The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence announced its leadership line-up for 2021, welcoming four new directors to the SITE International Board of Directors and three new trustees to the Board of the SITE Foundation. In addition, following the resignation of Didier Scaillet in September 2020, Rebecca Wright, CIS, CITP, head of chapter engagement at SITE, has been appointed interim executive director.
Joining the SITE Board to serve three-year terms are Colleen Brzozowski, CIS, independent, U.S.; Karim El Minabawy, president, Emeco Travel – EUROMIC Egypt; and Lisa Xu, founder and managing director, East Star, China. Also joining the SITE Board, to take up the newly created Young Leader seat for a two year term, is Heidi Dillon, manager, event operations, One10, U.S.
Meanwhile, Vito Curalli, executive director, international & industry relations, Hilton Worldwide Sales, Meenaz Diamond, senior VP, global sales, North America, Accor Hotels and Jonathan E. Richards, manager, corporate gifts, NW, Mexico, Europe, Maui Jim Sunglasses & Zeal Optics have joined as trustees of SITE Foundation.
The DMC Network’s Aoife Delaney, CIS, CITP will take the reins at SITE in January 2021. It’s a special moment for the Delaney family as 29 years ago, in 1992, Aoife’s dad, Patrick Delaney CIS, CITP, CITE, CMM, CMP, became the first non-U.S. resident to serve as SITE President.
“SITE has always been an integral part of my personal and professional life and becoming SITE president is a source of immense pride to me,” says Aoife Delaney (pictured right). “I’m deeply grateful to all those who have helped me along the way, especially my great friend and mentor, Jenn Glynn, whose legacy I hope to emulate. I’d also like to single out the ownership and leadership at The DMC Network who have generously and extensively invested in my SITE participation because they believe passionately in the power of incentive travel.”
Taking the helm at SITE Foundation is Terry Manion (pictured left), CIS, CITP, SVP, business development, Creative Group Canada: “Following many years immersed in the world of incentive travel, I’m deeply honored to serve as president of SITE Foundation for 2021. In recent years SITE Foundation has invested over USD$1.25m into the industry through our research, education and advocacy projects. The Incentive Travel Industry Index (ITII), our joint research initiative with FICP and IRF, has become the single biggest and most anticipated annual report on the state of the incentive travel nation while Motivate, our content repository on all things incentive travel, has tripled its readership in the past 12 months”.
Newly appointed SITE Interim Executive Director Rebecca Wright (pictured right), CIS, CITP says, “2020 has been a tumultuous year for all business events professionals but despite the difficulties and the challenges, SITE remained united and strong. We now face 2021 with a renewed sense of community and an even stronger belief that incentive travel is transformational for qualifiers, businesses and society at large. I’m delighted to serve as interim executive director and look forward to leading our wonderful executive leadership team as we continue to deliver value to our members, to be the voice for the “I” in MICE and to highlight the business case for incentive travel.”
Incentive travel, the “I” in MICE, is the fastest growing sector of the Business Events industry with the highest per capita spend and the widest supply chain. Accounting for about 7 percent of all business events activities, the Events Industry Council’s Global Economic Impact study (2018) estimates the incentive travel industry to be worth around $75 billion globally.
The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence is the only business events association dedicated exclusively to the global incentive travel industry. Founded in 1973, they are a professional association of 2,500 members located in 90 countries, working in corporations, agencies, airlines, cruise companies and across the entire destination supply chain. They bring value to their members at both global and local chapter level by networking, online resources, education, certification and advocacy. SITE is deeply committed to the new generation and operates a best-in-class Young Leaders program and dedicated annual conference. For more info, visit SITEglobal.com.
The SITE Foundation was established by SITE to raise funds and support research, education and advocacy projects on behalf of the incentive travel industry. Monies raised by SITE Foundation enable us to make the business case for incentive travel and highlight the transformational potential of travel experiences on individuals, enterprises and communities. SITE Foundation has recently funded certification for mid-manager level incentive travel professionals (CITP) and, with their partners Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) and Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals (FICP), the Incentive Travel Industry Index (ITII). The SITE Foundation is a registered charity holding a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization status. For more info, visit www.siteglobal.com/page/about-foundation.
