Your role as a meeting and business event professional is evolving fast. You are looking for professional development which is globally relevant and aligned with the latest standards to enhance your career. This session will introduce you to the world of certificates and certifications within the meetings and events industry. You will gain insights in the newly released Meeting and Business Events Competency Standards (MBECS) and updated Global CMP (Certified Meeting Professional). You will also be introduced to how you can access relevant training which is aligned with these new MBECS via the MPI Global Training Program. No matter at what stage you are in your career, you can now follow a reliable path to career enhancement.

speakers bio: Known as the driving force behind “unleash potential,” the factor for development of positive, energizing motivation, Miranda Ioannou is a visionary strategist with broad experience in diverse industry sectors such as the meetings industry, non-profits, IT, publishing, and large scale projects. With an academic background in International Business, Marketing, PR, HR, IT and strategic meetings management, Miranda has more than 20 years experience in multinational organizations, the meetings industry and the association management business in Cyprus, EMEA and the US. An active member of the meetings industry scene and avid believer in streamlining, Miranda is an engaging speaker. Miranda helps associations develop their conferences and their membership offering, promotes the use of effective meetings as the major means of actively developing strategic business, and is very committed to developing the meeting industry in the Mediterranean area. Furthermore, with extensive knowledge on the region of south Europe and the Middle East, and by combining the perspective of the customer and supplier sides effectively and constructively, she was the key catalyst that helped and continues to help destinations and venues develop their offering for the meetings industry to international standards. As a consultant to the EU Commission for technology, SMB and e-enablement, Miranda promotes the role of meetings in the development of stronger ties, effective networking and synergies for the future. Miranda furthermore lectures on strategic business, management, HR, new media and meeting industry topics.

Connect with new members and first-time European Meetings and Events Conference attendees. Take this opportunity to learn how to get the most out of your MPI membership. The growing, global community of MPI allows you to create your experience and map to professional success. Also, MPI staff members answer your questions about the European Meetings and Events Conference. Be sure to bring your business cards to this session for an easy but effective networking exercise that will increase your connection to ideas, relationships and marketplace resources in mere minutes. This session is designed for delegates who are relatively new to MPI and the industry. For those of you who have been in the industry for some time, but have never attended the European Meetings and Events Conference before, this orientation session is still an excellent opportunity to meet other new comers and start networking early.

speakers bio: Antti Lumiainen has been involved in the industry already for several years, working as a holiday guide in various destinations around the world. This path lead him to studying a different side of the field and he later graduated as a Bachelor of Tourism and Hospitality in Lahti University of Applied Sciences in Finland, majoring in Meetings & Events Management. With a strong interest to the meetings and events industry he started engaging in the industry already as a student by being actively involved in the MPI Finland Chapter as well as serving in the board as a student member. This later enabled him to take one step further to the association by joining the exquisite team in the MPI EMEA office in Luxembourg and to take part in helping each member to get the most out of their membership.

Join us for an exciting and innovative Opening General Session, where you will experience unparalleled education, connection with you colleague participants from the very start and some of the biggest innovation since the piano was invented. In chemistry it is widely known that mixing two or more harmless substances sometimes results in a huge explosion. MPI’s Opening General Session is promising to be an explosion of Education, Experiencing and Exchange! Those delegates needing to channel their entrepreneurial spirit will enjoy hearing from Sahar Hashemi, a British entrepreneur and the co-founder of Coffee Republic, who developed a £30 million turnover business. She first introduced the tea-drinking British market to U.S.-like coffee consumerism, has started innovative venture Skinny Candy and advises thousands of new business start-ups each year. But it’s Hashemi’s outlook on innovation in modern business that will prove most insightful for delegates, enabling them to look for unique opportunities they can leverage in their own business and leadership practices. Hashemi won’t be the only innovator on the main stage. Catch ground-breaking, Hungarian musical innovator Balázs Havasi—fresh from performing for 200 million at the Shanghai Expo. A TED global presenter and Guinness World Record holder, Havasi is known for his “most piano key hits in one minute” set at the Academy of Music Budapest and is described as an ambitiously thoughtful pianist and songwriter with a unique perspective when it comes to “re-imagined innovation.”

Speakers bio:

Sahar Hashemi founded Coffee Republic, the UK's first US style coffee bar chain with her brother and built it into one of the UK's most recognised high street brands with a turnover of £30m. Sahar left the day to day management of Coffee Republic in 2001 and published a bestselling book called 'Anyone Can Do It- building Coffee Republic from our kitchen table'' which has been translated into 6 languages and is 2nd highest selling book on entrepreneurship after Richard Branson's book.

Holder of the Guinness World Record for "Most Piano Key Hits in One Minute," Balazs Havasi is an ambitiously thoughtful, sensitive pianist. On November 28, 2009, in the Academy of Music, Budapest, pianist Balázs Havasi set a world record by hitting the same piano key 498 times within 60 seconds. The man behind this muscular feat is a thoughtful and ambitious modern pianist who draws on his classical training to write a new brand of piano-driven symphonic music.

Consultant, trainer and Facilitator, MindMeeting, Netherlands/ Italy Mike van der Vijver is a free lance consultant, trainer and facilitator, working with people and processes. He has over 20 years experience in the meeting industry, initially as conference interpreter and subsequently as meeting designer through MindMeeting, the company he co-founded.

Ruud Janssen, CMM (1970) is serial entrepreneur specialised in bespoke new media and online collaboration at TNOC | The New Objective Collective. He is active as a trainer, facilitator and has co-founded Event Camp Europe and curator of TEDx events based in Arlesheim, Switzerland. He is a veteran Global Conference Organiser, Strategic Marketing Consultant and a social media digital nomad.

Flash Point is a diverse platform of 15-minute presentations showcasing leaders from outside our industry seeking to inspire you to change your world. Flash Point at EMEC 2011 received glowing reviews, from the quality of speakers to the innovative idea of using a fast-paced format to get right to the heart of the story. Find your own inspiration in Budapest by attending Flash Point with the following sessions facilitated by Cyriel Kortleven: Flash Point #1: Selling Ice Cream to Eskimos - Speaker: Pacelle van Goethem What makes someone influential? How does persuasion work? How can you use persuasion to increase your effectiveness as a meeting professional? Flash Point #2: Eating right – makes your meeting brain bright Flash Point #3: From Legacy to Dream to Reality! The Great to Cool Ocean of opportunities! - Speaker: René C.W. Boender One of the main challenges for businesses today is to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit across generations and spread it! It’s not the product you sell, it’s the story you tell that makes you shine! ’Trend teller’ and ’Innovation Futurist’ Flash Point #4: The Secret of the Pareto Mindset - Speaker: Steven Loepfe In this short Flash Point teaser Swiss entrepreneur and strategic coach Steven Loepfe takes you on a journey to the The Pareto Mindset. A mindset that's all about how the upper echelon entrepreneurs really tick. Flash Point #5: Hasn’t Someone Thought About This Before? - Speaker: Hans van Grieken Contrary to the “closed innovation approach” that has prevailed in innovation over the last century, companies have become increasingly aware that they should not limit their innovation capability only to the quality and speed of their own internal innovation sources and processes.
Speakers bio:

Cyriel Kortleven is a crewmember and co-founder of new shoes today - a growing number of soulmates in business who give support to people and organisations on their road to creation, innovation and change.

Drs Pacelle van Goethem is a coach, researcher and speaker in the field of persuasion, voice and influence. She is a speech-language-voice Pathologist and got her specialization in Psychology and Masscommunication.

Christian Bitz has a MSc in nutrition and has done extensive research in the fields of appetite regulation, the sense of taste, diets, and lifestyle diseases. He is the regular nutrition expert on the national TV-show: Good Morning Denmark.

René C.W. Boender/Great Opportunities; Brain agent, Brand booster, Trendteller & Innovation futurist! René Boender (1958) knew at the age of 5 that he wanted to be in the marketing industry. He is a fountain of energy and inspiration and knows how to strike the social media cord as Twitter and Facebook.

Hans van Grieken is Vice President Business Innovation at Capgemini and part of the company's international innovation network. He is a regular speaker at national and international conferences on the subject of (IT-driven) innovation and delivers about 120 speeches at conferences and in Board Rooms worldwide on a yearly basis.

Flash Point is a diverse platform of 15-minute presentations showcasing leaders from outside our industry seeking to inspire you to change your world. Flash Point at EMEC 2011 received glowing reviews, from the quality of speakers to the innovative idea of using a fast-paced format to get right to the heart of the story. Find your own inspiration in Budapest by attending Flash Point with the following sessions facilitated by Cyriel Kortleven: Flash Point #1: Selling Ice Cream to Eskimos - Speaker: Pacelle van Goethem What makes someone influential? How does persuasion work? How can you use persuasion to increase your effectiveness as a meeting professional? Flash Point #2: Eating right – makes your meeting brain bright Flash Point #3: From Legacy to Dream to Reality! The Great to Cool Ocean of opportunities! - Speaker: René C.W. Boender One of the main challenges for businesses today is to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit across generations and spread it! It’s not the product you sell, it’s the story you tell that makes you shine! ’Trend teller’ and ’Innovation Futurist’ Flash Point #4: The Secret of the Pareto Mindset - Speaker: Steven Loepfe In this short Flash Point teaser Swiss entrepreneur and strategic coach Steven Loepfe takes you on a journey to the The Pareto Mindset. A mindset that's all about how the upper echelon entrepreneurs really tick. Flash Point #5: Hasn’t Someone Thought About This Before? - Speaker: Hans van Grieken Contrary to the “closed innovation approach” that has prevailed in innovation over the last century, companies have become increasingly aware that they should not limit their innovation capability only to the quality and speed of their own internal innovation sources and processes.
Speakers bio:

Christian Bitz has a MSc in nutrition and has done extensive research in the fields of appetite regulation, the sense of taste, diets, and lifestyle diseases. He is the regular nutrition expert on the national TV-show: Good Morning Denmark.

Flash Point is a diverse platform of 15-minute presentations showcasing leaders from outside our industry seeking to inspire you to change your world. Flash Point at EMEC 2011 received glowing reviews, from the quality of speakers to the innovative idea of using a fast-paced format to get right to the heart of the story. Find your own inspiration in Budapest by attending Flash Point with the following sessions facilitated by Cyriel Kortleven: Flash Point #1: Selling Ice Cream to Eskimos - Speaker: Pacelle van Goethem What makes someone influential? How does persuasion work? How can you use persuasion to increase your effectiveness as a meeting professional? Flash Point #2: Eating right – makes your meeting brain bright Flash Point #3: From Legacy to Dream to Reality! The Great to Cool Ocean of opportunities! - Speaker: René C.W. Boender One of the main challenges for businesses today is to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit across generations and spread it! It’s not the product you sell, it’s the story you tell that makes you shine! ’Trend teller’ and ’Innovation Futurist’ Flash Point #4: The Secret of the Pareto Mindset - Speaker: Steven Loepfe In this short Flash Point teaser Swiss entrepreneur and strategic coach Steven Loepfe takes you on a journey to the The Pareto Mindset. A mindset that's all about how the upper echelon entrepreneurs really tick. Flash Point #5: Hasn’t Someone Thought About This Before? - Speaker: Hans van Grieken Contrary to the “closed innovation approach” that has prevailed in innovation over the last century, companies have become increasingly aware that they should not limit their innovation capability only to the quality and speed of their own internal innovation sources and processes.
Speakers bio:

Cyriel Kortleven is a crewmember and co-founder of new shoes today - a growing number of soulmates in business who give support to people and organisations on their road to creation, innovation and change.

Flash Point is a diverse platform of 15-minute presentations showcasing leaders from outside our industry seeking to inspire you to change your world. Flash Point at EMEC 2011 received glowing reviews, from the quality of speakers to the innovative idea of using a fast-paced format to get right to the heart of the story. Find your own inspiration in Budapest by attending Flash Point with the following sessions facilitated by Cyriel Kortleven: Flash Point #1: Selling Ice Cream to Eskimos - Speaker: Pacelle van Goethem What makes someone influential? How does persuasion work? How can you use persuasion to increase your effectiveness as a meeting professional? Flash Point #2: Eating right – makes your meeting brain bright Flash Point #3: From Legacy to Dream to Reality! The Great to Cool Ocean of opportunities! - Speaker: René C.W. Boender One of the main challenges for businesses today is to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit across generations and spread it! It’s not the product you sell, it’s the story you tell that makes you shine! ’Trend teller’ and ’Innovation Futurist’ Flash Point #4: The Secret of the Pareto Mindset - Speaker: Steven Loepfe In this short Flash Point teaser Swiss entrepreneur and strategic coach Steven Loepfe takes you on a journey to the The Pareto Mindset. A mindset that's all about how the upper echelon entrepreneurs really tick. Flash Point #5: Hasn’t Someone Thought About This Before? - Speaker: Hans van Grieken Contrary to the “closed innovation approach” that has prevailed in innovation over the last century, companies have become increasingly aware that they should not limit their innovation capability only to the quality and speed of their own internal innovation sources and processes.
Speakers bio:

Hans van Grieken is Vice President Business Innovation at Capgemini and part of the company's international innovation network. He is a regular speaker at national and international conferences on the subject of (IT-driven) innovation and delivers about 120 speeches at conferences and in Board Rooms worldwide on a yearly basis.

Flash Point is a diverse platform of 15-minute presentations showcasing leaders from outside our industry seeking to inspire you to change your world. Flash Point at EMEC 2011 received glowing reviews, from the quality of speakers to the innovative idea of using a fast-paced format to get right to the heart of the story. Find your own inspiration in Budapest by attending Flash Point with the following sessions facilitated by Cyriel Kortleven: Flash Point #1: Selling Ice Cream to Eskimos - Speaker: Pacelle van Goethem What makes someone influential? How does persuasion work? How can you use persuasion to increase your effectiveness as a meeting professional? Flash Point #2: Eating right – makes your meeting brain bright Flash Point #3: From Legacy to Dream to Reality! The Great to Cool Ocean of opportunities! - Speaker: René C.W. Boender One of the main challenges for businesses today is to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit across generations and spread it! It’s not the product you sell, it’s the story you tell that makes you shine! ’Trend teller’ and ’Innovation Futurist’ Flash Point #4: The Secret of the Pareto Mindset - Speaker: Steven Loepfe In this short Flash Point teaser Swiss entrepreneur and strategic coach Steven Loepfe takes you on a journey to the The Pareto Mindset. A mindset that's all about how the upper echelon entrepreneurs really tick. Flash Point #5: Hasn’t Someone Thought About This Before? - Speaker: Hans van Grieken Contrary to the “closed innovation approach” that has prevailed in innovation over the last century, companies have become increasingly aware that they should not limit their innovation capability only to the quality and speed of their own internal innovation sources and processes.
Speakers bio:

Drs Pacelle van Goethem is a coach, researcher and speaker in the field of persuasion, voice and influence. She is a speech-language-voice Pathologist and got her specialization in Psychology and Masscommunication.

Flash Point is a diverse platform of 15-minute presentations showcasing leaders from outside our industry seeking to inspire you to change your world. Flash Point at EMEC 2011 received glowing reviews, from the quality of speakers to the innovative idea of using a fast-paced format to get right to the heart of the story. Find your own inspiration in Budapest by attending Flash Point with the following sessions facilitated by Cyriel Kortleven: Flash Point #1: Selling Ice Cream to Eskimos - Speaker: Pacelle van Goethem What makes someone influential? How does persuasion work? How can you use persuasion to increase your effectiveness as a meeting professional? Flash Point #2: Eating right – makes your meeting brain bright Flash Point #3: From Legacy to Dream to Reality! The Great to Cool Ocean of opportunities! - Speaker: René C.W. Boender One of the main challenges for businesses today is to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit across generations and spread it! It’s not the product you sell, it’s the story you tell that makes you shine! ’Trend teller’ and ’Innovation Futurist’ Flash Point #4: The Secret of the Pareto Mindset - Speaker: Steven Loepfe In this short Flash Point teaser Swiss entrepreneur and strategic coach Steven Loepfe takes you on a journey to the The Pareto Mindset. A mindset that's all about how the upper echelon entrepreneurs really tick. Flash Point #5: Hasn’t Someone Thought About This Before? - Speaker: Hans van Grieken Contrary to the “closed innovation approach” that has prevailed in innovation over the last century, companies have become increasingly aware that they should not limit their innovation capability only to the quality and speed of their own internal innovation sources and processes.
Speakers bio:

René C.W. Boender/Great Opportunities; Brain agent, Brand booster, Trendteller & Innovation futurist! René Boender (1958) knew at the age of 5 that he wanted to be in the marketing industry. He is a fountain of energy and inspiration and knows how to strike the social media cord as Twitter and Facebook.

Flash Point is a diverse platform of 15-minute presentations showcasing leaders from outside our industry seeking to inspire you to change your world. Flash Point at EMEC 2011 received glowing reviews, from the quality of speakers to the innovative idea of using a fast-paced format to get right to the heart of the story. Find your own inspiration in Budapest by attending Flash Point with the following sessions facilitated by Cyriel Kortleven: Flash Point #1: Selling Ice Cream to Eskimos - Speaker: Pacelle van Goethem What makes someone influential? How does persuasion work? How can you use persuasion to increase your effectiveness as a meeting professional? Flash Point #2: Eating right – makes your meeting brain bright Flash Point #3: From Legacy to Dream to Reality! The Great to Cool Ocean of opportunities! - Speaker: René C.W. Boender One of the main challenges for businesses today is to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit across generations and spread it! It’s not the product you sell, it’s the story you tell that makes you shine! ’Trend teller’ and ’Innovation Futurist’ Flash Point #4: The Secret of the Pareto Mindset - Speaker: Steven Loepfe In this short Flash Point teaser Swiss entrepreneur and strategic coach Steven Loepfe takes you on a journey to the The Pareto Mindset. A mindset that's all about how the upper echelon entrepreneurs really tick. Flash Point #5: Hasn’t Someone Thought About This Before? - Speaker: Hans van Grieken Contrary to the “closed innovation approach” that has prevailed in innovation over the last century, companies have become increasingly aware that they should not limit their innovation capability only to the quality and speed of their own internal innovation sources and processes.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate A technical failure is rarely the sole cause of a plane crash. Most incidents occur because of human actions and behaviour. Aeroplanes are controlled by people – just like congresses and other events are organised by people. The aviation industry had to learn how to avoid mistakes, communicate effectively, and reach destinations and objectives safely. The meeting and business event industry faces the same challenges and you, as meeting professionals, can learn from others and apply these successful strategies. Join Peter Brandl as he describes and explains these methods, and strategies that can help you to communicate more clearly and effectively. Amazing parallels between plane accidents and business crashes will motivate you to closely monitor your communication behaviour and consider the “human factor” risk within your own team.

speakers bio: Peter Klaus Brandl, Dipl.-Soz.päd (FH), born 1968, professional pilot and flight instructor, gained an extensive amount of expert experience through many years of working in the sales and distribution industry as a sales manager, entrepreneur, and managing director of a real estate company. With over 2000 training and event days, Peter Klaus Brandl is one of the most experienced and highly sought-after specialists in his area. For over 15 years, he has been consulting and training top managers at both national and international corporations as well as at medium-sized companies. He is a man who knows all the practical ins and outs and is able to give life to his seminars and impart his easy-to-grasp, fast-to-implement expertise to participants. A few of his clients are AUDI AG, Commerzbank AG, Credit Suisse AG, Honeywell, HypoVereinsbank AG, Deutsche Post AG, Erste Bank, Novartis Pharma, and Logica. Using a unique combination of aviation and business, Peter Brandl is able to provoke a highly emotional response from his listeners with his topics. His great sense of humour and a lot of realistic examples connecting the world of aviation with business life motivate his listeners. He inspires with stunning conclusions and amazing parallels, because the “human factors” causing a crash are always the same – regardless of whether people are flying an aircraft, running a company, or planning a convention.

Session Type: “I” interactive Audience level: “A” advanced From the elegant simplicity of Apple products to the selfless service of Zappos to the comfortable surroundings of the Starbucks experience, companies who have embraced design principles as a means to stay relevant in today’s business climate have been rewarded with growing communities of passionate followers and enviable balance sheets. Yet, despite the obvious applications, the meetings and events industry has yet to fully embrace design principles as a means of creating a more compelling and valuable attendee experience, in large part because Meeting Design is simply not well defined or understood. Join us for this interactive discussion that will explore the preliminary results of the MPI Foundation research on Meeting Design, outline its implications, and identify applications for your next meeting or event.

speakers bio: John Nawn is founder of design firm, www.theperfectmeeting.com, which focuses on optimizing the attendee learning experience. He also serves as Chief Experience Officer for the Thinkubator, a creativity and innovation lab in Chicago. John regularly blogs and tweets about Meeting Design, the future of meetings, and related topics, speaks at industry events, and writes a regular column on formal and informal learning at large meetings for Meeting Mentor Magazine.

Session Type: “T” training Audience level: “N” novice Join Lindsay Seth, accredited MPI Global Trainer, as she delivers a portion of the Project Budgeting module of the Global Certification in Meetings and Business Events II.To be successful, you need to be able to control your project budget and understand all variables and factors that can impact your budget and ultimately your bottom line. You’ll also need to be able to reconcile your budget with the actual costs that you incurred during your event.

speakers bio: After training as an interpreter and briefly working in show business Lindsay entered the hospitality industry in the late 80s. Over time she built up experience working as a third party supplier (hotel), as agency director with full P&L responsibility and a team of 50 persons, as consultant and as end-user. As a director at MCI Headquarters in Geneva she now consults corporations and associations to help them build frameworks in line with their objectives and create full value from their meeting & event strategies. Lindsay is an MPI accredited trainer.

Session Type: “I” interactive Audience level: “I” intermediate Negotiation is essential for all meeting professionals, but, are we equipped to recognize negotiation opportunities and take full advantage? Attend this session where you’ll review the scope of the term ‘negotiation’ and learn how to identify opportunities that lead to negotiation. You will brainstorm and create a list of concessions that you can claim from your clients or suppliers, as well as concede to the other party. These concessions represent the room for movement we can create for our negotiations, using conditional trading (based on "Getting to Yes" - Harvard Business School).

speakers bio: I’ve been negotiating contracts for the different entities of the “Walt Disney Company” for the past 20 years. I have specialized in the preparation of large special corporate events. After several years as a buyer, I am now in charge of sales. I therefore have a complete experience of the buyer/supplier and sales person/client relationship. Over my career I’ve have received negotiation skills training from the very basic negotiations skills to high net worth, cross cultural, multi-party and highly complex negotiation. Using the knowledge and skill gained and with my practical experience gained over many years I have quickly established myself as a credible freelance trainer. My experiences as a freelance trainer have allowed me to understand the concepts from a number of training programs and I am able to make them come alive through my own experiences at Disney and other places. My diversified profile concerning content, my professional experience, as well as my capacity to teach in French, English and German have made my services interesting for many renowned training companies. To share is the heart of my motivation. This motivation has pushed me to write my own book on negotiation. Even through there are many books already available on this subject, my approach to the subject, makes it more personal, more fun. I put myself in the shoes of the men and women who have a packed agenda, who have to juggle their time between work, family and other hobbies, and still want to continue to learn in an easy way. This is the reason why I decided to create the collection “Bedtimestories for the Busy Business(wo)men”. The first book in this collection is called “The Story of Negotiating Effectively”.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate The biggest revolution we will face in the next decade is a shift in how we deal with information. It has the potential to change how we buy, how we sell, our advertising and marketing, how we communicate, how we manage and lead and how we organise ourselves. For us, perhaps the most significant and exciting change will be how we run our meetings, conferences and events. The current rise of social media is only the start of a flood of changes to how we engage, connect, communicate and relate. This highly engaging, multimedia-driven session will outline the key drivers behind new technologies, highlighting some of the most cutting edge new tools that meeting professionals need to be watching and engaging with, and will show participants a vision of what meetings of the near future could look like. The message is clear: we need to shift our industry into the future and take a lead in helping our clients grasp a new vision for meetings, conferences and events. If we don't, our competitors will. Even worse, new technologies might make our approach and assets completely redundant. Now is the time to grasp a new vision of the revolution that technology is creating around us.

Dr Graeme Codrington is a keynote presenter, author, facilitator and expert on the new world of work. He blends cutting-edge research, thought leading insights with humour, a conversational style and multimedia-driven programmes to create unforgettable experiences that add real value. Speaking internationally to over 100,000 people in about 15 different countries every year, he has shared the platform with the likes of Edward de Bono, Jonas Ridderstrale, Allan Pease, Sir Ken Robinson and Neil Armstrong. He has won numerous awards for his speaking and facilitation, including “Speaker of the Year” by the Academy for Chief Executives. His client list includes some of the world’s top companies, and CEOs invite him back time after time to share his latest insights and help them and their teams gain a clear understanding of how to successfully prepare for the future. Graeme is the co-founder and a senior partner of TomorrowToday, a global firm of futurists and business strategists.

Session type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate The food we eat has a huge influence on our brain function. As meeting planners and meeting participants this is great news and it presents great opportunities. Recent research has shown that the consumption of Brain Food ensures better concentration and improved learning. It reduces participants’ reaction times and stress levels. These are factors that influence the value of our meetings in a remarkable way. Hear the latest research and learn how to implement Brain Food – and get to know the Danish star nutrition expert Christian Bitz. He is the innovative expert who introduced the Brain Food concept to the Meeting Industry and won the 2011 Danish MPI Innovation Award. He is an energetic and incredibly enthusiastic speaker, who challenges the notion that food is something we should fear and stay away from. Christian Bitz stays clear of fanatical ideals and unrealistic health lectures. He spreads his knowledge of health and nutrition in a sympathetic way, which is understandable for everyone and which can be applied to the everyday lives of all.

speakers bio: Christian Bitz has a MSc in nutrition and has done extensive research in the fields of appetite regulation, the sense of taste, diets, and lifestyle diseases. He is the regular nutrition expert on the national TV-show: Good Morning Denmark. He is an energetic and incredibly enthusiastic speaker, who challenges the idea that food is something we should fear and stay away from. Christian Bitz stays clear of fanatical ideals and unrealistic health lectures. He spreads his knowledge of health and nutrition in a sympathetic way, which is understandable for everyone and which can be applied to the everyday lives of all. Christian’s primary goal is to encourage better and healthier lifestyles for everyone. He wants to reach the broad population, not just the individuals with a preexisting interest in health, nutrition and fitness. This is why his message appeals to the masses. He has published several books on health and nutrition in Danish, the first of which was ranked number one on the Danish bestseller list. In 2011, Bitz received the MPI’s Innovator of the Year award for his Brain Food concept, which since September 2010 has been a regular part of meeting and event packages at numerous hotels in Denmark. Experience a speaker who entertains and who delivers tools for a healthy lifestyle in an approachable manner. Christian simultaneously delivers the motivation to implement these tools and achieve a better lifestyle.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate From Legacy to Dream to Reality! The Great to Cool Ocean of opportunities! One of the main challenges for business is to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit across generations and spread it! It’s not the product you sell, it’s the story you tell that makes you shine! As a ’Brain Agent’, ’Trendteller’ and ’Innovation Futurist’ René C.W. Boender will provide unique ‘story telling ‘insights on how business can go beyond their thinking and increase their entrepreneurship. As an entrepreneur, future leader and owner, you will witness rich examples to go beyond your thinking and most importantly, to trust and follow your intuition, in order to make your legacy into your dream and your own creation. It will allow you to consider entrepreneurial activities not only in the existing business, new business ventures but also in owners ventures and social entrepreneurship activities, to provide resources and opportunities for yourself , your brand and society to grow. René Boender beliefs in the power on making a contact and winning contracts based on the EEC norm. You will be surprised how easy it can be! If you really want it….

Speaker bio:

René C.W. Boender/Great Opportunities; Brain agent, Brand booster, Trendteller & Innovation futurist! René Boender (1958) knew at the age of 5 that he wanted to be in the marketing industry. He is a fountain of energy and inspiration and knows how to strike the social media cord as Twitter and Facebook. His brain candies, the ISP (Inspirational Selling Point), the 3"12" Eternity rule and more, are real eye openers and for many the starting point to change. Started his career as a copywriter and followed his (inter)national career at McCann-Erickson (1983), later on as an area manager Africa/Middle East at McCann London/N.Y./Atlanta (1988) for Coca-Cola, Goodyear, Martini, Nestlé and Unilever. Returned as a deputy manager at McCann Amsterdam (1989) for clients like Iglo/Ola, L'Oreal, Black & Decker, Isover, Hennes & Mauritz. Was replaced (again) to McCann London as a European Business Development Director. Decided after eight years McCann to return to Holland and became a managing director at Catchline Communications (1991). BBCW Communications provided him in 1993 a new challenging offer to make waves and start his own agency He was managing partner of BBCW from May 1993 till September 2000. In that period BBCW became a part of Young & Rubicam (1994) and one of the leading advertising agencies in the Netherlands. In 1999 BBCW started as a part of the Y&R network in New York to service international clients. In September 2000 Rene came back to the Netherlands to set up Great Opportunities!He inspires many global captains of industry in one-on-one sessions and knows how strike just the right chord with consumers. He keeps track of virtually everything, and believes everything stands or falls through the power of communication.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate Contrary to the “closed innovation approach” that has prevailed in Innovation over the last century, companies increasingly become aware of the fact that they should not merely limit their innovation capability to the quality and speed of their own internal innovation sources and processes. They recognize the vast value that potentially lies in external idea’s and best practices which can be derived from other fields of science, clients, sectors & markets and geographies outside of the scope of the companies own current focus.Yet a lot of companies struggle to benefit from this new era of “open innovation” since they lack the insights in 1) which methodologies support this type of innovation; 2) what technologies support such global innovation initiatives; and 3) how such an approach could be integrated in the overall design of their innovation portfolio. In his contribution to the upcoming European Meetings and Events Conference, Hans van Grieken of Capgemini, will touch upon a few strategies that highly competitive companies such as Samsung, Lego and Intel deploy to source their innovation efforts on a global scale. He will picture the consequences these developments have for the Meetings and Events Conference World. What new concepts and supporting technologies are out there that would improve the "customer experience" and add more value to your events. As an illustration, he will also elaborate on some of the concepts behind Capgemini's global "Design Centers".

speakers bio: Hans van Grieken is Vice President Business Innovation at Capgemini and part of the company's international innovation network. He is a regular speaker at national and international conferences on the subject of (IT-driven) innovation and delivers about 120 speeches at conferences and in Board Rooms worldwide on a yearly basis. He covers about 26 different markets and sectors in which technology driven innovation plays a key role, both in the private as well as in the public sector. Through this exposure to numerous markets/trends, Hans van Grieken is frequently consulted for his ideas around transferring Global Innovation Best Practices from one market to the other.

Session Type: “I” interactive Audience level: “I” intermediate Have you ever wondered what makes someone influential?  How does persuasion work and how can you use it to increase your effectiveness as a meeting professional?  We all know that the best plan doesn't always win, but those best at influencing and inspiring do!  Attend this session to demystify the act of persuasion and discover the science behind it.  Learn what techniques work in different situations and why and how you can put these techniques into practice to be more effective.  Use this information to get more out of your next negotiation or to prove business value of your next meeting.  

speakers bio: Drs Pacelle van Goethem is a coach, researcher and speaker in the field of persuasion, voice and influence. She is a speech-language-voice Pathologist and got her specialization in Psychology and Masscommunication. She did research at the Radboud University and discovered the spectacular connection between relaxation and persuasion. In 2009 her book ‘IJs verkopen aan Eskimo’s’ was published. Her CD ‘De Psychologie van Overtuigen’ was published at the end of 2010. She is a coach and does speeches, workshops and seminars on behalf of, , Speaker Academy’s and of Denkproducties, such as the ‘Psychologie van het Overtuigen’ and ‘Onzichtbaar Overtuigen’.

Session Type: “I” interactive Audience level: “I” intermediate How can you create interaction with large audiences? How can you transform the role from a Master of Ceremony into a Master of Interaction? Attend this session to explore these questions and learn several alternatives to these questions. During this presentation, we will dive into three directions: experience interventions; get an overview of new large group methods and practical tips and tricks to organize an event where participants interact with each other. You will experience short, energetic exercises (adapted from the basic skills of improvisational theatre) to stimulate networking and create an open and informal atmosphere. Learn simple exercises to engage an audience in a short amount of time. Discover new ways (Eg open space, worldcafe, pecha kucha, mega-brainstorm) to create an event where the audience is really involved in the topic of the event. Get practical tips and tricks to organize an event where real interaction between participants can take place.

speakers bio: Cyriel Kortleven is a crewmember and co-founder of new shoes today - a growing number of soulmates in business who give support to people and organisations on their road to creation, innovation and change. Cyriel makes people more conscious of the opportunities in life. Cyriel is a popular speaker in the domain of creativity and innovation. He gives workshops and presentations in creative skills and attitude and the breaking of fixed thinking patterns. Cyriel moves people in a literally and figurative way by means of a combination of creativity and improvisation - also brought together in the succesful dutch book 'And ... Action!'. Next to the process of generating ideas, he is fascinated by making an idea or message contagious and sticky. Cyriel is also on an eternal expedition to discover new ways to integrate experience time in our clocktime-society. His playful and enthusiastic attitude creates an open and informal atmosphere; ideal for the combination master of ceremony/speaker for bigger events and conferences. To stimulate the consciousness of experience time and the power of creativity, Cyriel is a co-founder of two troups 'The Knights of NOW' and 'Operation Brainstorm'. Do you get the image ... interaction, inspiration, passion and creative, that's Cyriel Kortleven. Now.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate A recent study conducted on behalf of MPI has found that less than 1% of respondents make any attempt to determine the business value of their meetings. The majority operate under significant false perceptions of the time, effort and potential disruption involved. They are also unaware of the practical solutions others are effectively using, the available resources to help implement solutions, and how those solutions contribute to organizational success. Join us for this interactive session with a team of experts who will answer your questions around the key valuation stages: • Knowing the Essential Importance of Measurement • Securing Stakeholder Understanding and Commitment • Establishing Business & Meeting Objectives • Creating Meaningful Measures • Producing Effective Analysis & Reporting

speakers bio: Bill Voegeli is President of Association Insights, a company specializing in the research needs of membership organizations. Bill provides research analysis, planning and reporting services for organizations worldwide. He has made over 1,000 presentations to professional audiences, and has been recognized for his ability to develop and communicate pro-active plans which clearly address the challenges and opportunities facing individual organizations, as well as industries. Bill's training is in finance, risk management, and taxation. He has been a researcher since 1991.

Session Type: “I” interactive Audience level: “I” intermediate The business world and especially meeting professionals are increasingly faced with the challenge of virtual versus face to face meetings. In this session, participants will learn key concepts that are needed to present in the virtual world in an inspiring, humorous and engaging way. We will interactively explore different virtual presentation forms: what are the 'best practices' and pitfalls? How can we use technology at its best? And of course how does one prepare & deliver inspiring and engaging virtual presentations? Practical lessons from TV, Radio, Social Media and Design will be revealed that will allow participants not only to understand what engaging ways are possible in virtual presentations, but also to experience and practice the concepts hands-on.

speakers bio: Lars is a professional speaker and business leader. He has gained international work and consulting experience in Germany, Belgium, France, the UK, Taiwan, and Singapore with companies such as Procter & Gamble, McKinsey & Company, and The Boss Group, Ltd. Lars has in-depth experience speaking to and training a variety of audiences and is an award-winning and certified trainer and coach. He is the Global Master Trainer of 'Presentation Skills' at Procter & Gamble as well as the 5-times Belgian and one time European Champion of Public Speaking with Toastmasters International. These personal achievements and experiences, together with sound research, form the basis of Lars' memorable and inspiring keynote speeches and seminars. Recently, Lars is focussing his research and speaking on the virtual world and on how to make virtual communication and presentations a truly exciting and ‘human’ experience. Lars has a university education in business administration (Aachen University of Technology), and social sciences and psychology (Hamburg University). He is a resident of Grimbergen, Belgium and speaks and trains in English, German, and Dutch.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate Pilot fish are the small fish who reach new markets by swimming with the "sharks" who protect them in dangerous waters in return for co-support. How can you find new partners who can take you places you never thought possible, faster and at less cost and risk, and enable you to grow your business in new and innovative ways? How can you apply the secrets of Adobe and Crocs, Intel and Lycra, and even Johnny Depp, to the meetings and conferencing business, and grow faster, cheaper and easier? Innovation expert Peter Fisk is back by popular demand. Come and explore how you can swim new oceans with the friendly sharks!

speakers bio: Peter Fisk is a bestselling author and inspirational speaker on brands, innovation and marketing. He inspires, provokes and enables audiences to see things differently, and was recently described by Business Strategy Review as “one of the best new business thinkers.” His new book Creative Genius inspires your imagination and intuition - to think from the future back – to learn from the creative techniques of Leonardo da Vinci, as well as rockstars and fashion designers, to drive more radical creativity, design and innovation – with the mind of Steve Jobs, passion of Philippe Starck, ingenuity of Shigeru Miyamoto, and commercial impact of Warren Buffett. He is also author of the best-selling Marketing Genius which explores the left and right-brain approaches to competitive success, and has been translated into more than 28 languages. Customer Genius the challenge of doing business on customers terms, when, where and how they want, and People Planet Profit which explains how to grow your business, whilst doing good socially and for the environment. Peter is CEO of the Genius Works, an accelerated innovation business that works with business to develop and implement more inspired strategies for customers, innovation and marketing. InnoLab is a accelerated innovation consulting process, Zoom Ventures bring together business and Fast Track is an executive development programme. He started out with British Airways, and then worked with the likes of American Express and Coca Cola, Microsoft and Orange, Red Bull, Shell and Virgin, Vodafone and Volkswagen. He was also the transforming CEO of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the world’s largest marketing organisation. He encourages leaders to take new perspectives, to learn from new places, to think and act differently, and deliver extraordinary results. Find our more at www.theGeniusWorks.com

Session Type: “P” panel Audience level: “A” advanced Bringing together a panel of executives from leading agencies from the meetings industry, featuring powerful insights on consolidation within the meetings industry. This panel will reveal their big ideas on achieving business milestones and share their own thoughts and learning around consolidation. All of this brought to you in a highly interactive way. Panel Facilitator: Polo Looser, VP, MCI Panelists: Corporate: Mag. Klaus Andreas Span, Worldwide International Events Executive, IBM Consulting: Mark Handforth, Managing Director, 360 Event Consulting Agency: Dr. Martin Sekyra, CEO of Guarant in Eastern Europe

speakers bio: After working several years in the travel business in various countries, Polo Looser returned to his native Switzerland to study in St. Gallen (bachelor of economics). As a sales and export manager, he polished his theoretical knowledge in the pharmaceutical industry and was later appointed Director for an international incentive house. Polo joined MCI in 2001 as a Member of the international board. In 2003 he was awarded an MBA in Business Engineering (Change Management) by the Universities of St. Gallen and Santa Clara (CA). As a VP he is responsible for one area in the MCI global world (www.mci-group.com). MCI employs today over 1’100 talents in 47 offices in 23 countries. MCI actively pursues the leading position in the consolidation of the meetings industry.

Session Type: “U” unconference Audience level: “I” intermediate This session offers participants the unique opportunity to experiment with meetings design. The main focus will be on the impact of physical positions on groups of participants. To this end, we will simulate a mini-meeting, with groups of participants designing the best possible format, lay-out and seating for the situation at hand. A role play actor will be the live guinea-pig for the formats designed by participants. Each design will receive feedback from the role play actor and from the session’s presenter. Due to its experimental nature, this session can have a maximum number of 25 participants.

speakers bio: Consultant, trainer and Facilitator, MindMeeting, Netherlands/ Italy Mike van der Vijver is a free lance consultant, trainer and facilitator, working with people and processes. He has over 20 years experience in the meeting industry, initially as conference interpreter and subsequently as meeting designer through MindMeeting, the company he co-founded. MindMeeting specializes in the design of effective programmes for international meetings: conferences, seminars, workshops, etc. The innovative formats MindMeeting develops have gained increasing attention in the meeting industry and as a result, Mike and his business partner Eric de Groot are working often on meeting strategy issues. Mike has been a regular speaker at MPI events and is often asked to facilitate discussions on the future of meetings and their role in organizational communications. In addition, he is a trainer and consultant with ITIM, an international venture that focuses on culture (national or organizational) as a management tool. He lives both in Italy and the Netherlands and speaks English, Dutch and Italian.

Session Type: “T” training Audience level: “N” novice You need to find suppliers for your event --- where do you start? How do you write an RFP which suppliers will respond to? How do you evaluate their proposals? What goes into a standard contract? What are the clauses you cannot forget to include? How do you negotiate so that both you and the supplier are satisfied: How do you make sure your suppliers deliver what they promised?

speakers bio: Known as the driving force behind “unleash potential,” the factor for development of positive, energizing motivation, Miranda Ioannou is a visionary strategist with broad experience in diverse industry sectors such as the meetings industry, non-profits, IT, publishing, and large scale projects. With an academic background in International Business, Marketing, PR, HR, IT and strategic meetings management, Miranda has more than 20 years experience in multinational organizations, the meetings industry and the association management business in Cyprus, EMEA and the US. An active member of the meetings industry scene and avid believer in streamlining, Miranda is an engaging speaker. Miranda helps associations develop their conferences and their membership offering, promotes the use of effective meetings as the major means of actively developing strategic business, and is very committed to developing the meeting industry in the Mediterranean area. Furthermore, with extensive knowledge on the region of south Europe and the Middle East, and by combining the perspective of the customer and supplier sides effectively and constructively, she was the key catalyst that helped and continues to help destinations and venues develop their offering for the meetings industry to international standards. As a consultant to the EU Commission for technology, SMB and e-enablement, Miranda promotes the role of meetings in the development of stronger ties, effective networking and synergies for the future. Miranda furthermore lectures on strategic business, management, HR, new media and meeting industry topics.

Session Type: “T” training Audience level: “N/I” novice/intermediate Have your clients, internal or external, been asking you to provide data on their entire event spend, activities and suggestions how to optimise their overall portfolio? Do you feel you should elevate the dialogue with your clients and become a strategic consultant? If so, chances are your clients are ready for a conversation about help with their Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) Programme. SMM is about the strategic management of enterprise-wide meeting related processes, spend, volumes, standards and suppliers to achieve quantitative cost-savings, risk mitigation and superior service. But what does that all mean? Lindsay Seth of MCI will explain how SMM is closely linked to Account Management principles on delivering value to our clients. Learn how to increase revenue and have strategic/business conversations with your clients which can impact your bottom-line in positive ways.

speakers bio: After training as an interpreter and briefly working in show business Lindsay entered the hospitality industry in the late 80s. Over time she built up experience working as a third party supplier (hotel), as agency director with full P&L responsibility and a team of 50 persons, as consultant and as end-user. As a director at MCI Headquarters in Geneva she now consults corporations and associations to help them build frameworks in line with their objectives and create full value from their meeting & event strategies. Lindsay is an MPI accredited trainer.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate Researchers from the International Centre for Research in Events, Tourism, Hospitality (ICRETH) at Leeds Metropolitan University will present the latest findings from the MPI Future of Meetings and Global CSR studies. The research provides a perspective on the future on different topics like technology, social media, CSR and meeting design from over 1500 meeting industry professionals. The session will examine the implications of these insights, using case studies on how and why the industry is using CSR to enhance performance and support the business case and will be touching on other studies to examine how we might need to plan, design and communicate our meetings in the future.

Speakers bio:

Jackie Mulligan is a Principal Lecturer at Leeds Met with a faculty wide role in supporting business development activity.Jackie has developed professional industry training programmes including the Economic Challenge Investment Fund funded creating and managing events programme, has developed a programme for the Skills Development Fund and is lead partner for the National Skills Academy. Jackie continues to work with industry partners to drive forward new initiatives that will support the professionalization of the events industry.

James Musgrave is actively involved in the development and production of e-learning provision and virtual learning environments within the University. He leads the on-line sustainable management training to industry with partners Positive Impact and the increased number of students on the MSc Events Management distance learning courses has enabled James to research, develop and produce innovative learning materials and resources to students around the world. James is currently Course Leader for the MA Responsible Events and has teaching responsibility for strategic management, human resource and volunteer management and issues and trends within the Events Industry at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Emma Wood is reader in Festivals and Events Marketing with an MSc in Statistics and specialises in innovative marketing within the events sector. She is co-author of Innovative Future of Meetings Research Study 28 Marketing Communication published by Elsevier and a European Edition of Hoffman and Bateson’s Services Marketing text, published by Cengage in 2009. Emma’s current research interests are in the areas of experiential marketing and promotional events and event impacts. Emma is joint editor of the Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events and also chairs the Academy of Marketing special interest group in Events and Experiential Marketing. Emma undertakes consultancy projects for local government and other bodies that focus on the evaluation of festivals and events and social marketing though events.

Lindsay Seth: After training as an interpreter and briefly working in show business Lindsay entered the hospitality industry in the late 80s. Over time she built up experience working as a third party supplier (hotel), as agency director with full P&L responsibility and a team of 50 persons, as consultant and as end-user. As a director at MCI Headquarters in Geneva she now consults corporations and associations to help them build frameworks in line with their objectives and create full value from their meeting & event strategies. Lindsay is an MPI accredited trainer.

Session Type: “I” interactive Audience level: “I” intermediate During this presentation, the audience will be inspired by the possibilities of creativity and break your own fixed thinking patterns. It will be a very interactive presentation where the participants will experience the power of creativity and several examples will be given how creativity can break some fixed Professional Meetings thinking patterns. Patterns, patterns and the curse of knowledge Recognizing & breaking patterns Creative principles - the Yes and - attitude + Yes and ... Postponing judgement – ideakillers + Explore the world from a different perspective + Suppose that ... use your imagination + Assocations - make new flexible connections + Next Idea - don't stop after your second idea - diverge + Do it now - have guts and go for it During the presentation, there will be a lot of interaction via exercises, movies, examples, ...

speakers bio: Cyriel Kortleven is a crewmember and co-founder of new shoes today - a growing number of soulmates in business who give support to people and organisations on their road to creation, innovation and change. Cyriel makes people more conscious of the opportunities in life. Cyriel is a popular speaker in the domain of creativity and innovation. He gives workshops and presentations in creative skills and attitude and the breaking of fixed thinking patterns. Cyriel moves people in a literally and figurative way by means of a combination of creativity and improvisation - also brought together in the succesful dutch book 'And ... Action!'. Next to the process of generating ideas, he is fascinated by making an idea or message contagious and sticky. Cyriel is also on an eternal expedition to discover new ways to integrate experience time in our clocktime-society. His playful and enthusiastic attitude creates an open and informal atmosphere; ideal for the combination master of ceremony/speaker for bigger events and conferences. To stimulate the consciousness of experience time and the power of creativity, Cyriel is a co-founder of two troups 'The Knights of NOW' and 'Operation Brainstorm'. Do you get the image ... interaction, inspiration, passion and creative, that's Cyriel Kortleven. Now.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate In our session we will explore issues of creativity in the information age, the mashing up information and shattering the walls between guests and event producers. Whatever your business of industry, success is dependent on developing and executing new ideas. Unfortunately, regardless of how great your ideas may be, most of them will never happen. Ideas don't happen in isolation. You must embrace opportunities to broadcast and refine your ideas through the energy of those around you. All great events emerge from a long sequence of small sparks. The first idea isn't at all good, but thanks to collaboration it later sparks other ideas, or it's reinterpreted in an unexpected way. Collaboration brings small sparks together to generate a breakthrough. Xander Kranenburg will show you that the lone creative genius in our society is a myth and that creative and provoking ideas are for the picking. Whatever their approach, all event designers have a habit of browsing through the entire catalogue of creative disciplines to transform a relatively small idea into an unforgettable happening. They have no tradition to follow and have a plethora of platforms to draw inspiration. Today's event designers use the latest technologies and the most innovative materials. How can the event designer grab our attention? By creating a new world in which the laws of reality do not apply.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate How many times have we all said, “we are perfectly organized, this will never happen to us!”? As meeting professionals, an essential part of our job is to ensure that the planning process includes consideration for any type of crisis that affects staff and/or attendees. Whether a planner or supplier, we all need to understand and be prepared for the unpredictable nature of today’s economy/travel/weather, etc. David Perl will simulate a crisis situation to help you understand the importance of having planned and the capability to respond to the unthinkable. He will also provide insight into the many challenges and attention to detail that is required in managing a crisis.

speakers bio: David is a recognized expert in his field of crisis management, leadership and people development who regularly delivers keynote talks globally and comments on industry issues. After leaving the UK’s National Health Service, David, a qualified medical practitioner, worked in the medical repatriation Industry. In 1998 he founded docleaf and built the business into a respected crisis management company with a global client base. Many of docleaf’s clients are in the MICE sector so David fully understands the issues these unique businesses face in managing a crisis. It was through his first-hand experience of working alongside leaders in crises that he also developed an interest in people performance, leadership and emotional intelligence in the workplace. David's other passions include all things aviation with him gaining his pilot's license in 2010 and is currently building his own aircraft. He also loves travelling and has visited over 100 countries. He is also training to be psychotherapist to complement his already broad base of knowledge and experience.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate If they can, so can I if only certain things would to change. But what? Enter the “Pareto Mindset” In his keynote “The Secret of the Pareto Mindset” Swiss entrepreneur and strategic coach Steven Loepfe takes you on a journey to the The Pareto Mindset. A mindset that's all about how the upper echelon of entrepreneurs really tick. Based on his observations from over 2’500 strategic projects and 20 years’ work with entrepreneurs Steven Loepfe shows how the successful ones inject leverage into everything they do. This session is all about meeting planners who get the bigger cheques, the ones who are liberated, who work with more creativity, and enjoy the life they really deserve. True to its name the Pareto Mindset session is mainly about you and how you can multiply whatever results matter most to you as a meeting professional by applying some simple mind hacks found in the “Pareto Mindset”.

Session Type: “P” panel Audience level: “I” intermediate MPI has launched its new trends and forecasting web portal, TrendWatch, featuring bi-monthly FutureWatch and Business Barometer reports, research and articles, trending charts, videos and an industry-first trends discussion aggregator. But what do these trends mean to the European meeting industry? Learn EU-specific trends in meetings and events, and discuss their implications on you and your job with industry leaders who implement solutions and create solutions every day.

speakers bio: Bill Voegeli is President of Association Insights, a company specializing in the research needs of membership organizations. Bill provides research analysis, planning and reporting services for organizations worldwide. He has made over 1,000 presentations to professional audiences, and has been recognized for his ability to develop and communicate pro-active plans which clearly address the challenges and opportunities facing individual organizations, as well as industries. Bill's training is in finance, risk management, and taxation. He has been a researcher since 1991.

Session Type: “P” panel Audience level: “A” advanced The BRIC countries are the new “Power houses” of the world and the landscape is changing quickly also in our industry. Panelists from Brasil, Russia, India and China exchange the challenges and opportunities represented by this dynamic, fast expanding, yet not well-understood market, including the business culture, organisational structures, and practical advice on negotiating and marketing. Panel Facilitator: Mike van der Vijver, Meeting Designer, MindMeeting B.V. Panelists: Beth Wada, Director, Postgraduate Programs, Universidade Anhembi Morumbi Sébastien Tondeur, CEO, MCI Suisse SA and MPI Chairman 2011-2012

speakers bio: Consultant, trainer and Facilitator, MindMeeting, Netherlands/ Italy Mike van der Vijver is a free lance consultant, trainer and facilitator, working with people and processes. He has over 20 years experience in the meeting industry, initially as conference interpreter and subsequently as meeting designer through MindMeeting, the company he co-founded. MindMeeting specializes in the design of effective programmes for international meetings: conferences, seminars, workshops, etc. The innovative formats MindMeeting develops have gained increasing attention in the meeting industry and as a result, Mike and his business partner Eric de Groot are working often on meeting strategy issues. Mike has been a regular speaker at MPI events and is often asked to facilitate discussions on the future of meetings and their role in organizational communications. In addition, he is a trainer and consultant with ITIM, an international venture that focuses on culture (national or organizational) as a management tool. He lives both in Italy and the Netherlands and speaks English, Dutch and Italian.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate Are you puzzled in knowing how to manage your attendees demanding appetite for technology? Is this affecting your budget and negatively affecting your meeting ROI? If so, learn how to take control of the growing & demanding Event Technology Zombie! Increasingly, conference attendees have an insatiable appetite for technology and connectivity, placing huge demands on venue providers and organizers. Many Event Professionals are overwhelmed to understand and manage the technology demands & budget requirements for their events and conferences. Attendees expect complete, total and seamless access to their professional and personal content, at all time regardless of the region, venue and time. Smart devices, social media and other technological advances have and will continue to place demands and pressure at meeting, conferences and events. This session will help you take control and better manage this technological explosive that is occurring in our events.

speakers bio: Michael L. Clanton has been actively involved in the hospitality industry for over 15 years, providing audiovisual and network connectivity advice and assistance. Mr Clanton is the Head of Global Corporate Event Solutions for My Meeting Professional (MMP), which is a newly created research and educational division of iBAHN, the global network provider for the hospitality industry. A main focus of MMP is to provide fresh answers to technology and connectivity challenges that meetings professionals face on a daily basis. In addition, Mr Clanton manages a second iBAHN business called Enterprise Conference Solutions (ECS). ECS implements meeting design best practices when delivering network solutions for conferences and events, to ensure that meeting professionals achieve their ROI target. Mr Clanton received his Executive Master of Business Administration degree (EMBA) from Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. And he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concretion in Global Business from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. He has been an active Meeting Professionals International (MPI) member with the Georgia Chapter, UK and Ireland Chapter and the France Swiss Chapter in which he serves as the E-Content champion.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate How come certain organizations and companies always manage to succeed regardless of economic challenges, change of leadership or other circumstances? What do these companies have in common? Take this opportunity to obtain some new insights on how to stay innovative and re-imagine our industry and businesses in the future. We will also touch upon the leadership challenges that we foresee, and the importance of integrating generation Y for the most successful business results.

speakers bio: Lotta Wiström, personal coach, public speaker, educator and a writer, is 40-years old and enjoys life to the full extent and is a living example of how quality of life can be combined with top performance in sales, education, brokering and parenting. She is an inspiring lecturer and educator who with simple examples make it clear and obvious that we ourselves have far more skills than we understand when it comes to reaching our full potential. She knows the importance of delivering 100 % regardless of the line of business and manages in a straightforward way convey the importance of goal setting and focus. She has worked as a salesperson and sales educator for over 15 years and knows what it means to work with performance expectations and deadlines. Through plain advice and useful hints she speaks about how it's possible to make a come-back and remain a top-performer regardless what occupational category you belong to. Lotta mixes her lectures with practical experiences, metaphors, and theoretical advices that have been proven to work. She speaks in a plain and natural way about the importance of having a great self-esteem and to dare to listen to one-self. She speaks a lot about the importance of taking one's personal responsibility when it comes to how I think, how I act and what I say. With experience from many areas - school, international as well as national corporations, and the world of athletics, she is able to create trust and safety. Lotta is perceived as a genuine and honest lecturer/educator and she leaves no-one untouched when telling her life story. She has charisma and creates a feeling among her audiences that "if she can so can I". A mixture of laughter and seriousness, useful hints and screamingly funny experiences is offered and many are touched by the straight and honest communication Lotta is offering her listeners. Lotta has a solid background as a public speaker and educator from several major Swedish corporations like Scania, Posten, SCA, MondiDynäs, Stena Line, Johns, Ticket and others. She has, over the years (by herself or together with her mentor and colleague Bengt Wiström) had many successful lectures and educational programs for all employees, the management as well as individual managers and top executives.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “I” intermediate Are you sick of hearing the words “green” and “sustainable” thrown around every five seconds? Skeptical about sustainability? This is not another lecture about the green meetings and events industry. This is a lecture about the meetings and events industry, where sustainable practices have become standard practices. Rather than talk about big ideas, we’re here to tell you the hard facts and the best sustainable practices that successful meetings and events are incorporating into their standard operating procedures. Sam Goldblatt is the author of The Complete Guide to Greener Meetings and Events, the first major international textbook on sustainable events. He has spent the last two years interviewing over 50 leaders in sustainable meetings, conferences, exhibitions, festivals and events, and he is here to share best practices, and showcase how sustainability is becoming standard. Learn how location and transportation decisions can save you time and money. Discover how to make the most of your resources. Understand renewable and efficient energy sources. Explore how sustainable practices can create superior experiences.

speakers bio: Sam Goldblatt is an international arts and events producer and the author of The Complete Guide to Greener Meetings and Events, the first major international textbook on sustainable event management. Based in Scotland, he is director of deBlanc, ltd, a sustainable events consultancy. Currently producer of the Edinburgh &Glasgow 48 Hour Film Projects, Sam has worked with events around the world, including Capital Fringe Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Hamburg Harley Days and China Fringe Festival.

Session Type: “L&L” listen and learn Audience level: “A” advanced Sponsors make events possible, yet are no longer prepared to tolerate an ad in the brochure, or banner on stage. They need events to do much more for them. Andby working differently, you can achieve much more too. As events search harder to make an impact, organisers and sponsors should work together to rethink what they are seeking to achieve and how. How can you help your sponsor accelerate their impact? To build brands? To transform reputations? To launch new services? Peter Fisk will share insights from some of the London 2012 Olympic Sponsors, and consider how events large and small can become “slingshot” moments for transforming the attitudes and behaviours of audiences, the reputation and performance of brands.

speakers bio: Peter Fisk is a bestselling author and inspirational speaker on brands, innovation and marketing. He inspires, provokes and enables audiences to see things differently, and was recently described by Business Strategy Review as “one of the best new business thinkers.” His new book Creative Genius inspires your imagination and intuition - to think from the future back – to learn from the creative techniques of Leonardo da Vinci, as well as rockstars and fashion designers, to drive more radical creativity, design and innovation – with the mind of Steve Jobs, passion of Philippe Starck, ingenuity of Shigeru Miyamoto, and commercial impact of Warren Buffett. He is also author of the best-selling Marketing Genius which explores the left and right-brain approaches to competitive success, and has been translated into more than 28 languages. Customer Genius the challenge of doing business on customers terms, when, where and how they want, and People Planet Profit which explains how to grow your business, whilst doing good socially and for the environment. Peter is CEO of the Genius Works, an accelerated innovation business that works with business to develop and implement more inspired strategies for customers, innovation and marketing. InnoLab is a accelerated innovation consulting process, Zoom Ventures bring together business and Fast Track is an executive development programme. He started out with British Airways, and then worked with the likes of American Express and Coca Cola, Microsoft and Orange, Red Bull, Shell and Virgin, Vodafone and Volkswagen. He was also the transforming CEO of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the world’s largest marketing organisation. He encourages leaders to take new perspectives, to learn from new places, to think and act differently, and deliver extraordinary results. Find our more at www.theGeniusWorks.com

Back by popular demand. The Solution Room is a participant-led session that gives you the power to dictate the topics and challenges facing the industry. This session is "unconference", with neither presentators nor featured speakers. Instead, speakers from concurrent sessions will be there to facilitate the conversation, answer questions and brainstorm solutions.

speakers bio Ruud Janssen: Ruud Janssen, CMM (1970) is serial entrepreneur specialised in bespoke new media and online collaboration at TNOC | The New Objective Collective. He is active as a trainer, facilitator and has co-founded Event Camp Europe and curator of TEDx events based in Arlesheim, Switzerland. He is a veteran Global Conference Organiser, Strategic Marketing Consultant and a social media digital nomad. He is one of the co-authors of The Tweeting Meeting and as an association leader he has completed a term on the International Board of Directors of MPI Meeting Professionals International as well as serving a chapter president for MPI in the Netherlands. His is currently on the board the Meeting Support Institute and Project Meeting Architecture. Besides his role as a jury member for the EIBTM World Wide Technology Watch, he is an emerging technologies speaker, MPI Global Accredited Trainer and serial entrepreneur at TNOC | The New Objective Collective and Amplixs Interaction Management. He can be contacted on http://www.tnoc.ch per mail at connect@tnoc.ch or on twitter under @ruudwjanssen

speakers bio Mike van der Vijver: Consultant, trainer and Facilitator, MindMeeting, Netherlands/ Italy Mike van der Vijver is a free lance consultant, trainer and facilitator, working with people and processes. He has over 20 years experience in the meeting industry, initially as conference interpreter and subsequently as meeting designer through MindMeeting, the company he co-founded. MindMeeting specializes in the design of effective programmes for international meetings: conferences, seminars, workshops, etc. The innovative formats MindMeeting develops have gained increasing attention in the meeting industry and as a result, Mike and his business partner Eric de Groot are working often on meeting strategy issues. Mike has been a regular speaker at MPI events and is often asked to facilitate discussions on the future of meetings and their role in organizational communications. In addition, he is a trainer and consultant with ITIM, an international venture that focuses on culture (national or organizational) as a management tool. He lives both in Italy and the Netherlands and speaks English, Dutch and Italian.