MPI Foundation Names David DuBois Executive VP

The Meeting Professionals International Foundation, which during the past few years has contributed several significant pieces of research to the meetings industry, has been in flux for the past several months because of a search for a top executive and the difficulty of raising funds in a recessionary climate. Recently installed Foundation head David DuBois, however, sees brighter times ahead.

DuBois was named the Foundation's executive vice president in February, just a month past his dismissal as CEO of the Professional Convention Management Association, and four months after former Foundation head Robert Eilers resigned.

The Foundation—which has authored studies on executive views of the effectiveness of corporate meetings, methods to define and calculate meetings' return on investment and the role of the corporate meeting planner in Europe—will focus on generating contributions and promoting the industry in the next few months, DuBois said. "The Foundation pushed the pause button last fall," he said. "The fundraising industry is down because of the recession, but there's great signs that the third quarter will perform at a better clip. We'll focus on new grants, new fundraising and new project opportunities."

Two areas that the Foundation will target are MPI's women's leadership and multicultural initiatives, which are in the process of moving from the association's control to the Foundation's, said DuBois, who is responsible for research and fundraising for both efforts.

DuBois said the Foundation is examining ways to work with the Convention Industry Council, an umbrella group of 30 industry organizations, including MPI, to promote the value of face-to-face meetings directly to the people who determine their budgets—senior management. "Our research tells us that meetings competition is the economy, which we can't really do anything about," DuBois said, "but we need to figure out how to get more people to more meetings."

Since the people who decide whether to hold more corporate meetings often are swayed by financial considerations, DuBois said, the effort would appeal directly to the corporate bottom line. "More attention than ever has been paid to this industry since Sept. 11," he said. "Will a CEO know who is the CIC or MPI? Probably not, but we need high-profile corporate executives to say they have held meetings that cost them millions and the ROI is critical to business development."

DuBois is no stranger to MPI, having served as its COO for several years before leaving to head PCMA. His dismissal immediately following that association's annual meeting in January surprised many in the industry. "It's all behind me," DuBois said. "It was a business decision that I don't fully understand. It's like in sports, when the coach is removed from a winning team, you scratch your head. It's their right. I don't agree with the decision, but I don't have a vote. The jury will be the membership. The new CEO will have the opportunity to perform, but I'll be shocked if that individual has more impact in one year."

PCMA is in the process of soliciting resumes and conducting a search for DuBois' replacement, who it hopes to have in place by late spring.