I’ve been very fortunate throughout my lifetime to meet people who share similar values as me, both professionally and personally. In many cases, those connections have led to meaningful relationships, which in turn have created partnerships that I feel are vital to enriching our everyday lives.
Collaborating with those who have a shared vision and purpose makes us stronger as individuals and, more importantly, as a whole community. At MPI, our industry partnerships are essential in strengthening our footprint around the globe and are fundamental to the growth and sustainability of our association. Since joining MPI seven years ago, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with many talented leaders and great organizations, many of whom share my passion for our industry and have been instrumental in helping advance its position globally.
Henry Ford had a keen vision related to partnerships, stating that, “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success.”
As I attend IMEX America this month in Las Vegas and reflect on 2019, marking the ninth consecutive year of MPI working alongside IMEX as an exclusive strategic partner, I think about how we are indeed growing stronger and smarter together.
Our relationship with Ray Bloom, Carina Bauer and the entire IMEX team has become the model for our global partnerships with other peer organizations—partnerships that truly make our industry stronger through collaborative delivery of cutting-edge education, programs and events to our community.
We’re applying that successful model to help bring more connectivity and benefit across the industry. As an example, just last month, we announced a new partnership with the International Live Events Association (ILEA) that brings a new online educational platform with more than 60 sessions to ILEA members. And this past May we partnered with Destinations International to develop a co-op advertising campaign targeted at raising the awareness of the rich value that CVBs offer the planner community.
Whether it’s individual peer collaborations or spearheading initiatives such as Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) that connect all of us, MPI is always looking to broaden alliances and bring innovative and improved offerings to our industry. Reach out to us—we want to know how we can be better partners for you and how we can support you in reaching your career goals.
Because when we meet, we change the world.
Paul Van Deventer
MPI President and CEO
pvandeventer@mpiweb.org
Follow me on Twitter @MPICEOPaul
