Hollywood events planner, futurologist, bullet-proofer & storyteller at MICECon 2013??

MANILA, Philippines - Topnotch international speakers and stimulating business sessions will participate in “iMICE2013. Ignite. Innovate. Inspire.” This year’s venue is the newly opened SMX Convention Center, Lanang, Davao City. The event will be held on March 6 to 9. It is a four-day conference organized by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) of the
Department of Tourism and the Davao and Manila organizing committees.

Delegates from the Philippines and the foreign tourism and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) industry comprising meeting/event planners, destination management companies, hotels and resorts, airlines, convention and exhibition centers, tourism offices and associates convene for the marketing and educational sessions held annually to upgrade the standards and capability and the Philippine MICE sector. The conference top-bills 15 global speakers who will tackle visionary and provocative topics to open visions and directions to better position the tourism and meetings market in the country.

The stimulating lineup of lecture luminaries includes major event organizers, academicians, association leaders, advertising authorities and national tourism organization chiefs. Cheryl Cecchetto is founder and president of Sequoia Productions, USA and is known for conceptualizing and executing the prestigious and much-buzzed-about after-Oscar events, Emmy Awards, Governors Ball and Tournament of Roses opening, to name a few. She will share “Tips, Tricks and Techniques for an Extraordinary Event Experience.”

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Dr. Ian Yeoman, a futurologist and associate professor at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, will talk on “ Imagining the Future of Travel.” He utilizes economic modeling, trends analysis and scenario construction in futures thinking for an organization. His books include Tomorrow’s Tourist, Tourism and Demography, Family Tourism and 2050: Tomorrow’s Tourism New Zealand.

Jörg Dietzel, chief executive officer of Brand Consultants PTE LTD of Singapore, will expound on “The Rise of Asian Brands.” Starting his career as a journalist in Germany, he moved on to advertising and subsequently joined DDB Dusseldorf, London, China, Berlin, Singapore and Hong Kong. In 2005, he opened Jörg Dietzel Brand Consultants and grew it into an Asia-wide group of companies with offices in Singapore, Jakarta, Hong Kong, China, Berlin and London.

The only Filipino in the speaker lineup is Ma. Teresa Villanueva, chairman and CEO of Publics Manila. Her topic, “Brand Strategy on a Tight Budget,” appeals in this day of maximizing marketing for less. Matec, as she is more popularly called, has headed the Advertising Board of the Philippines, Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of the Philippines (4As) and the 20th Advertising Congress. She first taught in high school in her alma mater Maryknoll College, where she formed her advocacy of mentoring in an organization as a key to success.

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Maureen O’ Crowley is the vice president of Seoul Tourism Organization, South Korea. She leads the efforts to promote conventions to Seoul, build international brand awareness in the meetings and convention sector and strengthen Seoul’s industry strategic partnerships. Her topic will tackle “The Tourism and Business Value of Meetings.” O’ Crowley holds a masters degree in Tourism Administration from George Washington University.


“Let’s Kill Murphy! Bullet-proofing Meetings from Disasters and Other Event Terrorists” is the dynamic topic of Gary Grimmer, chief executive Officer of GainingEge, Australia. With 22 years experience in the convention industry, Gary served most recently as CEO of the Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau after being chairman of the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (IACVB) and chairman of Data on Meetings and Events (DOME). â€¨â€¨

Tony Steven, president of the Australian Society of Association Executives, has 22 years of experience in association management and is the CEO of the Australian Medical Association in Tasmania. He will discuss the perennial challenge of “Keeping Associations Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise.”​  

Following through, Martin Winter, the chair of ICCA, International Congress and Convention Association Asia Pacific who has worked in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia in the global meetings, tourism and education arena, will fearlessly forecast “The Future of Meetings in Asia Pacific.”  

​ Ray Shaw, managing director of MCI Australia, will emphasize “Content is King” as the foundation of a successful convention and expound on “MICE Technovations: Tomorrow’s Hottest Technologies Today.” â€¨â€¨

The current hotel-building boom in Manila and the attendant scramble for staff will see relevance in the talk of Andrew Chan, CEO of ACI HR Solutions Singapore, who will delve into the sensitive and strategic issue of manpower in “The War for Talent – The Secret to Attracting, Motivating and Retaining the Best.”

Known as the face of business tourism in New Zealand, Alan Trotter has been CEO of Conventions and Incentives New Zealand for 20 years. He keeps practitioners grounded in his topic “Why Meetings Matter.”  Alan is currently involved in the drive to build the intensely political International Convention Centre in Auckland. He set up “The Meetings Exhibition,” which is acknowledged to be the best business tourism trade show in Australasia.



Rodger Stotz, chief research officer of Incentive Research Foundation USA, is a highly sought speaker at major incentive industry events. He is co-author of Results Based Incentive Program Design, the chapter on Non-Monetary Awards for The Compensation Handbook and wrote papers on Human Performance and Fundamentals of Motivation. He will talk on “Incentive Travel and Motivational Event: What’s In, What’s Hot.”
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Sure to keep the audience glued to their seats is the master storyteller of The Mark of the Leader, Don Allison of Canada. His passion for the stage showed as early as his grade-school years when he joined summer productions. After high school, he won a place in the prestigious National Theatre School of Canada. Today, he shares duties as storyteller with Doug Keely, creator and producer of The Mark of a Leader. With his theatrical background, Don is expected to bring a unique style and performance magic into his presentation.



Iwan Jaya Azis is head of the Asian Development Bank’s office of regional economic integration. He has over 33 years’ experience as an economist and academic and before joining ADB he was a professor and director of Economic Studies at Cornell University, USA. He will speak on “Preparing for the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 (Prospects and Implications for Business and Tourism).”

The much-awaited B2B meeting between buyers and sellers will take place on March 9 in the MICEMart, the business component of MICECon. Foreign and local MICE buyers will conduct set appointments with Philippine sellers to introduce and engage in business proposals as the final punch to a fired up MICECon2013 agenda.

Online registration for MICECon 2013 is accepted at www.micecon.net. For information, call 525-6110, 525-6635 or e-mail miceregn@yahoo.com orcit.unit@gmail.com.