Leadership is often associated with a title, a position or a moment of visible achievement. But throughout my career, I have come to believe that leadership is better understood as a daily practice.
It is reflected in how we prepare, how we respond when plans change and how we support the people around us. It is demonstrated through the standards we uphold when no one is watching and our willingness to share what we have learned with those who will lead after us.
For Certified Meeting Professionals, leadership is embedded in the commitment we make when we earn the CMP designation. The credential represents knowledge and experience, but it also signals something more: a responsibility to continue learning, to model professional excellence and to contribute to the advancement of our global community.
Leadership in a Changing Environment
Today’s business events professionals are navigating extraordinary complexity. We are being asked to respond to rapid technological change, evolving attendee expectations, workforce pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, climate-related disruption and new demands for accessibility and inclusion.
The EIC Futures Landscape Study identifies talent and workforce development as one of the most important forces shaping the future of our industry. It also highlights the need to invest in human capital, strengthen career pathways and prepare professionals to work across increasingly complex physical and digital environments.
These challenges require technical expertise, but technical knowledge alone is not enough.
Effective leadership also requires curiosity, empathy, sound judgement and the humility to recognise that no single person has every answer. It means creating an environment where people can ask questions, share ideas and learn from mistakes. It requires us to remain steady amid uncertainty while being flexible enough to reconsider our assumptions.
This is particularly important for CMPs. Our community represents every sector and region of the global business events ecosystem. We have an opportunity to model what thoughtful, ethical and human-centred leadership looks like in practice.
The Responsibility to Keep Learning
The CMP programme has always been rooted in lifelong learning. The updated CMP International Standards and exam reflect the competencies professionals need to remain relevant and resilient in an evolving industry. More than 1,000 CMP and CMP Fellow subject matter experts contributed their knowledge and time to that process, demonstrating the power of volunteer leadership and collective expertise.
That spirit of continuous development should remain with us throughout our careers.
Leadership does not mean reaching a point at which we have nothing left to learn. In fact, the strongest leaders I know are often the most active learners. They seek different perspectives. They remain open to new approaches. They understand that experience is valuable, but it becomes even more powerful when paired with curiosity.
As CMPs, we should continually ask ourselves:
- Are we making room for new voices?
- Are we sharing our knowledge generously?
- Are we helping others see a future for themselves in this profession?
- Are we adapting our leadership to meet the needs of a changing workforce?
The answers to those questions will help determine not only our individual success, but also the long-term strength of our industry.
Recognising Leadership Across Generations
The EIC Global Awards provide an important opportunity to celebrate people whose leadership is shaping the business events community at different stages of their careers.
This year, we welcome Weemin Ong, CEM, CMP, Vice President of Sales & MICE at Marina Bay Sands, and Annamaria Ruffini, CIS, CITP, CMP, President and CEO of Events In & Out, into the EIC Hall of Leaders.
The Hall of Leaders is the premier lifetime achievement recognition in our industry. Weemin and Annamaria join a distinguished group whose influence extends far beyond their individual organisations. Their careers remind us that lasting leadership is built over time through consistent service, collaboration, innovation and a willingness to advance the profession for others.
We also celebrate James Filtz, CMP, CPCE, CHE, Senior Principal Solutions Consultant at Cvent, and Evan Nielson, CMP, Senior Event Manager at AARP, as recipients of the EIC Pacesetter Award.
The Pacesetter Award recognises emerging leaders who are already making a meaningful impact on the industry. James and Evan represent the energy, ideas and forward-looking leadership that will move our profession into its next chapter. Their recognition is a reminder that leadership is not reserved for the end of a career. It can be demonstrated at every stage through initiative, service and a commitment to improving the work we do.
Together, these honourees illustrate an important continuum. Our industry needs the wisdom and perspective of established leaders, as well as the fresh thinking and determination of those who are building what comes next.
Creating a Leadership Legacy
Not every act of leadership will be recognised with an award, nor should recognition be the reason we lead.
Leadership happens when a seasoned professional takes time to mentor someone entering the industry. It happens when a team member raises a difficult question that improves an event. It happens when we advocate for a more accessible experience, support a colleague during a demanding programme or share a lesson learned from something that did not go as planned.
These moments may seem small, but collectively they shape our professional culture.
For CMPs, our legacy will not be defined only by the events we produced or the organisations we served. It will also be defined by the people we encouraged, the standards we strengthened and the opportunities we created for others.
As we celebrate this year’s Global Awards recipients, I encourage every CMP to reflect on their own leadership practice. Consider where your knowledge can make a difference, whose perspective you need to hear and how you can help another professional take the next step in their career.
Leadership is not a destination we reach. It is a choice we make repeatedly: to learn, to serve, to uphold our standards and to bring others forward with us.
That is the promise of the CMP community, and it is how we will continue building a stronger, more inclusive and future-ready business events industry.
