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The number of CMM holders worldwide rises to 996

June 5, 2015

GBTA Foundation, the education and research arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), and Meeting Professionals International (MPI) announced they presented the distinguished Certificate in Meeting Management (CMM) to 46 meeting and travel professionals.

This inaugural class marks the first group to successfully complete the updated CMM program developed jointly by GBTA and MPI and delivered by the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and thus they have earned the premier CMM designation – the business standard of excellence for meeting and travel professionals.

The first updated CMM program was delivered this past November with an immersion program in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and received high satisfaction scores from participants for overall programming, onsite support, and educational material. Moreover, an overwhelming, majority of participants – approximately 97 percent – said they would recommend the program to others.

“The teams at GBTA and MPI could not be more pleased with the positive feedback we’ve received from this first class of participants on the redesigned CMM program,” said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO, MPI. “We commend each of these leaders on this milestone achievement and wish them unlimited success in the future.”

In December 2013, MPI and GBTA first announced that they joined forces to develop the updated CMM program, which is a three-phased comprehensive business education program designed for both meeting and travel professionals. It includes a 3.5 day on-site immersion program comprised of rigorous business education courses delivered in a participatory learning format by professors from the renowned Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia; a virtual boot camp with on-demand offerings focused in both meeting management and business travel management; and the development and evaluation of an independent work-based, business project.

Earlier this week, MPI and GBTA launched the first CMM class of 2015 with an immersion program held in Puebla, Mexico, that began May 31 and ended June 3. Following are upcoming program dates and locations, and more information can be found at www.mpiweb.org/CMM or www.gbta.org/cmm.

Aug. 27-30, 2015 in Denver, Colorado
Oct. 1 – 4, 2015 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Oct. 22-25, 2015 in Mexico (City TBD)
Nov. 12-15 in Anaheim, California

“With MPI, we designed the updated CMM program to help meeting and travel professionals bolster their business management skills and advance their careers,” said Daphne Bryant, executive director, GBTA Foundation. “These 46 leaders did just that through the intensive study program we’ve developed that will leave them poised to drive business success in their companies.”

MPI and GBTA congratulate the following professionals who obtained the CMM designation, increasing the total number of CMM holders worldwide to 996.