CIC Changes Management, Adds Members
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 5/22/2006
The Convention Industry Council has hired a new management company and added two new organizations to its membership roster.
Washington, D.C.-based Management Options has replaced Assn. Management Group of McLean, Va., CIC's management company for the past seven years. The eight full-time CIC staff members will move to the new company's headquarters.
The CIC board distributed RFPs to 22 association management companies, conducted site visits and listened to formal presentations. Eventually, the board unanimously approved the change to Management Options.
CIC President and CEO Mary Power said AMG did a great job developing the Certified Meeting Professional program, but CIC decided it needed more help to expand internationally.
"(Management Options) takes a business approach, and their strength is in product development, which will help with APEX," she said. "And they have an excellent international presence, which is great for expanding the CMP."
Management Options will offer an online application and registration process for the more than 11,000 CMPs worldwide. CIC was planning a major computer conversion, so if a change was going to be made, this was the time, said Power.
Also, CIC recently accepted the Intl. Assn. of Assn. Management Companies and the Assn. of Collegiate Conference and Events Directors-Intl. as members, giving it 32 member organizations with more than 103,500 individuals and more than 17,300 firms and properties.
IAAMC, a nonprofit trade group, is comprised of 143 companies that provide association management and professional services.
