Bruce Black Exits WorldTravel Mtgs. Division

Bruce Black Exits WorldTravel Mtgs. Division

Bruce Black, the former CEO of McCord Travel Management who became the CEO of the meetings and incentives division of WorldTravel BTI upon its acquisition of McCord in February 2002, has left the position, WT BTI chairman Mike Buckman said. Scott Graf, who served under Black at McCord and World Travel Meetings & Incentives, replaces him but retains the title of president. The transition took place in the closing months of 2002, Buckman said, and the company made no announcement of the switch. "Bruce was great," Buckman said. "He said he'd stay on and make sure the transition went well. He will still be a consultant." The move comes after a period of integration between the two companies as WT MI lines up McCord's performance marketing capabilities and expertise with its own experience in meetings management and consolidation (Meetings Today, March 25, 2002). Buckman said WT MI is positioned well to compete with other travel and meeting management companies, but was less optimistic about corporate interest in increasing meeting volumes in the immediate future. Those who say otherwise "are a bunch of optimists," Buckman said. "The economy hasn't helped. A number of programs were scaled back or dropped. Will 2003 be a banner year? No. But per customer it will be similar to 2002, and we have better traction now and one set of leadership. We want to be conservative, and if we're surprised, it will be on the upside."

MPI Creates CEO Search Committee

Meeting Professionals International has formed an executive search committee to solicit and screen replacements for current association president and CEO Ed Griffin, who in November announced he would resign effective April 30 (Meetings Today, Nov. 11, 2002). The nine-member committee will be led by Theresa Breining—chairwoman-elect of the association's board of directors and president of San Diego-based meetings management firm Concepts Worldwide—and includes current board chairman George Aguel, whom Breining will succeed in August. The committee has retained Dennis Boyer, an executive with Los Angeles-based executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles to assist in the process. "The search for a new president and CEO allows MPI to continue its focus on charting a course for the future of the organization and the industry, most notably through development of a new strategic plan and a variety of new member care initiatives," said Aguel, who also is a senior vice president of Walt Disney World Parks & Resorts. Griffin has served as MPI's CEO since 1990.

StarCite, Hyatt Offer E-mmediate Response

Online meeting management company StarCite last month announced a partnership with Hyatt to offer the hotel chain's online RFP response tools through its Online Marketplace, allowing planners who send RFPs through StarCite to Hyatt to receive availability and a rate quote within one minute. The service is a function of Hyatt's E-mmediate Meetings service, which allows planners to book meeting space online (Meetings Today, Aug. 13, 2001). Philadelphia-based StarCite expects to begin offering the service, which applies to any domestic Hyatt property, in February. The E-mmediate service offers quotes for single occupancy, run-of-house, net, noncommissionable group rates. "This development really takes the electronic channel to a new level and raises the bar for supplier responsiveness," said David Marks, vice president of the StarCite Online Marketplace and supplier technology sales. "With an increasing number of companies booking short-term meetings, it's clear that the standard has changed: Planners no longer expect a response within 24 hours, eight hours or even two. They expect immediate response."

P&O Princess Chooses Carnival

The board of directors of London-based cruise line P&O Princess earlier this month recommended that shareholders approve a $5.3 billion takeover bid by Miami-based Carnival Corp. If approved, as expected, the combined entity would be the largest cruise company in the world. The move comes after months of intrigue after P&O Princess agreed in November 2001 to merge with Miami-based cruise line Royal Caribbean (Meetings Today, Dec. 3, 2001), a deal that was scotched last year after Carnival presented a more lucrative offer.

~Chris Davis