Speakers
Amanda Simmons
Cecilia Spoor EMIAM
Mark Turrell
Keynote Panel
This panel brings together association leaders and AI experts to examine how organisations are adapting in practice. It considers the real experiences, key decisions, and how leaders can guide their teams to build capability and respond effectively.
At Advisiom Global, I champion cross-border collaboration for ambitious, entrepreneurial dealmakers in the mid-market M&A space. As CEO and Founder, I lead a powerhouse network who deliver outstanding merger and acquisition opportunities for their clients.
With a relentless focus on member growth. I connect high-performing partners, spark value-driven alliances, and shape a global M&A community where proactive collaboration isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected.
With deep roots in marketing, business development, and executive leadership, I’m all about empowering our members to achieve more, together. Every initiative I drive is about unlocking opportunity, boosting engagement, and delivering real results for Advisiom’s global network. For us, success is measured in trusted relationships, deal velocity, and the collective impact we make on the M&A industry.
I look after the leadership activities for the AAE. This involves chairing the Leaders Forums at the UK and the World Associations Congresses, as well the Leaders Summits and identifying other opportunities to support association leaders, for example new programmes and forums to bring Executive Heads together.
I have been working on the AAE leaders events for eight years, contributed to the leadership aspects of all AAE's activities, and have an Executive Masters in International Association Management from Solvay Business School, Brussels.
Get in touch if you would like to hear more about our leadership activities at AAE or if you would like me to put you in touch with a trusted advisor or another executive director with experience of a particular issue.
:
https://www.associationexecutives.org/
:
cecilia-spoor-a30956
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.
Barbara Grobicki is the Executive Director of the Strategic Management Society (SMS), a global membership association that promotes the development and dissemination of research and best practices in strategic management. She is based in Chicago, IL.
Prior to joining SMS, Barbara served as the Chief Alliance Officer at the American Marketing Association (AMA). In this role, she was responsible for developing and managing partnerships to enhance the value and reach of the organization. Barbara has also served as Director of Development at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville, Haslam College of Business where she focused on institutional advancement and fundraising.
Barbara earned her MBA & BA from the University of Tennessee. Her career has been centered on fostering collaboration and growth within associations and non-profits.