Xavier Bettel was born on 3 March 1973 in Luxembourg City.

Education and qualifications
Following his secondary school studies, Xavier Bettel pursued a higher education at the University of Nancy, where he was awarded a master’s degree in public and European law from the Faculty of Law, followed by a DEA (post-graduate diploma of advanced studies) in political sciences and public law.

Governmental posts
Following the legislative elections of 20 October 2013, Xavier Bettel was appointed Prime Minister, Minister of State, Minister for Communications and Media and Minister for Religious Affairs on 4 December 2013 in the coalition government formed by the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) and the Green Party (déi gréng). Following the resignation of Maggy Nagel from the government, Xavier Bettel was appointed Minister of Culture on 18 December 2015. After the legislative elections of 14 October 2018, Xavier Bettel was appointed Prime Minister, Minister of State, Minister for Communications and Media, Minister for Religious Affairs, Minister for Digitalisation and Minister for Administrative Reform on 5 December 2018 in the coalition government formed by the DP, the LSAP and déi gréng.

Other political posts
A member of the DP since 1989, at the age of 26, Xavier Bettel was elected to Parliament for the first time in 1999, as candidate for the DP in the constituency of the Centre. He was re-elected in 2004, 2009 and 2013. In Parliament, he assumed, among others, the role of vice-chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee from 2004 to 2013 and that of vicechairman of the Committee of Inquiry into the State Intelligence Service from 2012 to 2013. From 2009 to 2011, he assumed the role of chairman of the DP parliamentary group. At local level, Xavier Bettel initially served as a municipal councillor for the City of Luxembourg from 2000 to 2005, then as an alderman from 2005 to 2011. Following the municipal elections of 2011, he assumed the role of mayor, an office he held until his appointment as Prime Minister, Minister of State in December 2013. From January 2013 to November 2015, Xavier Bettel was the chairman of the DP.

Professional activities
From 2001 to 2013, Xavier Bettel worked as a barrister in Luxembourg.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 17:10 CET
Session: Research Intelligence

Günther Hansen works a Solution Sales Manager Research Intelligence with Elsevier since 11 years, today serving the markets DACH and BeNeLux, responsible primarily for SciVal, Scopus and other publication based analytical platforms. Günther had worked for Elsevier in Oxford/England before 2004-2007, selling Translation Rights for Science & Technology Books, followed by a researcher position 2008-2009 within the Leibniz Society, Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF) in the area of Open Access. Günther started his career in sales with the German Public Broadcasting Corporation SWR in Stuttgart/Germany, selling TV and radio content 2001-2003. Günther holds a Master Degree in German Literature and Education Sciences (University of Stuttgart) and a Master Degree in Library- and Media Management (HdM Stuttgart).

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 17:10 CET
Session: The Disruption Factor: Digitalization and Innovation Transformations

Pascal holds a master degree in “astrophysics” and, in parallel of having his first work experience as a software engineer, he graduated in “applied information technology”. In 2002 he joined the Luxembourg government, first at the “Task Force eLuxembourg” and afterwards at the Ministry of the Economy as advisor and project manager in the area of network and information security. From 2003 to 2014 he was a member of the management board of ENISA (the European Network and Information Security Agency).

Today, Pascal is CEO of SECURITYMADEIN.LU, the structure behind the main information security initiatives of the Luxembourg government: CASES, CIRCL, BEE SECURE and the Cybersecurity Competence Center (C3), launched in 2017 as a european-wide unique facility to empower the Luxembourg economy in the field of cybersecurity. He is a member of the Luxembourg Cyber Security Board, lecturer in information security at the University of Luxembourg, president of the CLUSIL (an association representing the information security landscape of Luxembourg) and member of the FIC advisory board.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 17:10 CET
Session: The Disruption Factor: Digitalization and Innovation Transformations

Sasha Baillie heads the Luxembourg national innovation agency. As a former Luxembourg diplomat, she was previously seconded to the Ministry of Economy as deputy chief of staff and diplomatic adviser to the Minister.

She managed the reform of Luxembourg’s economic promotion structures which led to the creation of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Board. Sasha chaired the country’s Trade and Investment Steering Committee.

Sasha initiated and chaired Luxembourg’s nation branding committee, an interministerial and inter-institutional group set up by the Government in 2014 to develop and promote the image of the country around the world.

As an aide to the Deputy Prime Minister with ministerial portfolios that included both economy and defense, Sasha was in charge of the project to create a joint venture between the Luxembourg Government and the global satellite operator SES to acquire, launch and operate a government and defense satellite. She serves as Chair of the Board of this company, LuxGovSat S.A. since its creation in February 2015.

Sasha Baillie joined the Foreign Ministry in 1997 and has served on foreign diplomatic postings in Moscow as deputy head of mission of the Luxembourg Embassy and in Brussels as deputy head of mission of the Luxembourg Representation to the EU Political and Security committee, which involved chairing EU meetings during the Luxembourg EU Presidency in 2005. Native English and Luxembourgish, also fluent in French and German and speaks Russian, Spanish and Italian. Graduated from St Andrews University, Scotland with a Masters degree in international relations and mediaeval history in 1994, and went on to pursue doctoral studies at the European University Institute in Florence before joining the Luxembourg diplomatic service in 1997.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 16:45 CET
Session: Big and Small Pharma

Ludo Lauwers, M.D. was Senior Vice President , site management at Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. He was vice chairman of the Management Board of Janssen Pharmaceutica NV and Chairman of the Board of Janssen-Cilag International NV. Dr. Lauwers lead the Janssen Campus Office for Strategy and Growth focusing on establishing innovation networks, precompetitive collaborations and open innovation. Dr Lauwers was founding member of the board and chairman of the CMI (Center for Medical Innovation: www.cmi-vzw.be/). He is a member of the "Commissie Wetenschapsbeleid" of VRWI (Flemish Council for Science and Innovation: www.vrwi.be/en ) and was foundig boardmember of BiR&D (Belgian Industry R&D: www.birdbelgium.com/ ). He also was a founding member of FISCH VZW (Flanders strategic Initiative for Sustainable Chemistry: www.fi-sch.be).

He joined Janssen Pharmaceutica, Belgium as Medical Director in 1993, and later served as Director of Clinical Development, Internal Medicine; Senior Director, Internal Medicine, International Clinical R&D and Vice President Gastroenterology & Antifungals for the Janssen Research Foundation (JRF). Ludo was appointed Beerse Site Manager for J&J Pharmaceutical R&D in July 2000 and later in October 2001 Vice President, Global Head, Postmarketing Medical Evaluation. In 2004 he became Global Head of the drug safety and pharmacovigilance organization for J&J, Benefit Risk Management (BRM) and chair of the Safety Council.

His previous positions include Medical Director, Upjohn Benelux, and Associate Director of the Department of Anesthesiology (University of Antwerp) and Director of the ICU and Emergency Medical Services at Belgium's Stuivenberg General Hospital.

Dr. Lauwers earned his medical degree (MD) from the University of Leuven and specialized in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. He holds the European Diploma of Intensive Care Medicine (EDIC).

He is currently chairman of the board of the Thomas More University College and member of the board of KU-Leuven.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 16:45 CET
Session: Big and Small Pharma

Siegfried Marynissen is founder and owner of Marynissen & Associates Communications. Companies reach out to him when they want to improve their internal and/or external communication activities. Company leaders ask him to get personal training when they want to optimize their communication or presentation skills.

Siegfried has a master’s degree in Corporate Communication form the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and has more than 30 years of experience in the field of internal, external, crisis and corporate communication. At the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies from Johnson & Johnson he was responsible for communicating 0product launches, international issues management, internal and external corporate communications, press policies, global corporate restructuring and even the rebranding of companies. He has a broad experience at a national, European and global level.

Siegfried has a straightforward approach and provides new, creative solutions to complex problems. He has used storytelling several times in change processes and has therefore seen what the impact can be. Above all, storytelling is a very successful way to make impact. Or, as his customers say: 'Now we're talking'.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 15:55 CET
Session: Neuroscience

• PhD in Biochemistry from Univ Antwerp (1994). Postdoc at NIH (USA) and Univ Leuven (BE).
• Author on 20 scientific articles and 1 patent.
• Started at Janssen Pharmaceutica in 2001. Experience in Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Early Development, Clinical trials and Program Management.
• Since 2013 active in Medical Affairs in Janssen Benelux. Currently leading a team of 6 Medical Advisors and Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs), all active in the Psychiatry Therapeutic Area. Our current focus is on the treatment of schizophrenia and preparing the introduction of new treatments for severe depression.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 16:45 CET
Session: Big and Small Pharma

Willem Dhooge is a Bioengineer Chemistry, graduated from the Ghent University in Belgium. He further obtained an engineering degree in environmental sciences and a PhD degree in Medical Sciences. Willem joined the small team of flanders.bio in 2006 in support of companies engaging in European research programs and looking for transnational biotech licensing opportunities. As the organisation grew rapidly from 50+ to 350+ members, his role in the organisation evolved. In 2009, he became responsible within flanders.bio for setting up and running the successful CINBIOS network on Industrial Biotechnology. In 2016, Willem returned to the medical field, developing support programmes for flanders.bio members crossing borders of technologies in the Health space. In those days Willem was actively involved in the development of the new six pillar based strategy of flanders.bio. In 2018, Willem was appointed co-General Manager of flanders.bio and now leads the organisation together with Pascale Engelen since mid 2018.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 15:55 CET
Session: Neuroscience

Yoon Hee Lamot is an art historian, graduated from the Ghent University in Belgium. She works since 2009 at the Dr. Guislain Museum in Ghent. She is a curator and has co-curated exhibitions on themes related to mental health, such as Anxiety, Dark Chambers. On Melancholy and Depression and War and Trauma. She’s currently working on an exhibition on fashion and psyche. She was and is involved in several international projects funded by the European Union and has just started a collaboration about tourism and people with a mental disorder, with partners from Latvia and Estonia. She co-ordinates the Dr. Guislain Award since 2014 in partnership with Janssen Research & Development, a 50,000 dollar prize for people, organizations or projects all over the world that have made an exceptional contribution in dealing with, or promoting the attention for, mental healthcare. Yoon Hee is also responsible for the communication at the Dr. Guislain Museum.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 12:00 CET
Session: Sustanability Infrastructure to Bring Back Green

Isabelle Schummers is an environmental advisor at Oekozenter Pafendall. The Oekozenter Pafendall is a consulting center that leads innovative projects in the field of environment, agriculture and green building. The NGO was founded 30 years ago at the initiative of the Mouvement Ecologique. In addition to its consulting services, the center also organizes trainings and conferences and has a library accessible to the public. Together with SuperDrecksKëscht, Oekozenter Pafendall coordinates the Green Events initiative in Luxembourg, a project initiated by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 16:45 CET
Session: Big and Small Pharma

Theodoros gained his experience in the healthcare sector by working in a European-wide cancer patient coalition, an organisation that represents national medical associations in Europe and, currently, at Porter Novelli. In the first two organisations, he participated in Horizon2020 and Innovative Medicines Initiative projects funded by the European Commission.
At Porter Novelli, he is part of the healthcare team and is heavily involved in accounts focusing on cancer in Europe.
Due to his strong interest in technology and computers, he has successfully hosted several digital events for various clients from all over the world. Finding innovative solutions for problems, bypassing software limitations to ensure that each event runs smoothly.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 12:00 CET
Session: Sustainability Infrastructure to Bring Back Green

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 12:00 CET
Session: HQ Association Expert Meeting - Online or Turned on?

A passionate design thinker and non-profit innovator, Benita has dedicated her professional career to helping non-profits make an impact. She started her international association career at the European Science Foundation (ESF), where she led the ESF Conference Scheme as the youngest-ever Head of Unit and launched long-impact series such as Graphene Week and the European Gender Summit. As a board member of the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE), Benita created the ESAE peer-learning education track, providing European association leaders with a platform to share their ideas, concerns and experiences in an engaging format. As Head of Interel Association Management, Benita has been updating the outdated AMC model to offer agile support, smart solutions and strategy design to international alliances, societies and associations. Her unique blend of strategic innovation and deep sector knowledge helped launch and grow associations such as ELSA Alumni, the Cloud Signature Consortium and ENRIO. A passionate speaker and trainer, Benita believes in the innovative power of diversity and inclusion, the importance of smart strategic management and the power of associations to advance our society.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 13:50 CET
Session: What will be the Future of Events?

Ben helps lead Maritz’ global efforts, the Maritz Global Meetings Network and Industry Presence efforts. He represents Maritz Global Events with specific responsibility for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and the overall global coordination. He provides counsel and supports global strategic solutions for clients, and contributes to the company’s business development, industry presence and thought leadership efforts. His long-standing career has been in international association management, meeting planning and conference management, industry professionalization and skills development as well as convention center management (in the UK).

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 17:45 CET
Session: Closing

Gregg founded TMG in 1987 with his father after prior experience in association and event management along with destination marketing experience. For the past 33 years TMG has provided association management services and consulting to national and international associations. In addition, TMG provides major event and citywide convention planning for clients across the US and around the globe working as a core PCO. In 2016, Gregg helped launch the African Society of Association Executives as a Management Advisor and provides training and education across the continent to African association leaders on a pro bono basis. In 2018, Gregg launched association management company joint ventures in Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya and India, based in Delhi. He is a frequent traveler to Kenya where he has family. Gregg also consults with destinations globally at the city and national level on business event strategy and national association development to align with strategic growth sectors. Gregg serves on many destination and national advisory boards and is active in speaking and writing about industry issues. He is a past National Chair of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and is currently Treasurer on the Board of the International Convention and Congress Association (ICCA).

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 13:50 CET
Session: What will be the Future of Events?

James Debos
Married, 2 children
Born June 6th, 1970 - France

Since May 2018, James DEBOS is the CEO of Eventime (PCO) and PG Organisation (PEX). More broadly, James Debos is directing the Event Pole of nehs Groupe (www.nehs.com) a French Mutual life insurance with a staff of 6 000 and a Turnover of 1,3 billion €.

2014 – CEO & Co-founder of Eventime
2009 – 2014 - PCO Director - GL events
2006 – 2009 – Marketing & development Director – Colloquium (PCO)
1998 – 2006 – CEO & Founder of EVIC (PCO & Travel agency)

Major congress references: SOFCOT, EAO, EOS, Autism Europe, SFD, JFHOD
Major exhibition references: SANTEXPO, HOPITAL EXPO, GERONT EXPO, HIT, AMIF.

Education: Master’s degree (DESS) in Marketing
University of Nice - Sophia Antipolis (1993)

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 15:55 CET
Session: Boardroom Expert Session: Bridge over Troubled Water

Marc Mekki is the co-founder of Bond: a digital innovation agency and creators of the Bond community platform. Bond was created to foster relationships and engagement between real people in a virtual world. Marc previously built a successful tourism & event business in China where he lived for 14 years. He is a frequent advisor to organizations and companies in need of a future-oriented audit of their technological capabilities and needs. Marc has been a keynote speaker for brands like Amadeus, The Dorchester Collection, Barcelona Tourism Board and Jacobs Media Group.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 13:30 CET
Session: Monetization

Robin Lokerman is Group President at MCI the global leader in engaging and activating audiences. MCI boasts a global presence with 2,500+ professionals in 61 offices and 31 countries. Robin leads the development of MCI outside Europe and relocated to Singapore in September 2007, New York in May 2015, Dubai in September 2016 and Barcelona in September 2017.

Robin is also responsible for strategic & business development of MCI’s services to association and government markets.

Robin frequently consults associations on their strategic planning, board assessment and international development strategies and is a frequent speaker at business events around the world He was the first non-US member of the Board of Directors of the ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership and was the 2010-2011 Chairman of the ASAE Foundation. Robin is a proud Fellows of ASAE.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 13:30 CET
Session: Monetization

Thorben is a seasoned event planner and marketer with more than a decade of experience. He joined EventMobi in 2012 and heads up the company’s European office. As General Manager, Thorben built a multi-disciplinary team of passionate marketers, sales and support staff and grew EventMobi into one of Europe’s leading event technology brands. A film-enthusiast from his early days, he's worked at numerous film festivals across Europe and founded the Clipstar Short Film festival and the Sura Open Air Cinema. He holds a BAHons in event management and has co-authored a series of publications on event management and marketing. Passionate about education, he champions EventMobi’s educational efforts and lectures at HWTK University of Applied Sciences in Berlin.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 17:45 CET
Session: Closing

Since 1995, Xavier has been working in the Event Industry for several companies including Disneyland Paris and Viparis (10 exhibition & congress centers in Paris). When he joined Accor in 2010, Xavier was handling the loyalty offer dedicated to Meeting Planners. For the last 2 years, he is in charge of the Sales & Marketing strategy for the Meetings & Events worldwide market, working closely with the 40 National Accor Sales offices around the globe.

Company
Leading the hospitality Revolution. Today Accor is more than a hotel group, Accor is a holistic ecosystem of brands, talents and solutions, ready to engage with the future’s endless possibilities. Accor has an offer to bring new life to the way you live, work, play and do business.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 17:10 CET
Session: The Role of Social Impact and Legacy in Hybrid/Virtual Events

With a background of 30 years between hotel/hospitality Industry and Non-Profit environment, Patricia is currently the Director of Congress & Events at the European Respiratory Society in Lausanne HQ, Switzerland. She oversees the operations, infrastructure, procurement and performs due diligence of Venue/Cities for the annual ERS International Congress of more than 23,000 delegates with additional 40-50 events simultaneously. The role also includes providing recommendations to Stakeholders/Board on future venues while participating in Strategy process and implementations.
Prior to joining ERS, she started her career in a 5-star luxury resort in Malaysia as part of the pre-opening team, then moved to join the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group to manage the MICE industry for the ASEAN market. Based in Singapore Regional office reporting to HQ in Hongkong, she was involved with the Sales & Marketing strategy and helped to execute marketing activities within these markets for 19 hotels globally.
Due to the CoVID situation, ERS had transformed its’ Annual Congress 2020 to a virtual format attracting more than 33,000 paid registrants from more than 85 countries with nine LIVE channels of (4 LIVE studios with Speakers & 5 LIVE Virtual channels).

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 14:55 CET
Session: How COVID will Shape Future Actions in Business Events

43 years old, graduated in Political Science at the University of Florence (Italy).

After an exciting career in the event organization as marketing director of an important Italian DMC and in the hospitality industry, Carlotta Ferrari became the director of Firenze Convention Bureau in 2010. In a short time she started a new destination marketing strategy and transformed a mainly public company with few private members - as Firenze Convention Bureau was- into a private consortium with about 300 private members, prestigious local sponsors and the strong economic and political support of public institutions.

In 2015 Carlotta launched a new division at the CB, totally dedicate to the Destination Wedding Industry: Tuscany for Wedding, which is still the most important Italian case history in this sector.

In 2017 finally she launched Destination Florence, the project dedicated to leisure, transforming the CB in a CVB with the rebranding of the company : destination Florence convention & visitors bureau.

From March 2013 to March 2017 Carlotta was Vice president of Federcongressi & Eventi, the Italian association of public and private companies and professionals working in the meeting industry, proposed to represent the Italian MICE sector on international level and create stable relationships with public institutions and European and International associations.

In this context, Carlotta, together with other national tourist associations, gave life to the Italia Convention Bureau in the form of a private network of companies, responsible for coordinating and promoting Italian meetings and events offer. Now she is the President of the Italia Convention Bureau, the company officially recognized by the Italian tourism board with over 120 members representing 3500 Italian mice suppliers.

Above all she enjoys Yoga, reading and travelling and most of all spending time with her family , including her teenager boy!

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 17:10 CET
Session: The Disruption Factor: Digitalization and Innovation Transformations

After a successful completion of Hotel University in 1989, Eric started off his career in the hotel industry, soon to be followed by the meetings & events industry when he continued at RAI Amsterdam Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Destination Marketing for business events in the Netherlands at the Netherlands Convention Bureau was the start of his career within the national DMO.

Eric is now director at the Meetings & Congress department within the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions. Eric has and is holding several board positions witin the (inter) national community for marketing business events for a destination. He is a past boardmember of ICCA, co-founder of the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe and board member of the Dutch Pre-Finance and Guarantee Congress Fund.

Eric has supported numerous national and international associations over the past years and plays a key role in the Dutch and international Destination Marketing Sector for business events.

Eric is married and father of three children. He lives in a small town near Amsterdam. In his spare time, Eric is an avid sailor.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 13:50 CET
Session: What will be the Future of Events?

Julia holds a master degree in international tourism management with a focus on event management that included studies and work experience in Germany, Malta, Australia and Portugal. In 2017, Julia started at the GCB as project assistant and assistant to the managing director and moved into an event management role in 2018 to follow her true passion. As Marketing and Events Manager she leads the GCB’s new initiatives and events related to future-focussed projects such as BOCOM – experience borderless communication.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 14:55 CET
Session: European Network Cluster - Cooperation & Multiplex

Marta has nearly 20 years of experience in the events industry, and manages a team in charge of sales and business development for the 9 convention and exhibition centres which form the Viparis group.

She is also 1st Vice President of ICCA, and represents the European Region on the ICCA Board for the last 4 years, having previously served as Chapter Chair for the France-Benelux Region. She is active in many international groups and alliances, and has been a regular attendee and speaker at international industry events.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 13:50 CET
Session: What will be the Future of Events?

Matthias is passionate about driving change and innovation, focusing on future proofing meetings and events as vital platforms for knowledge exchange. With a degree in business administration, he started out in hotel and congress management at Hilton International in Germany and has now almost 20 years of management experience, including as CEO of the World Conference Center in Bonn, which is part of the United Nations Campus. In 2010, he took up his current role as managing director of the GCB German Convention Bureau that represents and markets the German meetings and conference sector on a national and international level, with offices in Frankfurt, New York and Beijing. Together with industry partners, Matthias has initiated various projects, such as the “Future Meetings Space” innovation alliance, that focus on the opportunities and challenges brought about by the digital transformation.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 14:55 CET
Session: How Covid will Shape Future Actions in Business Events

Nick is the Regional Manager for Europe at UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry. He is responsible for UFI’s more than 300 members in Europe, organising the annual UFI European Conference and promoting and representing the European exhibition industry internationally.

He joined UFI in 2010 as head of Business Development, looking after sponsorship and commercial partnerships for all of UFI's global portfolio of events and activities. A fluent speaker of Spanish and Portuguese, he set up UFI’s Latin American Chapter in 2014.

Nick joined the exhibition industry working for Reed Exhibitions’ ISG unit in 2006, and has been head of the UK Footvolley Association since 2004.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 14:55 CET
Session: European Network Cluster - Cooperation & Multiplex

Passionate about People, Hospitality, Events & Entertainment, I am fortunate to have been able to convert my passion into a vocation 35 years ago when I started to work for the hotel industry in an event department.

I have been lucky to develop it in various countries (France, Morocco, Monaco, Netherlands and Switzerland) for different International Resorts and Hotel Chains (Accor, Intercontinental, Hyatt and Center Parcs), for different Convention Centers (Disneyland Paris, Grimaldi Forum and 2m2c) and for a DMC (LSO International, the largest one in France at that time). Since 2005, I am running the Montreux Music and Convention Centre in Switzerland where we host corporate events, associations events, cultural events and entertainment shows. I have always been involved in numerous professional associations from MPI as the founder of the France-Switzerland Chapter and ECM or ANAé where I was elected at the board, to PCMA, AIPC, ICCA and more recently Coesio. I am convinced that more involved you are in professional associations more you can develop yourself by learning, sharing and connecting. I strongly believe it is an essential and valuable investment for a successful career.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 13:50 CET
Session: What will be the Future of Events?

Sarah has a passion for continuous learning and connecting people. With a strong interest in event design and innovation management, she is responsible for the Future Meeting Space initiative exploring developments and changes in the meetings and events industry. Previously, she worked on the educational programme at IMEX and led the IMEX-MPI-MCI Future Leaders Forum, an initiative to enpower the next generation of event professionals.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 13:50 CET
Session: What will be the Future of Events?

Joining Luxembourg’s largest event organiser amidst the coronavirus-crisis, Tara Cullen will never forget her first day at Luxexpo The Box, where she was greeted with a rather unusual starter pack including anti-bacterial wipes, gloves, a mask, hand sanitiser and not to forget her laptop. With her background in Marketing & Communications, she quickly adapted to her new role as Communications Officer, promoting Luxexpo The Box’s ambitions to resume business as quickly as possible right from the start. Having previously worked for other major corporations in Luxembourg, she now brings her creative input on strategic marketing campaigns to Luxexpo The Box. Of Scottish and German origins, Tara’s positive attitude, diligence and open-mindedness make her a valuable asset for any company. She considers herself a dog-loving corporate storyteller, her favourite dog being her loyal lockdown colleague Sparky.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 15:45 CET
Session: MPI Belgium Chapter – Our experience in Online & Hybrid Education and Networking

Katinka Estrade is an independent Event Consultant specialized in organising events (online, hybrid and live) and advising event organiser companies on diplomatic protocol and etiquette. She has been organising events since 2011. She has a Bachelor diploma in Political Science from Université Libre de Bruxelles and several certifications and Executive Diplomas on Diplomatic Protocol from the International School of Protocol and Diplomacy. She is the President of MPI Belgium Chapter, the local body if MPI, an international organisation representing the events industry worldwide. She is member of Junior Chamber International, The Heart of Europe, the local Belgian English-speaking chapter of JCI, an international organisation working to make a positive impact on the society.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 12:00 CET
Session: HQ Association Expert Meeting - Online or Turned on?

Vivian Xu, managing director and co-owner of Meeting Media Company, publisher of Headquarters (HQ) Magazine and HQ Passport. Located in the centre of European Union, Brussels, the hub of European associations, offered her opportunities to listen and understand associations’ trends and needs. With 5 years professional experience in the MICE industry, she has been working closely with tourism boards and convention bureaus around the globe, promoting and connecting them to international associations for hosting association events.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 14:55 CET
Session: European Network Cluster - Cooperation & Multiplex

Clara is a skilled mediator with a training in understanding-based approach to conflict. As an independent consultor, she supports academic and professional publishing houses, organizations and academic institutions in diverse areas of company strategy, publishing, marketing and in international relations development.

Clara joined the Union of International Associations as External Relations Manager in 2011. In her role as Publisher, Managing Director and Member of the Management Board with various international publishing and media companies such as K. G. Saur in Germany, Gale in the U.S., Thomson Learning in U.K. and De Gruyter in Germany, from 1988 to 2011 she was the Publisher of UIA’s "Yearbook of International Organizations".

Since 1998, Clara is a Lecturer in Media Sciences at the LudwigMaximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany and since 2017 Member of the Executive Board of the International Youth Library Foundation.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 13:30 CET
Session: Monetization

Gwladys has been working for Alzheimer Europe ASBL for over 13 years, as Events and Conference Coordinator. Her role is to identify destinations, venues and suppliers in various European countries, in accordance with the specific needs of a conference welcoming people with dementia. She also prepares preliminary budgets, and coordinates the pre, onsite and post events. Gwladys has a background in IT and worked as a consultant for various IT companies for 6 years prior to joining Alzheimer Europe. She also has also a background in accounting, HR and hospitality, which helps her in her other roles at Alzheimer Europe.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 17:10 CET
Session: The Role of Social Impact and Legacy in Hybrid/Virtual Events

Marketing & Sales Manager @Roma & Lazio Convention Bureau. I Started working into the Meeting Industry 12 years ago. I’ve been on the three sides of this moon: PCO (ega worldwide congresses and events + OIC Group), Hotels (NH Hotels – Deputy General Manager @NH Leonardo da Vinci in Rome + NH Sales Manager for Meetings & Events) and CVB (Roma & Lazio CB). Actual Chairman of ICCA Med Chapter (Ad Interim), I’m also a DJ, great cook and ski lover.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 12:00 CET
Session: Sustainability Infrastructure to Bring Back Green

Kit Lykketoft is since 2017 the Director of the Copenhagen Convention Bureau. Here she works to attract international association conferences, meetings and events. Kit is focused on legacy and added value of congresses and events, and on proactively using knowledge about the future to form the steps being taken present.
Kit has a background from working both nationally and internationally with government administrations and international organisations applying design and user-focused processes to drive innovation and change.
Sustainability is high on Kit´s agenda and a long-time Copenhagen stronghold.
Kit is member of the BestCities board and Executive Committee and is an active member of the Strategic Alliance of National European CVBs.
Kit holds an MA from the University of Copenhagen and an Exe Specialised Master in change from HEC Paris/Said Business School Oxford.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 15:55 CET
Session: Neuroscience

° 1942-06-07 Neuro-psychiatrist.
Former professor in Psychiatry University Gent
Former Head of Psychiatric Department University Clinic Gent
Vice President for Europe World Federation Mental Health. Co-founder Mental Health Europe
President Society for Psychosomatic Medicine (Dutch-Belgian Association)

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 12:00 CET
Session: HQ Association Expert Meeting - Online or Turned on?

Enjoying very much his professional career in associations, education and tourism, Jan Lichota currently takes care of business tourism communications at visit.brussels. Between autumn 2016 and summer 2020 he has been the Manager of the Association Bureau at visit.brussels, taking care of international associations community in Brussels by developing information tools, organising the European Association Summit and other events in the city and abroad. Previously he was also active in European associations at The Brewers of Europe and within the European Beer Consumers Union in different policy and events management roles. Thanks to his continuously ongoing media, academic and research activities he is also closely involved with various scientific and professional societies at national and international level.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 14:55 CET
Session: European Network Cluster - Cooperation & Multiplex

2015-2020 CEO Miharu:
• Exploitation de sites évènementiels dans le Sud-ouest de la France.
• Airbus Event centre
• Parc des expositions de Narbonne
• Centre des congrès d’Agen
• 4 lieux évènementiels à Toulouse

2009-2014, Fondateur et CEO So* Toulouse:
• Convention bureau Toulouse

2000-2009 CEO Diagora Toulouse:
• Centre de congrès et d’expositions

Divers:
• Président Events31, association des professionnels de l’évènementiel toulousain
• Président CIRT, Club d’entreprises Toulouse

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 14:55 CET
Session: How Covid will Shape Future Actions in Business Events

Remy Merckx is the Senior Vice-President Global Digital & Marketing for Radisson Hotel Group.

He is in charge of leading, developing and delivering the global digital transformation strategy and operations by optimising all hotel sales and revenues through the group digital and online channels, driving incremental business and demand to the branded hotels by increasing significantly the traffic and the conversion of the branded digital platforms.

He is also building strategic partnerships with global online intermediaries being Meta-Search Engines, Affiliate Platforms and key travel partners like Google to always get access to more customers and generate more traffic to the group branded websites.

In 2019, Rémy and his team re-built from scratch the entire RHG digital infrastructure by launching the new Radissonhotels.com website, mobile first driven and the new Radisson Hotels App embedding also the new Radisson Rewards digital customer experience. Since then he’s leading the digital transformation transversally for the group.

On top of his global digital responsibilities, Rémy is also leading the Marketing team both for all B2C and B2B go-to-market plans which includes campaign management, media buying, creatives, omnichannel messaging, social media, CRM and other topics.

Rémy joined the Radisson Hotel Group in July 2013 as a Senior Director e-Business Development after holding a VP e-Commerce Sales & Distribution position for the Accor Group in Paris. Prior to his Accor tenure, Remy gained a strong 10 years’ experience with Expedia, Inc. the leading and largest travel company in the world.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 14:55 CET
Session: European Network Cluster - Cooperation & Multiplex

With 30 years of experience in the meetings industry, I am today managing the Airbus Event Centre based in Toulouse, one of the 5 event centres and venues operated by Miharu – located South west of France.

I have been working formerly at the Toulouse Convention Bureau, promoting the destination and its 150 partners, ranging from congress centres, venues, hotels, agencies, technical providers, caterers on the British, Spanish and French Markets.

Throughout my career, I had the opportunity to network with the event industry during international and national workshops, exhibitions… focusing on two goals: delivering the best services to our customers and sharing my knowledge and learn from my peers.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 13:50 CET
Session: What will be the Future of Events?

Laurent Chrétien, General Manager of Laval Virtual Immersed for 8 years in the european ecosystem of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (VR-AR), Laurent is a specialist in the new uses of these technologies. He is in charge of the Laval cluster dedicated to VR and AR and actively participates in the economic development of the territory. He is leading the Laval Virtual Center dedicated to VR and AR uses innovation and the international Laval Virtual exhibition and conference, world leader in its specialty for 22 years with more than 300 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors in 2019. In 2020, Laval Virtual organized its first virtual event online in 3D with conferences about VR and AR: 6600 avatars created. Laurent has alternated "classical" experiences in major groups such as Vinci and Unibail Rodamco, with entrepreneurial experiences in particular in the field of cultural tourism and in the field of digital memory transmission. Laurent is engineer from Polytechnique Paris, Ponts & Chaussées and Escuela de Caminos Canales y Puertos, Madrid.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 15:45 CET
Session: MPI Belgium Chapter – Our experience in Online & Hybrid Education and Networking

Philip is founder and Managing Director of RoomTrust Events and RoomTrust Systems, and is VP of Technology for MPI Belgium chapter which feed his two professional passions - Events and Technology.

RoomTrust Events provides event planning, management and consultancy services for in-person, hybrid and virtual events to corporations and professional associations. RoomTrust Systems provides and develops an application for the management of event accommodation which is licenced to event planners worldwide for events in all sectors.

Philip took the role as VP Technology for MPI Belgium in July 2020 at a pivotal time in the events industry and has been excited to become fully immersed in event tech. Following on from the MPI masterclasses running since March 2020, Philip has planned a series of new educational sessions to get MPI members up to speed on the available platforms and best practices for virtual and hybrid events.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 17:10 CET
Session: The Role of Social Impact and Legacy in Hybrid/Virtual Events

Geneviève has 25 years of experience in congress management and consultancy for associations, having worked for a PCO, for international associations and as an independent consultant.

Geneviève is currently the Managing Director of an international scientific society and a social entrepreneur, having founded two organizations supporting the business events industry, #Meet4Impact and Caravelle Strategies. Her current focus is developing an evidence-based practice of social impact in our sector and accelerating the business events sector’s commitment to sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Founded in 2019, #MEET4IMPACT builds on the synergies of her broad experience in meeting planning, association strategy, social impact and sustainability. #Meet4impact is a global non-profit organization with the mission of elevating actors involved in business events in their understanding and proficiency in implementing and measuring the societal impacts of business events and the UN SDGs. It does this by offering an impact framework that offers a comprehensive process for generating, managing and measuring the positive societal impacts of conferences, and by working alongside organisations to build their own impact capacity. Geneviève is involved in several projects that apply social innovation principles and generate social impact. In recent years, she has founded a network of international associations in Montreal and is very active on the social innovation scene in her home city.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 13:30 CET
Session: Monetization

Peter is a serial entrepreneur who created, amongst other endeavors, SponsorMyEvent in 2014. SponsorMyEvent became over the years one of the leading marketplaces for event-sponsorship with over 60,000 signed-up event-organizers, mostly in the USA.
At the same time, Peter became proficient in arranging sponsorship-deals, coaching organizers and sponsors alike; and especially to make sponsorship more engaging and to become an added value not only for organizers and sponsors, but as well for attendees.
In 2020 Peter and his co-founder launched Boothted.com which is the modular platform for virtual-events. Boothted had a stellar start right from day one and is set to become an international success.

Location: Topic week
Date: 14 October 2020
Time: 14:00 CET
Session: Kaohsiung Protocol Strategy Week for Venues

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 13:30 CET
Session: Monetization

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 14:55 CET
Session: European Network Cluster - Cooperation & Multiplex

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 17:45 CET
Session: Closing

Eric Abramson, Director of Major Accounts for GL events Venues, has been involved in the MICE Industry for the past 10 years. With more than 30 years of international sales and marketing management in Asia, North America, Latin America, and Europe, Eric has traveled to 92 countries and has lived abroad for 22 years (Japan, U.S., Mexico). Binational (French American), fluent in French, English, Spanish and Japanese, Eric holds a Master’s and a Bachelor’s, summa cum laude, in hospitality management from Florida International University, Miami; and a business degree from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris. Involved with ICCA since 2011 in Europe and Asia, Eric currently serves ICCA as its Deputy Chair for the Asia Pacific Chapter (2020-2022).

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 17:10 CET
Session: The Disruption Factor: Digitalization and Innovation Transformations

Brice is a Consulting Partner with EY Luxembourg and is in particular specialized in Growth Advisory, Performance Improvement and related Digital Transformation as well as in Innovation solutions. He also leads EY Luxembourg external Digital initiative as well as EYnovation startup support program. Brice particularly serves clients in the Technology, Telecommunications, Automotive, Metals&Mining, Consumer Product Industries, SMEs, Startups and Public Sectors.

After graduating MBA at Boston College Carroll Graduate Business School in 1997, Brice joined Ernst & Young in 1999 (formerly Arthur Andersen) and is in charge of the Consulting department at EY Luxembourg for all Commercial, Manufacturing, Technology, Startups and Public Sector companies since 2012.

Brice has four area of personal focus:
- Supporting organizations in their Digital transformation assessment, strategy and implementation especially with regards to using Analytics, Data Mining, Robotics, Intelligent Automation solutions in their Customer Experience, Business and Operating Model transformation;
- Advising organizations in developing their Open Innovation strategies and supporting startups or mature business with Growth Advisory and Strategic Business Planning;
- Advising in particular CFOs with regards to support function transformation, business process modelling and supporting Technologies enablement;
- Supporting organizations with internal audit cosourcing, governance assessment and definition (Risk Committee, set up of the internal audit and compliance function) and risk management activities.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 14:55 CET
Session: How Covid will Shape Future Actions in Business Events

Based in Paris, Bruce Redor is an anglo-american who has seen his international career develop over a 25-year period in a variety of sectors within the services, hospitality and meetings industries.

Bruce began his management career working for a group of hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area, after having received his Master’s in Hospital Management from U.C. Berkeley.

After a five-year consulting stint with the CEGOS group in Paris, Bruce joined the management team that built and operated Disneyland Paris, where he set up and ran the successful business unit (representing over 60m€ of annual sales) for meetings and incentives: Disneyland Paris Business Solutions.

From there, he was recruited away by the city of Lyon, France to take on the job of Chief Executive at the Convention and Visitors Bureau, where he was instrumental in turning the city into one of Europe’s leading business-travel and leisure destinations. During his stay in Lyon, the number of international meetings held in the city increased by over 50%.

Over the last few years, Bruce has developed a consulting and executive search practice. He has worked with some key players in the travel industry including Hilton International, Accor, Expedia, Inc. and Lufthansa Airlines.

As a partner at GainingEdge, Bruce has consulted with a number of leading destinations in Europe and in Africa.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 17:10 CET
Session: The Role of Social Impact and Legacy in Hybrid/Virtual Events

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 12:00 CET
Session: Sustainability Infrastructure to Bring Back Green

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 15:45 CET
Session: Events Industry Council

A MICE industry veteran, Didier Scaillet recently assumed the role of CEO for SITE and the SITE Foundation for the last three years. During his tenure, the Society adopted a new Vision/Mission and Strategic Architecture, experienced record revenue, membership and retention, sealed new industry partnerships and developed new progams globally. For 18 years he held various roles with Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and was vice-president business development for Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). He has engaged and served on various industry forums and organisations: Joint Meetings Industry Council, Events Industry Council, Canadian Tourism Commission and United Nations World Tourism Organisation. He was also instrumental in the development of the Meetings & Business Events Competency Standards, which was the backbone for the development of SITE’s competency-based education model for incentive professionals. Scaillet was named one of the most influential people in Incentive Travel in 2018.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 15:55 CET
Session: Neuroscience

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 16:45 CET
Session: Big and Small Pharma

Frederik Wittock has worked 9 years for several Belgian ministers as chief advisor, science policy and public health.

Afterwards he worked 5 years in the vaccine world. He coordinated interactions with journalists and policy makers in Scandinavia and Benelux. He went to Johnson and Johnson where he did 15 years as European sr director in communications around scientific projects. Frederik supported a multitude of teams, pharmaceutical development, discovery, Infectious diseases, Jansen diagnostics and a broad campus support.

Frederik worked closely with the Esof team to give wide support to science communication. He is now acting as an independent consultant.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 3 November 2020
Time: 15:45 CET
Session: MPI Belgium Chapter – Our experience in Online & Hybrid Education and Networking

Since 2008: Sales Manager Leisure, Corporate & MICE – MONDORF Parc Hotel****Superior - MONDORF Domaine Thermal Luxembourg

Responsibilities cover:
- Implementation of sales strategies insuring regular turnover growth
- Establishing appropriate sales relationships with travel agency networks and final client
- Market communication development (mailing campaigns)
- Establishing partnership projects with major suppliers of the destination
- Planning and co-ordination of educational tours configured specifically for the “Conference and Incentive” market segment
- Representation at major European tradeshows and various workshops

Since 2019: VP Membership Luxembourg - MPI Belgium Chapter

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 15:55 CET
Session: Boardroom Expert Session: Bridge over Troubled Water

Cécile has over 25 years of experience in the meetings industry, always in the publishing sector. She managed a publishing company for about 20 years, where she, among other activities, developed a new association magazine. In 2017 she launched her own company, KODE Publishing, together with business partner Remi Deve. Next to the globally-distributed, content-driven Boardroom magazine, the company is focusing on new developments for the association communtiy, among which Boardroom Minicourses.

Location: Luxembourg
Date: 2 November 2020
Time: 15:15 CET
Session: Boardroom Expert Session: Bridge over Troubled Water

A specialized journalist in the association management field, Remi has been working for more than ten years in the meetings industry. In 2017, together with Cecile Koch, he launched Boardroom, which has become the global reference point for the world of associations. Targeting associations based the world over, Boardroom doesn’t deal with the meetings industry per se but, instead, covers a wide spectrum of issues of interest to the associations. It also gives voice to destinations, venues, industry organisations, etc. who can help and partner with these associations.