Mary Power and Edward Liu join AIME Business Events Forum panel

Two of the most respected international industry leaders in the meeting, convention and exhibition industry will be at AIME 2004 to take part in the AIME Business Events Forum. The Forum will be held from 8am to 9.45am on Tuesday 17 February, the first day of the two day AIME 2004 exhibition, held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Australia.

The AIME Business Events Forum, entitled Face to Face with Future Reality, has attracted a high power, international panel, who will confront the issues facing the business events industry, under the scrutiny of an experience moderator and an industry audience. Some of the key questions will be: Is the industry doing all it can to secure its own future? Are we masters of our own destiny? Can meetings prove their own worth? How can we improve our potential? Who are our real competitors? Are we effectively dealing with the fallout from today's nervous global environment, and overcoming the security and travel challenges? Where's the vision for the industry?

Mary Power is the President & CEO of the Convention Industry Council (CIC), a federation of 30 leading national and international organizations representing the meeting, convention and exhibition industry. She oversees the strategic direction of CIC’s various programs including the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), and the Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) initiative and the Hall of Leaders Program.

Ms Power was selected by Meeting News magazine as one of the 25 most influential people in the Meetings industry in 2002 and 2003, and was selected by Tradeshow Week Magazine as one of the 25 most influential women to know in the meetings industry.

Once dubbed "The Exhibition Man", Edward Liu is the Managing Director of CEMS with some 25 years of industry experience behind him. He is the founder president of the Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organizers & Suppliers (SACEOS).

With a string of academic achievements including an MBA from Brunel University, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Business in Business Administration from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Mr Liu is now involved in training programs which are attended by industry members from all over the world. Mr Liu is certified by the International Association of Professional Conference Organizers (IAPCO) based in Brussels. In December 2001, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Association for Exhibition Managers (IAEM) based in Texas, United States.

AIME, the 12th AsiaPacific Incentives and Meetings Expo, is at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Australia, 17 & 18 February, 2004.