U.S.-based Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) has officially acquired Incentive, Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific (ICESAP), the two organizations announced on Monday, July 31.
Based in Singapore, ICESAP provides education, career development and networking for corporate, agency and supplier professionals in the $200 billion Asia Pacific (APAC) business events sector.
“Today PCMA already has strong and valued relationships with prominent organizations in the APAC region,” said Deborah Sexton, PCMA President and CEO. “The addition of ICESAP further strengthens our endeavors to enable industry collaboration and deliver superior education to this important region.”
ICESAP will continue to operate in the region under the ICESAP brand and PCMA will retain the current ICESAP staff and Singapore office headquarters, which will continue to be led by President Nigel Gaunt.
“I am delighted with PCMA’s acquisition of ICESAP. It represents the best possible future for our society,” Gaunt said. “ICESAP will continue delivering on our commitment to agency accreditation, member education and most importantly, advocacy for the benefits the sector brings to the businesses and economies of Asia Pacific. A stronger ICESAP under PCMA is a win-win and will define our actions in the years ahead."
The move supports PCMA’s goal to straightaway bring the highest-level education to APAC. ICESAP’s certificate in Incentive, Conference and Event Management, a five-module online distance-learning program created in association with William Angliss Institute, is highly regarded in the industry.
