ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In today’s increasingly global economy, organizations are demanding broader global capabilities with local insights to consistently design and deliver meaningful event experiences regardless of location. In response to this need and continued developments involving international interests for meetings, events, conferences and incentive travel programs, Maritz Travel Company – which includes Maritz Travel and Experient – is further evolving their global presence with the addition of three global general managers (GGMs) in key international markets. These GGMs will be focused on identifying and building a Maritz Travel Company Global Meetings Network in Latin America and Mexico; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Asia Pacific regions.
For more than 50 years, Maritz Travel Company has operated meetings, events, conferences and incentive travel programs throughout the world in the corporate, association and tradeshow markets. The addition of these GGMs confirms Maritz Travel Company’s continued commitment to evolving its global efforts based upon current and future client needs and interests. Maritz Travel Company has selected three well recognized and demonstrated global industry leaders to further complement its team with their wealth of experience and extensive expertise:
- Eduardo Chaillo, CMP, CMM, CASE – Latin America and Mexico
- Ben Goedegebuure, CMP, CMM, CASE – Europe, Middle East and Africa
- Ping He, CMP – Asia Pacific
“As current and future client program needs grow beyond geographic borders, how organizations best design, message and deliver experiences can vary based upon global geographies and guest audiences,” said David Peckinpaugh, president of Maritz Travel Company. “Eduardo, Ben and Ping have a deep understanding of the broad industry and their respective regions, providing us with a unique opportunity to present clients with a more balanced and localized approach.”
The GGMs have a number of focused initiatives that each will lead based upon their regional emphasis. These include further helping clients perfect their event experiences, providing enhanced global insights for program strategy and delivery, enriching our market presence, and further supporting a continued and avid Maritz Travel Company Global Meetings Network.
“Maritz Travel Company is always improving the way we go-to-market and enhancing the services we can provide to our clients and their programs’ guests,” Peckinpaugh said. “Growing our capabilities from the inside-out along with the power, quality, industry leading service approaches and relationships of Maritz Travel Company further ensures not only the operational, but also experiential excellence of our clients’ programs.”
About Eduardo Chaillo
As the owner of Global Meetings and Tourism Specialists LLC, Chaillo serves as an extended member of the Maritz Travel Company team. Chaillo is a strong advocate of the meetings and events industry. He spent more than 12 years at the Mexico Tourism Board, where he held a variety of positions, including executive director for the Meetings Industry and North American Regional director. During his tenure with the Mexico Tourism Board, he helped establish respected partnerships with organizations in the meetings industry, created strategic alliances with competing countries, and ran the national travel industry tradeshow “Tianguis Turístico.”
Chaillo currently serves on the Professional Convention Management Association's (PCMA) Board of Trustees and is the international liaison to the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) Board. He previously served six years on the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Board of Directors representing North America. Chaillo has been honored with a number of industry awards, including the Joint Meetings Industry Council's Profile and Power Award, Site Global's Kevin Forde Spirit Award for Destination Marketers, IMEX's Academy Award and Successful Meetings' Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry. In 2013, he was inducted into the CIC Hall of Leaders.
About Ben Goedegebuure
Prior to joining Maritz Travel Company, Goedegebuure spent more than eight years at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow (UK), where he most recently served as director of sales. During his time at the SECC, he helped expand the organization’s global business; forged strategic partnerships with industry associations, such as the ICCA, Association of Event Venues (AEV), Eventia and PCMA; and launched SSE Hydro, Scotland’s national live event arena. Before his time at the SECC, Goedegebuure served as director of marketing and sales at Congrex Group.
Goedegebuure is known for his collaborative spirit and ability to create meaningful partnerships throughout the meeting, event and incentive travel industry. Currently, he serves on the advisory boards of The Americas Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (AIBTM) and International Confex, in addition to chairing PCMA’s Global Advisory Group. He led the Glasgow Tourism Service Initiative, “Glasgow Service with Style,” a public-private sector partnership developed to deliver a world-class tourism experience for the city, its visitors and businesses. In 2011, Goedegebuure became PCMA’s first non-North American board member.
About Ping He
With more than 20 years of experience at Experient, Ping He contributed to several global initiatives. She is credited as the architect of Experient’s global service strategy, which led to the establishment of Experient’s Global Sourcing Division representing an average of 400 meetings in 120 cities and 50 countries annually with bookings ranging from 50 to 25,000 attendees.
Ping He is a well-respected leader in the travel and hospitality industry. In 2012, she was honored by IMEX and PCMA as the first-ever Global Meetings Executive of the Year. She is also a member of PCMA’s Global Advisory Group. Ping He is proud to serve as a member of Maritz Travel Company’s Human Trafficking Steering Committee, which leads a company-wide awareness program to inform employees of the important role travel companies have in protecting children.
About Maritz Travel Company
Maritz Travel Company – consisting of Maritz Travel and Experient – is one of the strongest, most diversely positioned leaders in the meeting, event and incentive travel industry within the areas of corporate, association, government and tradeshows. Through experiential design, Maritz Travel Company helps transform organizations and people through the event experience. We are committed to perfecting the guest experience to deliver leading-edge thinking, experience, and technology solutions for meetings, conventions and exhibitions throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.maritztravel.com or www.experient-inc.com, or follow us on Twitter @MaritzTravel or @Experient_Inc.
