MPI CEO Rorrie ResignsColin Rorrie, president and CEO of Meeting Professionals International, on March 8 announced his resignation following an association board meeting in Orlando. Rorrie said the decision was unexpected and that "someone with skills in the business arena would probably be best able to move the organization." MPI has begun to change its structure to resemble more of a corporation than an association, he said.
"It was clear that when you talk about matrix organizations and profit and loss approaches to organizations that the traditional organization lines do not hold in terms of organization design," he said, adding that his goals of broadening MPI's membership base and building a foundation for future growth had been met. Christine Duffy, chairwoman of the MPI board of directors and president and CEO of St. Louis-based Maritz Travel, said a number of significant organizational changes are expected to happen during the next three to six months.
"There are some things we're thinking about implementing in the future, and clearly all of the things that we had looked to Colin for when he had been brought in to this role had been accomplished," Duffy said. "It was through that discussion and conversation about what we needed in the future versus where we've been in the past three years that we came to this decision."
The board has appointed a search committee to find a new CEO. The committee is chaired by Katie Callahan-Giobbi, senior vice president of sales for LA Inc., Los Angeles' convention and visitors bureau, and an ex officio member of MPI's executive committee.
"We are not ruling out the possibility of another association executive, but we are seeking someone with experience in a large, complex organization that executes against a rapid timeline," Duffy said in an association release. The MPI board also asked MPI chairman-elect Mark Andrew, general manager of The Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina in Vancouver, to lead the association during the transition. Starwood Hotels & Resorts has granted Andrew a leave of absence during this time. Andrew will succeed Duffy as chairman of the board this summer. Rorrie had signed a three-year contract when he was hired in 2003, which had an evergreen renewal option. Previously, Rorrie had served as an executive with the American College of Emergency Physicians.
StarCite Rolls Out Budget EstimatorMeetings technology firm StarCite Inc. said that it plans to launch a new tool on April 4 that would give meeting planners the ability to quickly compare the potential costs of holding a meeting in various locations. The Meeting Estimator tool automatically calculates total and average per-person costs for a meeting based on the locations from where attendees originate and by data gathered through the company's database of online meeting-related supplier proposals. Planners can compare destinations by city or by arrival airport. Other key features of the cost-comparison tool include the ability to account for attendees who will not need transportation or hotel rooms and the ability to export such data to Excel spreadsheets. In addition, the Philadelphia-based company on March 23 said that it would begin moving supplier partners to the first module of its new integrated platform. The Global Meeting Solutions platform
(Meetings Today, Aug. 15, 2005) includes a "supplier response center" designed to streamline requests for proposals. "The improved user interface incorporates the latest in technology to provide easy navigation, increased search capabilities, and visibility of key information. Icons next to each clearly indicate whether an RFP is open, closed or forwarded. Hover the mouse pointer over the RFP name and a text box opens displaying further details," the company announced in its monthly newsletter.
Palm Beach CVB Offers Online Hotel Reservation ToolThe Palm Beach County Convention & Visitors Bureau last month launched a real-time reservation system on its Web site that interfaces with the Amadeus global distribution system. The free tool gives visitors "access real-time inventory to a collection of 35 hotels including well-known establishments such as The Breakers, PGA National Resort and the Boca Raton Resort & Club," according to a bureau release. The bureau also plans to expand the tool by late spring to allow travelers to book their airline flights and rental cars as well. Twenty other hotels also may be added to the tool at that time, the bureau said. "There is no other booking engine in the world that offers guests the ability to book online all of the travel and vacation components that will be available through our system," said W.E. "Mac" McLaughlin, president and CEO of the bureau. With the implementation of the third and final phase, visitors to the Web site would be able to research, reserve and purchase access to destination-wide entertainment and other activities, ranging from theater performances to attractions, the bureau said.
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