PCMA has announced several new acquisitions, alliances and partnerships at its Convening Leaders 2023 conference, taking place in Columbus, Ohio, this week.

This includes the acquisition of the Event Marketing Association – UK (EMA-UK), an industry association comprised of 800+ corporate event marketing professionals representing a cross-section of EMEA industry segments and global brands.

EMA-UK will immediately become part of the PCMA global community, joining CEMA (Corporate Event Marketing Association), which has a membership of over 700 event marketing professionals and was acquired by PCMA in 2020.

EMA Chair Richard Waddington said: “EMA was founded back in 2013 exclusively for the in-house UK corporate event profs. We’ve grown our membership from a handful of likeminded individuals to currently just under 1,000 members across the UK, achieving a lot along that journey, through knowledge exchange and collaboration across our membership, whilst also representing them within the wider industry.

“The opportunity of merging into PCMA and joining forces with CEMA to grow the representation and voice of the corporate internationally is an opportunity for EMA not to be missed. PCMA will bring far greater resource and capability, the opportunity for greater growth and most important far greater value for our members and partners. I’d like to thank the EMA Council members, current and past for all their hard work and commitment and look forward to working with them and the PCMA family through this next phase of our evolvement.”

To demonstrate its commitment to industry education, PCMA has also acquired the Event Leadership Institute (ELI) to offer the most compelling portfolio of learning solutions and content. ELI’s Founder, Howard Givner, and the ELI team will immediately join the PCMA family to “establish the industry’s most powerful educational resource and product development design lab.”

As PCMA’s new Senior Vice President of Knowledge and Innovation, Givner’s contributions will assist PCMA with leading educational innovation for the global business events industry. Current PCMA members will benefit from this investment immediately with access to ELI’s extensive existing content library of 260 video modules and webinars, as well as a 20% discount on 17 certificate courses at no additional cost.

In the coming weeks, PCMA will welcome ELI’s 800 existing members, subscribers, and business partners as part of PCMA’s global community, creating more network connections for everyone.

Givner, who founded ELI ten years ago, said “PCMA, and its leadership team, led by CEO Sherrif Karamat, align with our vision of empowering event professionals to take their events and jobs to new heights. And PCMA’s support and global market reach will enable us to do that on a larger scale, developing the training resources our industry needs to excel no matter what comes our way.

“Together we will establish the industry’s most influential educational resource and product development design lab to lead educational innovation for our industry into the future, driving innovation, building an agile workforce, and providing the tools and resources to create the next generation of meaningful, measurable, and impactful events and experiences.”

Karamat added: “PCMA and the PCMA Foundation will continue to make new investments in the development of education and learning products as part of its plan to ensure the industry continues to be innovative today so that all can thrive tomorrow.”

“As of today, we are only moving forward – blazing a trail forward with and for the global business events community. We will innovate. We will take risks. We will get outside our comfort zone. And we will always do it for our audiences.”

PCMA has also announced several new partnerships to tackle the key issues of sustainability and diversity and inclusion.

A new partnership with the American Geophysical Union (AGU), a worldwide thought-leader on climate change impact and innovation, will help elevate the industry and its events when it comes to taking sustainability beyond talk and into action.

PCMA has also implemented a strategic alliance with the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP). Both organisations are committed to key elements to build value for their respective communities and for business event stakeholders everywhere. NCBMP is a co-locating partner of the 2023 Business Events Industry Week, which will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on 9 – 11 April in partnership with Events DC and Destination DC.

A not-for-profit organisation, PCMA provides senior-level education, networking, and market intelligence for the global business events industry.