

Judith was appointed the International Society of Blood Transfusion’s (ISBT) first Executive Director in 2008 and was the Society’s first staff member. The Society has grown to seven staff all working from its Central Office in Amsterdam. Judith has been involved with Associations for over twenty years serving as a Board member and then President of the British Blood Transfusion Society and as Board member and Vice President of ISBT. 

She is passionate about blood transfusion and as a medical scientist herself has been aware of the need for ISBT to embrace and grow its young scientists and doctors membership. In 2017 she persuaded the ISBT Board to establish a young professionals council with the remit to champion and engage young professionals within the Society and communicate with the Board to ensure that the needs of the young professionals community are met.  

Carole’s credibility is rooted in twenty years’ success as CEO and Founder of the Carole Spiers Group.

In I998, Carole launched Stress Awareness Day on behalf of the International Stress Management Association of which she is the current Chair. She is also a Fellow and past President of the Professional Speaking Association [London].

Carole is recognised as a leading authority on wellbeing and stress at work and is the media’s first choice for comment on workplace issues and best-selling author of Tolleys ‘Managing Stress in the Workplace’ and ‘Show Stress Who’s Boss!’

Carole’s charismatic style of combining inspiration with insight has made her a sought-after international keynote speaker working with equal success in the contrasting cultures of the UK and the Gulf region.

After completing a Bachelor degree from HEC Montreal and a Master degree from EMLyon Business school, Valentine began her career in event management in the hospitality industry and then worked for international organisations such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). She is currently working at the European Respiratory Society (ERS), mainly focusing on the ERS International Congress which brings together more than 20’000 participants and ERS Satellites, a recently awarded, innovative event.

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.

Twitter: @@MillyDurrant

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.

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

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.

Twitter: @lynseysweales

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.

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

Warren Cass is one of those rare speakers that inspires, entertains and informs.

An entrepreneur with 25 years of running his own businesses, he has experienced huge success and tasted the bitter pill of failure. All of these lessons and stories are shared when he speaks.... Always from the heart!

Warren is straight talking with a no nonsense presentation style. His passion for business shows, especially when he talks about relationships, influence & marketing.

All of his talks contains ‘real life’ examples so his audiences can relate to the ideas that he shares and wherever possible he gets them involved with the content.

At heart Warren is a geek, someone who loves to figure out why and how things work, he firmly believes we live in times of significant change, and to stay ahead of the curve, we need to understand the game.

Riad has over 20 years’ experience in developing content and producing conferences in the commercial and non-commercial sectors, both in the UK and in the Middle East. He has developed new conferences from scratch as well as managed and grown portfolios whilst increasing ROI. He is currently event portfolio development manager at the Institution of Engineering and Technology managing a range of events from technical call for papers conferences, to invite only events, to training courses, annual dinners and evening lectures.

LinkedIn: rodneycoxeventinnovator/?originalSubdomain=au

As a Deputy Secretary General of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock exchanges, Armenuhy is managing the international organization of capital market participants including but not limited by Stock Exchanges, Central Depositories, International Financial Institutions and related associations from more than 20 countries covering the region of Europe, Asia and Mediterranean basin.

Started as an intern at Armenian Stock Exchange later Nasdaq OMX Armenia, Armenuhy went through the ladder from trading system administrator to Business Development Manager and changed the role into a Deputy Secretary General of FEAS. Armenuhy has more than 15 years’ experience in exchange trading and settlement of various markets: equities, bonds, foreign currencies, including trade system administration and support as well as new products development and launch. 

Coming from mostly stock exchange environment, Armenuhy is enjoying the management of the multi-cultural organization by overcoming cross-cultural differences and making them work more efficient and productive. 

She is currently a PMP certified project manager and the member of Project Management Institute. Armenuhy is fluent in 3 languages - Armenian, English, Russian and in constant learning of new one, currently: Arabic. 

Joseph is Program Director for the AVIXA Foundation, charitable arm of AVIXA, the international trade association representing the audiovisual industry. He oversees all efforts devoted to creating opportunities for tomorrow’s AV professionals. He manages the Foundation’s workforce development programs, and partnerships with schools and allied organizations. He also spearheads the many annual scholarship and grants awarded to students and community groups striving for success in the industry. He recently launched a global campaign to raise awareness of AV careers, bring skills training to more communities, and connect people to their first AV job. 

Inge Wallage is a change maker and senior communications leader who pursued a career in the private sector before making the leap from the oil industry to environmental campaigning. That move sustained her continuous drive to contribute to a better world; a green and peaceful one. She believes in the pivotal role of the communications function. In her 25 years of working life Inge has worked across all areas of communications and has witnessed its ongoing evolution. She held various in-house and agency roles, like the International Water Association, Greenpeace International, Statoil, Philips Electronics, Motorola and Burson-Marsteller. Inge works with the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD) in a consulting capacity as part-time Managing Director to contribute to the association’s next phase. She has lived in London, Norway and Bangkok. She believes that projects and programmes will truly come to life when working with people, inside and outside a company or organisation. She is trained in the method and philosophy of Deep Democracy, which aims to get everyone involved (‘listen to the minority’) and to find ways to turn resistance into a force for good. Inge advocates to work according to ‘The 3As engagement strategy’, a concept which she conceived which stands for authenticity, accountability and audacity; three elements critical to any organisational or business strategy. She is currently writing her first novel.

Jimena has over 10 years of experience working in Communications and European Affairs. Currently she works as Communications Director for the European Flavour Association, developing and implementing its communication strategy and acting as spokesperson of the association.

She previously worked as a Senior Communication Officer at the European Commission Information Service and at other European Associations and Institutions such as the Art Directors Club of Europe and the European Committee of the Regions.

Chloé has 15 years’ experience of working in the Associations Industry, providing leadership across all areas of Association management & operations, membership, stakeholder engagement, communications and marketing. She has various leadership positions on Boards, advisory bodies and expert committees, where she has demonstrated effective experience in strategic planning and implementation.

Chloé worked at the International Water Association from 2005 to 2018 where she was responsible for developing and executing a global growth and engagement strategy for a network of +60K members including national members, corporates, universities and individuals. Her professional experience includes international management and leadership, membership management, membership retention & growth, change management, strategic planning, organisational communications, digital engagement, awards & events management, sponsorship and partnership development, committee management, programme development, internal communications and brand management.

As a globally recognised thought leader in the Association sector, Chloé is a regular speaker on issues pertaining to Membership, Communications and Digitalisation at many industry events and also regularly contributes to industry magazines on issues ranging from Communicating Brand Value to Association Impact & Legacy.

She is a nominated Active Member of the Union of International Associations (UIA) and a Board Member of the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE) where she also chairs the Communications & Membership committee.

Ruth was appointed Chief Executive of the LBMA in January 2014. She is responsible for the success and strategic development of the LBMA, in partnership with the Chairman and the Board. She is also responsible for maintaining accountability to and the quality of, the Association's Membership and Good Delivery Refiners as well as representing the interests of the Association in relation to regulators, investors, media and international precious metals markets.

Before being appointed Chief Executive, she spent seven years working in the Association, initially as Commercial Director and then as Deputy Chief Executive, where she acted as the main lead on Governmental Affairs. She was also responsible for the Association's work on supply chain due diligence, with particular regard to the creation and implementation of the LBMA’s Responsible Gold Guidance. She has represented the Association at industry, governmental and multi-stakeholder regulatory forums. She continues to serve as Vice Chair of the OECD Multi-Stakeholder Governance Group for Responsible Minerals. As Commercial Director, she oversaw the development of the LBMA Conference, the LBMA's quarterly publication the Alchemist and the LBMA website.

Prior to joining the LBMA, she worked in bank finance and US corporate law at the law firms of White & Case and Norton Rose, and also acted as a monitor at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. She has an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics and a degree in English Literature from Kenyon College in Ohio.

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

LinkedIn: rodneycoxeventinnovator/?originalSubdomain=au

Chloé has 15 years’ experience of working in the Associations Industry, providing leadership across all areas of Association management & operations, membership, stakeholder engagement, communications and marketing. She has various leadership positions on Boards, advisory bodies and expert committees, where she has demonstrated effective experience in strategic planning and implementation.

Chloé worked at the International Water Association from 2005 to 2018 where she was responsible for developing and executing a global growth and engagement strategy for a network of +60K members including national members, corporates, universities and individuals. Her professional experience includes international management and leadership, membership management, membership retention & growth, change management, strategic planning, organisational communications, digital engagement, awards & events management, sponsorship and partnership development, committee management, programme development, internal communications and brand management.

As a globally recognised thought leader in the Association sector, Chloé is a regular speaker on issues pertaining to Membership, Communications and Digitalisation at many industry events and also regularly contributes to industry magazines on issues ranging from Communicating Brand Value to Association Impact & Legacy.

She is a nominated Active Member of the Union of International Associations (UIA) and a Board Member of the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE) where she also chairs the Communications & Membership committee.

Inge Wallage is a change maker and senior communications leader who pursued a career in the private sector before making the leap from the oil industry to environmental campaigning. That move sustained her continuous drive to contribute to a better world; a green and peaceful one. She believes in the pivotal role of the communications function. In her 25 years of working life Inge has worked across all areas of communications and has witnessed its ongoing evolution. She held various in-house and agency roles, like the International Water Association, Greenpeace International, Statoil, Philips Electronics, Motorola and Burson-Marsteller. Inge works with the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD) in a consulting capacity as part-time Managing Director to contribute to the association’s next phase. She has lived in London, Norway and Bangkok. She believes that projects and programmes will truly come to life when working with people, inside and outside a company or organisation. She is trained in the method and philosophy of Deep Democracy, which aims to get everyone involved (‘listen to the minority’) and to find ways to turn resistance into a force for good. Inge advocates to work according to ‘The 3As engagement strategy’, a concept which she conceived which stands for authenticity, accountability and audacity; three elements critical to any organisational or business strategy. She is currently writing her first novel.

Chloé has 15 years’ experience of working in the Associations Industry, providing leadership across all areas of Association management & operations, membership, stakeholder engagement, communications and marketing. She has various leadership positions on Boards, advisory bodies and expert committees, where she has demonstrated effective experience in strategic planning and implementation.

Chloé worked at the International Water Association from 2005 to 2018 where she was responsible for developing and executing a global growth and engagement strategy for a network of +60K members including national members, corporates, universities and individuals. Her professional experience includes international management and leadership, membership management, membership retention & growth, change management, strategic planning, organisational communications, digital engagement, awards & events management, sponsorship and partnership development, committee management, programme development, internal communications and brand management.

As a globally recognised thought leader in the Association sector, Chloé is a regular speaker on issues pertaining to Membership, Communications and Digitalisation at many industry events and also regularly contributes to industry magazines on issues ranging from Communicating Brand Value to Association Impact & Legacy.

She is a nominated Active Member of the Union of International Associations (UIA) and a Board Member of the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE) where she also chairs the Communications & Membership committee.

Inge Wallage is a change maker and senior communications leader who pursued a career in the private sector before making the leap from the oil industry to environmental campaigning. That move sustained her continuous drive to contribute to a better world; a green and peaceful one. She believes in the pivotal role of the communications function. In her 25 years of working life Inge has worked across all areas of communications and has witnessed its ongoing evolution. She held various in-house and agency roles, like the International Water Association, Greenpeace International, Statoil, Philips Electronics, Motorola and Burson-Marsteller. Inge works with the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD) in a consulting capacity as part-time Managing Director to contribute to the association’s next phase. She has lived in London, Norway and Bangkok. She believes that projects and programmes will truly come to life when working with people, inside and outside a company or organisation. She is trained in the method and philosophy of Deep Democracy, which aims to get everyone involved (‘listen to the minority’) and to find ways to turn resistance into a force for good. Inge advocates to work according to ‘The 3As engagement strategy’, a concept which she conceived which stands for authenticity, accountability and audacity; three elements critical to any organisational or business strategy. She is currently writing her first novel.