André Vietor
President
Bco Congresos, Spain
An industry veteran with 35 years of experience, Andre Vietor was President of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) from 2006 to 2008. He also served as IAPCO's Training Academy Chair from 2012 to 2017. He is currently the Managing Director for Bco Congresos, based in Spain. His areas of expertise are consultancy services in business development and designing business plan strategies for destinations and associations, the planning and management of bid presentations, destination marketing as well as association management.
President
Bco Congresos, Spain
An industry veteran with 35 years of experience, Andre Vietor was President of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) from 2006 to 2008. He also served as IAPCO's Training Academy Chair from 2012 to 2017. He is currently the Managing Director for Bco Congresos, based in Spain. His areas of expertise are consultancy services in business development and designing business plan strategies for destinations and associations, the planning and management of bid presentations, destination marketing as well as association management.
Nancy Tan, CMP, DES
Immediate Past President
Ace:Daytons Direct (Int'l) Pte Ltd, Singapore
The founder and managing director of Ace:Daytons Direct, Nancy is a respected veteran of the conventions industry in Asia, with nearly 30 years of experience. She served on the Executive Committee of the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) from 2008 to 2020, where she held the position of Vice-President for 2010/2013, Honorary Treasurer for 2014/2015, and Vice-President (Conference) from 2016 to 2018.
Ace:Daytons Direct was awarded the Best Association Conference Organiser award at the 2019 Singapore Tourism Awards, and in 2017, the company won 3 Singapore Tourism Awards, including Best Business Event Service Provider Award for MICEapps, their in-house, fully-integrated web and online solutions app. Today, the Ace:Daytons Direct team’s comprehensive virtual and hybrid event management platform, MICEair, can work with any live-streaming tools to run hybrid/virtual conferences and exhibitions.
Nancy is actively involved as an invited speaker at conferences within the Asian circuit, including the 2020 ICCA Meeting Management Virtual Sector Meeting and the IT&CMA Asia 2019’s Association Day.
Immediate Past President
Ace:Daytons Direct (Int'l) Pte Ltd, Singapore
The founder and managing director of Ace:Daytons Direct, Nancy is a respected veteran of the conventions industry in Asia, with nearly 30 years of experience. She served on the Executive Committee of the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) from 2008 to 2020, where she held the position of Vice-President for 2010/2013, Honorary Treasurer for 2014/2015, and Vice-President (Conference) from 2016 to 2018.
Ace:Daytons Direct was awarded the Best Association Conference Organiser award at the 2019 Singapore Tourism Awards, and in 2017, the company won 3 Singapore Tourism Awards, including Best Business Event Service Provider Award for MICEapps, their in-house, fully-integrated web and online solutions app. Today, the Ace:Daytons Direct team’s comprehensive virtual and hybrid event management platform, MICEair, can work with any live-streaming tools to run hybrid/virtual conferences and exhibitions.
Nancy is actively involved as an invited speaker at conferences within the Asian circuit, including the 2020 ICCA Meeting Management Virtual Sector Meeting and the IT&CMA Asia 2019’s Association Day.
Sumate Sudasna, DES, CEM
Vice President
Conference & Destination Management (CDM), Thailand
Sumate is Managing Director of Conference & Destination Management (CDM) and has been active in the business events industry for over 30 years. A Digital Event Strategist (DES) and Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM), he is the first president of the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA) hailing from the private sector, and is currently serving his 8th term. In addition to managing CDM, Sumate devotes much of his time to Thailand’s meetings industry, including shaping projects and participating in training programs. He is a longstanding member of the board of directors of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) as well as that of the Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations (AFECA).
Vice President
Conference & Destination Management (CDM), Thailand
Sumate is Managing Director of Conference & Destination Management (CDM) and has been active in the business events industry for over 30 years. A Digital Event Strategist (DES) and Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM), he is the first president of the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA) hailing from the private sector, and is currently serving his 8th term. In addition to managing CDM, Sumate devotes much of his time to Thailand’s meetings industry, including shaping projects and participating in training programs. He is a longstanding member of the board of directors of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) as well as that of the Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations (AFECA).
Caroline Knies
Treasurer
Meetagain AB, Sweden
Founder and Managing Director of Meetagain, Caroline has over 30 years of industry experience in conference management. Meetagain is a certified IAPCO member and currently sitting as chair for the Next Gen Committee. The company strive to create successful meetings with high emphasis on sustainability and the future of meetings.
She loves networking and building long-term relationships with clients, suppliers and is working closely with the convention bureaus to bring meetings to Sweden. Meetagain believes in a meeting industry globally where we work together towards a mutual goal.
Treasurer
Meetagain AB, Sweden
Founder and Managing Director of Meetagain, Caroline has over 30 years of industry experience in conference management. Meetagain is a certified IAPCO member and currently sitting as chair for the Next Gen Committee. The company strive to create successful meetings with high emphasis on sustainability and the future of meetings.
She loves networking and building long-term relationships with clients, suppliers and is working closely with the convention bureaus to bring meetings to Sweden. Meetagain believes in a meeting industry globally where we work together towards a mutual goal.
Kaoru Shibuta
Secretary General
Congrès Inc., Japan
As Director and Executive Advisor of Congrès Inc. and President of MICE One Corporation, Congrès Group, Kaoru Shibuta has over 30 years' experience in conference management. She has been involved in many high-profile events, including the 34th World Ophthalmology Congress® (WOC), the 50th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Yokohama 2017, the G20 Japan 2019 Ministerial Meetings (Finance, Energy and Environment) and the G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023. Under Kaoru's direction, MICE One Corporation fast-forwarded development of its virtual meetings platform MICEvirtual® in 2020 and it has been utilized for many diverse medical and academic meetings, enabling vital scientific and medical breakthroughs to be shared even during the pandemic. Kaoru is also a Board Member of the Japan Congress & Convention Bureau (JCCB) and a specially-appointed Professor of Tohoku University School of Medicine.
Secretary General
Congrès Inc., Japan
As Director and Executive Advisor of Congrès Inc. and President of MICE One Corporation, Congrès Group, Kaoru Shibuta has over 30 years' experience in conference management. She has been involved in many high-profile events, including the 34th World Ophthalmology Congress® (WOC), the 50th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Yokohama 2017, the G20 Japan 2019 Ministerial Meetings (Finance, Energy and Environment) and the G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023. Under Kaoru's direction, MICE One Corporation fast-forwarded development of its virtual meetings platform MICEvirtual® in 2020 and it has been utilized for many diverse medical and academic meetings, enabling vital scientific and medical breakthroughs to be shared even during the pandemic. Kaoru is also a Board Member of the Japan Congress & Convention Bureau (JCCB) and a specially-appointed Professor of Tohoku University School of Medicine.