The Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) has announced a restructure of the former Marketing and Communications department, and the Business Development and Convention Sales department.
“In line with MCVB’s new Strategic Business Plan and commitment to improving our stakeholder engagement, the organization’s marketing and communications department has been restructured and will now operate under a new title: commercial partnerships,” said Karen Bolinger, CEO of the MCVB.
Edwina San, formerly director of international incentives at the MCVB, has accepted the position of general manager of commercial partnerships. Jon Malpas, who was formerly the senior manager of events and marketing services is the new associate director for partnerships and events.
Also, Rebecca Elliot, MCVB’s communications manager, will take over the management of marketing and communication with San.
San has been with the organization for six years and founded the International Incentive department. She brings to her new role a wealth of experience in partnership engagement and marketing. San’s experience spans over 20 years in senior management positions in the hotel, travel, wellness and FMCG industries working in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Prior to joining MCVB, she was vice president of sales and marketing Asia-Pacific for a U.S.-based hotel chain.
Malpas has been with MCVB for four years and has been the force in ensuring AIME remains the premier tradeshow in the region for the meetings and incentives industry.Malpas has more than eight years of experience within the business events industry, including event and exhibition management and stakeholder relationships.
In the business development and convention sales department, Julia Swanson has been promoted to general manager business development and bidding. In line with the new Strategic Business Plan, this department will now include a dedicated research team headed up by Danielle Ramirez as Associate Director Research.
Swanson has been with MCVB since 2010 and has extensive experience in business events, sales, business development, public relations, sponsorship, marketing and sales delivery in the hospitality industry.
Ramirez joined MCVB in October 2007, and in her role as research manager, has lead major MCVB research initiatives, including the Melbourne Convention Delegate Study 2010 and Melbourne’s Green Credentials Report.
“These structural changes are in line with achieving our organizational objectives and will play a major role in contributing to MCVB’s success moving forward,” said Bolinger. “I have every faith in our team here at MCVB and congratulate these staff on their new appointments.”
