Nigel Gaunt, president, ICESAP, shakes hands with PCMA Chief Operating Officer Sherrif Karamat, while Claire Smith (center), chair-elect, PCMA Board of Directors, looks on. They are joined by (standing) Philip Pang, marketing & membership manager, ICESAP, and Michelle Crowley, PCMA’s senior director of global strategy.
U.S.-based Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) has acquired Incentive, Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific (ICESAP), the two organizations announced July 31, 2017.
Based in Singapore, ICESAP provides education, career development and networking for corporate, agency and supplier professionals in the US$200 billion Asia Pacific (APAC) business events sector.
“Today PCMA already has strong and valued relationships with prominent organizations in the APAC region,” said Deborah Sexton, PCMA president and CEO. “The addition of ICESAP further strengthens our endeavors to enable industry collaboration and deliver superior education to this important region.”
ICESAP will continue to operate in the region under the ICESAP brand and PCMA will retain the current ICESAP staff and Singapore office headquarters, led by president and founder Nigel Gaunt.
“I am delighted with PCMA’s acquisition of ICESAP. It represents the best possible future for our society. ICESAP will continue delivering on our commitment to agency accreditation, member education and most importantly, advocacy for the benefits the sector brings to the businesses and economies of Asia Pacific. A stronger ICESAP under PCMA is a win-win and will define our actions in the years ahead. For me personally, it is validation of the investment of time and money I have made over the past four years in establishing what I felt was needed for our industry in Asia Pacific,” said Gaunt.
The move supports PCMA’s goal to straightaway bring the highest-level education to APAC. ICESAP’s certificate in Incentive, Conference and Event Management, a five-module online distance-learning program created in association with William Angliss Institute, is highly regarded in the industry.
One of ICESAP’s key objectives is strengthening the role of intermediary agencies across Asia Pacific. Earlier this year, ICESAP launched the Agency Accreditation Scheme, a new accreditation supporting industry professionalism. The program ensures agencies operate at the highest possible standards by meeting or exceeding the Code of Conduct and prescribed Best Practices guidelines stipulated in the scheme.
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