The Future of Healthcare Meetings
A joint ICCA and AC Forum event
6-8 June, 2023 | İstanbul, Türkiye
Meet Our moderator
Roy Sheppard
Executive Online Producer, Consultant, Tech-Savvy Virtual Emcee, Presenter & Interviewer
A former network BBC TV reporter and Radio 4 presenter, Roy is a specialist international conference facilitator, moderator and video interviewer. For small, intimate meetings, he has chaired countless in-depth, high-level medical advisory board meetings for healthcare associations and industry. Indeed, he has also facilitated and spoken at many ICCA annual congresses.
Roy is probably best known for his energy, depth of knowledge, insights and humour whilst MCing large-scale medical congresses with up to 7,000 delegates, when he is often asked to lecture on a variety of non-medical topics to audiences of up to 500. And as a producer and interviewer, with his extensive BBC background, he has pioneered new formats for live online TV shows, running alongside face-to-face congresses.
He is the author of many books, including the eBook “How to be LOVED: from dating to mating".
Meet Our Speakers
Annalisa Ponchia
Director of Innovation and Customer Experience,
Director of International Congress Development AIM Group International
She joined AIM Group International as Director of Innovation and Customer Experience, and further appointed Director of International Congress Development, to develop a new compelling narrative to widen outreach and increase the company’s visibility, in respect to the wide network of offices and presence worldwide.
Annalisa has over 30 years of international experience in events management and deep roots in the meeting industry, having organized conferences and events around the globe for the corporate sector, government, and associations. She spent nearly 12 years guiding the ESOT (European Society for Organ Transplantation) as CEO during which she gained substantial knowledge of the association environment and processes.
Her career includes previous 10 years of experience as entrepreneur running her own PCO company specialised in medical meetings.
Ponchia is a certified meeting professional, with CMP and CMM designations, active as speaker at numerous association and industry events, and is a Member of the International Board of Directors of PCMA.
Anna Bueno
Barcelona Convention Bureau
Anna Bueno is an accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience at the Barcelona Convention Bureau (BCB), focusing on the Association Industry and customer loyalty. As a specialized division of Turisme de Barcelona, the BCB is dedicated to promoting Barcelona as a premier destination for congresses, conventions, and incentive travel. With a commitment to providing free and unbiased advice to professionals seeking to organize their meetings in Barcelona, the BCB has established itself as a trusted resource within the industry.
With extensive knowledge of the healthcare meetings sector, Anna has played a vital role in positioning Barcelona as a premier destination for hosting conferences and conventions in this industry. Her expertise enables her to provide strategic guidance, innovative solutions, and exceptional service to events organizers, ensuring seamless and memorable experiences.
Benjamin Hainsworth
Managing Director - European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)
President Elect - Associations & Conference Forum (AC Forum)
Ben has spent almost 30 years in the international not-for-profit sector with an emphasis on the management of professional medical associations. A visionary and entrepreneurial business leader focussed on the concept and implementation of strategies that inspire stakeholders to achieve desired goals. He has a keen understanding of the association business model, especially in business administration, relationship-building, community management, board governance, and organizational growth.
Ben is the Managing Director of EASL, the European Association for the Study of the Liver. This leading international society has over 4,000 members from all continents, and the annual meeting remains the major international scientific event for the liver with over 10,000 participants. EASL also runs a comprehensive portfolio of smaller educational meetings, a broad collection of online education and an array of digital tools. EASL is also active in public health, patient engagement and policy, a trusted and expert advisor to European and national health authorities.
Prior to this, Ben founded K.I.T.GmbH's Association Management Division in Berlin, Germany. Managing numerous associations such as International Liver Transplantation Society, International Union of Immunology Societies, International Society for Pediatric & Adolescent Diabetes, European Operating Room Nurses Association and the World Forum on Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Diseases.
Until 2014 Ben was responsible for the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congresses portfolio, this included Europe’s largest medical conference (30,000 delegates) and 8 specialty events. In parallel he enhanced the physical events offering with digital and partnership networks such as the ESC 365 online digital platform and the ESC Global Scientific Activities international outreach program.
Carola van der Hoeff
Chief Operating Officer and Congress Director - International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)
President - Associations & Conference Forum (AC Forum)
Experienced Director with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry. Skilled in Congress management, Marketing Strategy, Finance, and Hospitality Industry. Strong professional graduated from Hogeschool voor Economische Studies Amsterdam (HES).
Christina Strohschneider
Austria Center Vienna
Christina discovered her passion for the meetings industry in 2018 and since then has held roles at the Vienna Convention Bureau, the European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation and the Austria Center Vienna, where she is currently working as association sales manager. As a member of ICCA’s Future Leaders Council 2023-2025, she is an advocate for sustainability, collaboration and supporting young talents in the event sector.
Dr. Elif Balcı Fisunoglu
Vice General Manager- Tourism Operations and Development
Fisunoglu’s career in the communication and travel, tourism, industry spans more than 25 years, with senior positions in Europe and in Turkey. She is a highly regarded expert in destination and nation marketing and international meetings industry, tourism product development in both private, public sectors and non-governmental associations both in Turkey and regional/ global positions in Netherlands.
Elif Balcı Fisunoğlu (Ph.D) is currently, the Vice-General Manager of Tourism Operations and Development division in Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency which founded by Ministry of Tourism and by law and represents Turkiye and TGA at UNWTO Board of Affiliate Members, WTTC- World Travel & Tourism Council Execuitve Committee and GSTC- Global Sustainable Tourism Council Board of Directors.
Academically holding a Doctorate (Ph.D.) degree in Public Relations with the topic of Strategic Communication and Destination Image. Elif has held senior and managerial positions in diverse organizations across all aspects of the Turkish and European tourism spheres, including fourteen years at Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau (ICVB). First in senior sales and marketing positions before serving for four years as General Manager, Elif spearheaded the roll-out of ICVB’s innovative public-private partnership model, which resulted in Istanbul breaking into the top 10 congress destinations in 2010.
Elif also served for two years as Regional Director – Europe at the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where she represented the region’s diverse membership of 580 organizations from 48 countries, from hotels to airlines to DMCs and beyond.
In addition to her former positions, she has held several volunteer and board positions at international industry associations such as European Cities Marketing, ICCA, Global Destination Sustainability Advisory Board, SKAL International Istanbul Club and was the MPI- Meeting Professional International Turkiye Chapter President from 2016 to 2018.
David B. Vodušek, MD, PhD, FEAN
Chair of the Permanent Experts Committee on CME, BioMedical Alliance
David B. Vodušek received his MD (1976 and PhD (1989) from University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Board certifified in1982 he was appointed full Professor at the University of Ljubljana in 1997. Emerited in 2018 he continues as consultant in Neurology. His research interests include uro-neurology and clin. neurophysiology; he has authored more than 150 articles in peer reviewed journals, and coedited the 130th volume of the Handbook of Clinical Neurology series (Neurology of Sexual and Bladder Disorders).
Prof. Vodušek is a member of the Slovene Medical Academy, the Slovene and German Neurological Ass, the British Ass. of Clinical Neurophysiology, the European Academy of Neurology (FEAN) and the Eur. Federation of Autonomic Societies. Dr. Vodušek serves as Chair of the EAN International Liaison Group and Chair of the BioMed Permanent Experts Committee on CME; he is on the Editorial Boards of Neurourology and Urodynamics and JECME.
Esra Güler
Mice Director,Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency
Born and raised in Germany; Esra moved to Türkiye in 2001 to graduate from the Private German Embassy High School in İstanbul. She was introduced to the MICE industry while studying in Vienna, Austria. Graduating from two majors; Event Management as well as International and Intercultural Communications, her experience in the tourism industry started over 15 years ago.
Esra Güler is the Director of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) for the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA). In her role, she is responsible for developing and executing strategies to promote MICE Destinations of Türkiye.
Prior to joining TGA, Esra worked for over 10 years in International Sales for a PCO organizing association events worldwide. In this role, she was responsible for international sales and bidding proposals, winning many international event bids to Türkiye but also to other destinations all around the world. Esra’s portfolio includes organizing and managing a diverse range of national and international conferences, exhibitions, and corporate events.
Esra's passion for the MICE sector led her to join TGA in 2020, where she has been responsible for developing and implementing strategic initiatives to attract MICE events of all sizes to all MICE destinations in Türkiye. She works closely with a dedicated team to build strong relationships with key decision-makers, attracting influential industry leaders to choose Türkiye as the host destination for their future events.
She is actively participating in international trade shows and industry conferences, contributing to thought leadership discussions, and promoting Türkiye as a globally leading MICE destination all around the world.
Fredrik Lundgren
Project Manager Association Meetings, Gothenburg Convention Bureau
Fredrik has worked for the Gothenburg Convention Bureau for 3 years. He entered the meetings industry about two months before the pandemic and joined from the world of sports events. As a member of the sustainable Gothenburg team, Fredrik is mainly focusing on bidding and facilitating for our meetings ambassadors to attract scientific association meetings within Life Science to Gothenburg. With a “new” perspective on the meetings industry and being one of the DMO: s Scrum masters, he is trying to contribute to innovation and digital development as a complement to the in-person experiences. Leadership and personal development are keystones for him, why he spends most of his free time as a UEFA youth coach in the local football club.
Kelly Denis
Event Manager, European Society of Cardiology,
Kelly has been working for 8 years as an Event Manager at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) based in Sophia Antipolis in the South of France. The ESC's mission is to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease and is a volunteer-led, not-for-profit medical society. Its members and decision-makers are scientists, clinicians, nurses and allied professionals working in all fields of cardiology.
Kelly has experience of onsite and online events. In her position as Event Manager she works closely with volunteers and a dedicated congress team to implement the association’s congress strategy.
During her past time Kelly enjoys nice walks and swimming.
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Liora Kern
Senior Strategic Director Growth Marketing,Communication, Business Development, ZN
Liora Kern is Senior Director and part of the Management Team at ZN, the digital agency in Brussels, and a specialist of how to maximize events using social media.She is a motivational keynote speaker and trainer preaching everything digital. Helping organisations and individuals optimize their online impact is one of her key passions and she believes events are a key moment to up your game.
Liora is a business development, growth marketing and communication leader with over 20 years of experience. She has decades of experience managing international teams and large-scale global projects both in-house and on the agency-side, across Europe and in the USA. Experience includes the digital communication strategy for Coca-Cola Public Policy Europe, the award-winning #DiscoverEU campaign for European presidential candidate Manfred Weber, a viral video for EU President Juncker, and six years of in-house experience as the global digital communication lead for medical technology player KCI (now acquired by Acelity).
As one of the lead strategists at ZN, her work also includes strategies for many healthcare associations and Fortune 500 companies, including Vaccines Today, the Influenza Hub, Viatris, ESNO and J & J.
Madison Bonovich
Co-founder and Chief Program Designer, Future of Work Lab
Madison Bonovich is a co-founder and chief program designer at Future of Work Lab, where she focuses on creating cutting-edge learning experiences related to the future of work. Her innovative approaches enable individuals and organizations to adapt to the changing landscape and succeed in an increasingly dynamic and technology-driven world.
Prior to starting the Future of Work Lab, Madison collaborated with the United Nations, NGOs, and launched her own startup, driving innovation for social impact in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Marlize Eckert
BU Lead Compliance, GCO Global
Marlize Eckert is the BU Lead Compliance at GCO Global based in The Netherlands.
GCO Global is a full-service organization delivering strategic meeting management solutions and compliance services to the Life-Sciences industry.
Marlize is part of the GCO team since 2011. She is currently leading a team of Compliance Advisors who support the business on performing transactional compliance tasks as well as creating, training, monitoring policies and procedures including identifying regulatory and business requirements to manage stakeholder interactions in the Life Science industry.
Prior joining GCO in 2010, Marlize held positions at large multinational companies such as Samsung Corporation and Xerox Corporation in diverse functions such as sales and compliance. Marlize has a degree in business administration from PUC (Pontifical Catholic University- Brazil), a Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certification (HMCC), an European and Latin American Healthcare Compliance Certification (HCCP) by Seton Hall Law University.
Marlize is a member of Ethics (International Society of Healthcare Ethics and Compliance Professionals), an HMCC Certification instructor for MPI and a frequent industry speaker sharing her knowledge and experience at events across the globe .
Monica Fontana
Executive Director - ERA
Monica Fontana was born in the United States in 1965; she moved to Europe in 1970 and grew up in Parma (Italy).
In 1991, while writing her university thesis, she started working for the ERA (formally ERA-EDTA), a charity based in England and Wales with more than 7,000 active members, various medical journals, a European Registry and various working groups and committees supporting research and educational in nephrology. As the person in charge of the membership office, Monica was able to be aware of all the various activities of the Association, from the Registry activities (being also appointed at the financial manager of an EU funded project linked to the Registry), the fellowship initiatives, the research programmes, the educational courses.
ERA organizes the second largest annual nephrology Congress worldwide and Monica was actively involved in many of the activities done during the annual Congress especially linked to the various committees as well as the internal and external relations. From 1995 until 2016, working from home, she added many other tasks to her main duties: the bylaws, advisor to the President (and Council), advertising and public and international relations. In 2015, Monica became the Executive Manager of the ERA thus managing all the international operative staff of the association. In 2018 Monica was appointed as ERA Executive Director.
Noemi San Emeterio Huang
Education and Events Director, European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Noemi San Emeterio Huang is the Education and Events Director at the EBTM (formerly known as the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation). She has been part of EBMT since 2018, and has held her current position for the past two years.
The EBMT is a community of healthcare professionals focused on innovation, research, and the advancement of cellular and stem cell-based therapies to save and improve the lives of patients with blood-related disorders. Education is one of the three pillars of the society, along with Science and Patient Care. EBMT's Education and Events Department organizes over fifteen meetings a year, ranging from a +5,000 participant congress to medium-sized conferences, and training courses. Additionally, EBMT offers an ever-growing catalog of e-learning opportunities, as well as online tools and reference handbooks.
Paola Padovani
Triumph Group International
Graduated in law from La Sapienza University in Rome plus additional Master in International/EU Community Law, I started my career in the luxury hospitality industry (Rome Cavalieri Hilton Hotel + Hilton International Sales and Marketing department) – After I moved and became Healthcare Sales Director in big corporations such as J and J, Medtronic, Allergan, Fidia pharmaceutics – only in 2018 I’m back to my great love: the Event Industry and nowadays Business Development Director at TGI
Patrick Magennis
UEMS Chair, Grouping II
Patrick Magennis is a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon working in Liverpool, UK. As a medical educator his is a Fellow of the Faculty of Surgical Trainers (FFST) and a Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Trainers (FFDT) at the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. He has a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education with Distinction (2014).
Within the Union of European Medical Specialists (UEMS) he is Chair of Grouping 2 (the surgical group) in which role he sits on the Expanded Executive Committee of UEMS. He has played an active role in recent developments within UEMS and wrote the 2021 UEMS OMFS European Training Requirement (ETR).
He is attending ICCA on behalf of the UEMS Secretary General Joao Grenho. Joao is unable to attend as the latest version of UEMS European Accreditation in Continuing Medical Education (EACCME 3.0) is about to launch in June 2023 and the new supporting software is at a critical stage. UEMS is the largest CME accreditation body in Europe and has reciprocal agreements with the USA and South America. Formal agreements with national authorities in Spain, Greece, to use EACCME criteria and processes further establishes UEMS within European CME.
A summary of EACCME 3.0 will be shared and questions answered.
Prof. Gazi Huri
Hacettepe University School of Medicine
Prof. Gazi Huri earned his degree in medicine and surgery at the Ankara University School of Medicine. He got his orthopaedic training at the Hacettepe University School of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Ankara, Turkey. He continued his education with a clinical research fellowship at John Hopkins University, Baltimore USA and with observerships at hospitals in Austria and Switzerland. Prof. Huri currently practices at the Hacettepe University School of Medicine which is one of the oldest and leading universities in Turkey. The hospitals orthopaedic department provides services to both Hacettepe Adult Hospital and Hacettepe İhsan Doğramacı Children's Hospital.
Prof. Huri authored multiple publications and presented in many orthopaedic events; he is an active volunteer in several local community organizations. Dr. Huri is a member of several medical and orthopaedic societies, including leadership positions in Federation of Orthopaedics Trainees in Europe (former president); Turkish Young Orthopaedics and Traumatology Surgeon Council (founder president), which is an official branch of Turkish Orthopaedics and Traumatology Association; European Board of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (National Delegate, Turkey Representative); European Federation of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT, ex-Board Co-opt member), and active member of Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons (ABJS). As a 2018 AAOS International Scholar,
Prof. Dr. Huri attended AAOS/OTA Orthopaedic Trauma Update in Tactics and Techniques surgical skills course in the Orthopaedic Learning Center in Rosemont, IL and had an observership program at the Stanford University Medical Center.
Ugo Bot
Co-founder and CEO, Future of Work Lab
Ugo Bot is the co-founder and CEO of Future of Work Lab. For the past ten years, Ugo has designed and run action-learning programs where students and professionals experience the future ways of working, innovate on system problems, and understand what it takes to become future-fit.
Over the course of his career, Ugo has collaborated with organizations worldwide, including Roche, World Wildlife Fund, universities, patient associations, health networks, and governments. In addition, Ugo held senior positions with the United Nations, where he gained extensive expertise in multi-stakeholder facilitation, public relations, and fundraising.
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Yana Budel
Compliance Advisor, GCO Global
Yana Budel is a Compliance Advisor at GCO Global based in The Netherlands.
GCO Global is a full-service organization delivering strategic meeting management solutions and compliance services to the Life-Sciences industry.
Yana is part of the GCO team since 2016. She is an experienced Pharma and MedTech Compliance Advisor, assisting industry as well as medical societies/associations and venues with their compliance queries. Her passion is translating complex compliance requirements into day-to-day business applications, as well as drafting and reviewing legal documentation. She is currently supporting multiple organizations with creating and delivering trainings, as well as drafting and reviewing policies and standard operating procedures for managing stakeholder interactions in the Life Science industry.
Prior to joining GCO in 2016, Yana has worked at several European Union, and international institutions, and has assisted multiple start ups with legal advice.
Yana has earned her LL. B in European and International law from The Hague University of Applied Sciences and her LL.M in European Law from Maastricht University.
Yana is a frequent content creator for GCO Global and often contributes with articles and videos to Boardroom Magazine
Session: Ignite© Rapid Fire Presentations
Catherine Kalamidas
Moderator
Rotterdam Partners
Mirjam van der Kamp
Rotterdam Ahoy
Jenny Ennis
European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthoscopy-ESSKA
Jeremias Rodriguez
World Federation of Hemophilia-WFH
Mia Grupper
World Stroke Organization
Solomon Rataemane
World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation
Mary-Jane Wiedemann
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
Milo Vergucht
Visit Flanders Convention Bureau
Thomas Berghausen
meta-fusion