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PCMA appoints APAC Experts to provide local expertise and hybrid event insights.
DES APAC Regional Experts
Professional Convention Management Association’s (PCMA) highly successful Digital Event Strategist (DES) course will now cater specifically for APAC business events and marketing professionals planning a hybrid or digital meeting with the addition of regional experts to the course, who will be available to answer questions and share their local experience.
The APAC experts provide “expert hours” which include opportunities for mentoring, discussion and conversation on the business events challenges facing the students.
The five regional experts appointed by PCMA include: Adjunct Associate Professor, Deanna Varga; Managing Director and Founder of Mayvin Global; Darren Chuckry, Founder and Managing Partner, HK Initiative; Justin Choy, Managing Director of Hong Kong at Creative Technology; Jayson Chau, Senior Manager of Digital at Sinclair Comms; and Deborah Caldwell, Asia Pacific Head of Event Marketing, Bank of America.
In the last 12 months over, two thousand people have completed the course globally, and PCMA Managing Director APAC Karen Bolinger and her team have been working hard to tailor the DES program for the Asia Pacific region.
“The APAC Experts are a vital addition to the already popular course. In APAC we have unique challenges and are working through our post-COVID plans at different speeds to the rest of the world.
Karen Bolinger, Managing Director for PCMA APAC
“I’m thrilled we’ve been able to engage five regional experts, to help guide our industry forward, who are themselves at the top of their game. We know hybrid and digital events aren’t going anywhere; the DES course is an essential certification covering six modules from business planning and technology to marketing and measurement. Not only do you get the benefits of expanding your knowledge, you get support from the experts and the opportunity to network with peers. DES alumni become an important professional community,” said Ms Bolinger.
Adjunct Associate Professor Deanna Varga said she is looking forward to helping shape the business events industry as a DES APAC Expert.
“‘I’ll be the DES Expert for ‘Business Planning and Monetisation’ and will help participants implement sustainable commercial strategies to drive revenue, profit and visitor engagement. I believe these skills are more important than ever before as we navigate the post-COVID environment.
“Knowing I’ll be able to answer questions for those who are reskilling and upskilling in our industry, especially as we face significant workforce hurdles, is important to me. I’m looking forward to working through some of the APAC challenges in the expert hours,” said Ms Varga.
DES is a six-week course of self-paced materials, with weekly expert hours. Upon successfully completing the DES course, participants will remain certified for two years.
For more information visit: www.pcma.org/DESAPAC