(London, UK) – September 21, 2012 -- Following an extensive one-year global search, Peter Stewart, President of the International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) announced the appointment of Mark Cooper of Warwickshire, United Kingdom as Chief Executive Officer, effective 8th October, 2012.

Shortly after Tom Bolman announced his plans to retire after 30 years as IACC’s Executive Vice President, a Summit of more than 30 IACC Chapter and Global Leaders from around the world convened to set a path for a more globally focused future for the 32-year old association. The leaders -- past and present -- endorsed a series of recommendations along with the agreement to search for a Chief Executive Officer to grow the membership base around the world.

A task force was established to first conduct an internal review of the organisation and then to present its recommendations. The resulting report, IACC’s Roadmap to the Future, supported the appointment of a CEO with global responsibilities to replace Tom Bolman upon his retirement. According to Stewart, “the appointment of Mark Cooper as CEO greatly enhances our global ability to provide a more effective interface among the IACC chapters, their boards of directors, staff, members and stakeholders and to continue to increase global awareness of the IACC meeting experience.”

Cooper brings to IACC 25 years of experience in the global meetings industry working for both US and European-based organisations. He has held a number of leadership roles with a sales and marketing specialism and has an extensive background holding senior posts with respected conference centre operators, including Dolce Hotels & Resorts, Sundial Group, and Warwick Conferences. Until very recently, Mark has held positions on both the European and Global boards of IACC and has been an active member in the association for some 15 years.

“I am excited to assume this key role as the association transitions to the next level,” said Cooper. “IACC’s long-standing passion and excellent accomplishments in championing the meetings experience has created a solid foundation and we will move to develop and expand IACC and to provide new exciting member benefits. My aim is to raise IACC’s profile and awareness and to deliver membership growth globally” he said.

“The people that make up the community of IACC will be an incredibly exciting group of people to work with and I look forward to spreading the word of IACC throughout the meetings industry as IACC, known to be the ‘Thought Leader of the Meetings Industry’, engages with many related organisations on global trends.

“We believe Mark’s experience is well matched to the strategic plan of IACC as we move forward,” said Peter Stewart. “Our plans include building strategic international relationships and to continuing to provide our members with the services and benefits they have come to value over the years.”

The IACC Mission Statement: The International Association of Conference Centres is the thought leader on the meeting experience. IACC represents its members by defining and promoting the IACC Meeting Concept and providing learning opportunities.

The IACC Vision: “IACC is a community of passionate people and organizations delivering innovative and exceptional meeting experiences.”

Founded in 1981, the International Association of Conference Centres is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting understanding and awareness of the conference center industry and to giving member properties the tools necessary to provide an exceptional meeting experience. Active members meet a set of stringent Universal Criteria and agree to a Code of Ethics. Currently, the association includes approximately 400 members from the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, France, England, The Netherlands, Germany and Japan. For more information, visit the website at www.iacconline.org.  “There are meetings and then there are IACC meetings."