October has always been an energising month for our industry. Between the EIC Global Awards, IMEX America and the plethora of industry events, many of us had the opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, celebrate remarkable leadership and spend time thinking about where our profession is headed.
This year, those conversations felt especially meaningful.
Our industry is changing quickly. Technology is reshaping how we work. Expectations of employers and employees continue to evolve. New generations are entering the profession with different ideas about careers, purpose and wellbeing. And experienced professionals are asking important questions of their own: What do I want the next chapter of my career to look like? Where can I make the greatest contribution? How do I continue learning while also helping others grow?
I don’t believe there is one answer—or one prescribed career path.
Increasingly, I think the most fulfilling careers are less like ladders and more like journeys. We learn. We stretch into new roles. We develop expertise. We find mentors and become mentors ourselves. Sometimes we move forward; sometimes we move sideways to gain a new perspective. And, ideally, we reach a point where professional growth becomes as much about what we contribute as what we achieve.
That is why I was particularly excited to see EIC introduce Pathways at IMEX America.
Creating clearer pathways to grow
Pathways brings together career awareness, professional development, credentials, community and leadership across the career lifecycle. Its framework—Discover, Develop, Advance and Lead—recognises something our CMP community has understood for a long time: professional development does not end when you earn a credential.
In many ways, earning the CMP is one important milestone in a much larger journey.
The knowledge and experience required to earn the designation provide a strong professional foundation. But maintaining its value requires us to keep learning, remain curious and apply what we know as our industry changes.
It also asks something more of us.
Those of us who have benefited from this profession have an opportunity to help make the path clearer for those coming behind us.
That might mean mentoring an emerging professional, sharing a hard-earned lesson with a colleague, encouraging someone to pursue their CMP, volunteering our expertise, or simply helping another person understand the breadth of opportunities available within the business events industry.
These actions may feel individual, but collectively they are workforce development.
From professional development to professional community
One thing I have learned throughout my own CMP journey is that careers are rarely built alone.
Knowledge matters. Credentials matter. Experience matters. But so do relationships, encouragement and access to people who are willing to share what they have learned.
That is one of the great strengths of the CMP community.
We represent different sectors, geographies, backgrounds and stages of our careers, yet we share a commitment to professional excellence and continuous learning. When we actively connect those experiences across generations, we create something much more powerful than a network. We create a professional community in which people can see what is possible for themselves.
And that is particularly important now.
Attracting people into our industry is only part of the challenge. We also need to give talented professionals reasons to stay, opportunities to grow and a sense that there is a meaningful future ahead of them.
Each of us can play a role in creating that future.
What might your next step be?
As we look toward 2027, I encourage every CMP to think intentionally about their own pathway.
For some, the next step may be developing a new skill or exploring an unfamiliar area of our profession. For others, it may be taking on a larger leadership role, mentoring someone earlier in their career or contributing expertise to the work of our broader industry.
Nominations are currently open for the CMP Governance Commission, which provides strategic direction for the CMP credential and represents the needs of those seeking and holding the designation. Applications for the CMP Fellows programme will also open soon, recognising tenured CMPs whose careers demonstrate sustained excellence, education, service and commitment to our profession.
These are opportunities to serve, but they are also reminders that professional growth can take many forms.
In my last note, I wrote that leadership is a practice, not a position. I continue to believe that deeply. I would add one more thought today: a strong profession is built when we make it easier for others to find their place within it.
Pathways gives us a framework for doing that more intentionally. But ultimately, it will be brought to life by people—by professionals willing to keep learning, share what they know, open doors and bring others forward.
That is a pathway worth building together.
