The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) announced on Monday, Dec. 4 that current CEO Deborah Sexton will step down after the January 2018 Convening Leaders event.
Sexton, who announced she will be leaving to launch a consultancy in 2018, led the association for more than 12 years. The PCMA Board unanimously voted to approve current PCMA COO Sherrif Karamat as the new CEO beginning in January.
“Deborah’s passion, boundless energy and her hunger to continuously innovate have resulted in tremendous growth and progress both for the organization and the industry,” said PCMA Board Chair Mary Pat Heftman. “We could not be more grateful for her dedicated leadership … [and] driving strategic plans.”
In addition to her role as CEO of PCMA, Sexton has also served as president of the PCMA Education Foundation and publisher of PCMA’s Convene magazine. PCMA noted that under her leadership, and working in partnership with Karamat, the association more than doubled its membership and revenue, and expanded its global reach and cultivated dynamic leadership at the Board and Foundation levels.
More information on Sexton’s contributions and Karamat’s background is available on the PCMA website.
