MPI Names Toronto's MacMillan New CEO

Dallas-based Meeting Professionals International today announced a new president and CEO, ending an eight-month search. Bruce MacMillan, president and CEO of Tourism Toronto, will take on the MPI leadership this December, according to an association release.

"With a background in corporate and association management, Bruce is a proven change agent with the strategic business skills, international experience and industry knowledge necessary to drive the development of an organizational structure and business model that will take MPI, its members and chapters to new levels of success," said Katie Callahan-Giobbi, MPI CEO search committee chair and senior vice president of sales for LA Inc., the Convention and Visitors Bureau, in the release.

MPI last March announced the abrupt departure of former CEO Colin Rorrie and hinted at structural changes that would bring a more corporate-style management to the association. MacMillan also serves as a member of the MPI International Board of Directors, and is a former chair of the association's technology committee.

The association has 75 employees and an $18 million budget, with offices in the United States, Europe and Canada. More than 3,600 meeting planners, buyers and suppliers attended the association's last conference, held in Dallas last July. A new membership record of 21,166 members was reported in August.

"I'm honored to be returning to MPI in this new role at a time when the organization is so strong and poised for new opportunities," said MacMillan in a prepared statement. "A lot of hard work has already been completed, and I'm excited about the prospects for further growth as we work to create more value for our members and to build on the Board's clear vision for the future."