The Road to Recovery: Executive Panel Discussion will take place during the MPI World Education Congress (WEC) in Grapevine, Texas, Nov. 4. Panelists include Nan Marchand, managing director of the Meetings Mean Business Coalition/U.S. Travel Association; Jason Dunn, chair of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals; Chuck Ghoorah, co-founder and president of Cvent; Susan Robertson, president and CEO of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE); and Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI. Annette Gregg, senior vice president of experience for MPI, is the panel moderator.
Today, we hear from Susan Robertson, president and CEO of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).
As one of our industry’s leaders, what have you found to be most challenging in identifying solutions for a sustainable future?
Well, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees right now, isn’t it? We find ourselves forced to change plans and course correct on what feels like a daily basis in response to new information about this pandemic. Forecasting has been and will always be important for associations and meeting planners, but I think there’s been a bit of a survival-mode mentality to our work lately. The challenge for CEOs and meeting professionals right now is to access that vision for the future when you’re confronted with so many daily operational challenges due to this unprecedented crisis.
What in your experience has helped prepare you to manage through this very difficult time?
If we had a crystal ball, we would have all been a lot better prepared for this pandemic. Fortunately, I have had a lot of experience in different leadership positions in the association profession so I can see and anticipate the stress points that this crisis presents throughout our organizational structure and try to respond proactively where I know there’s going to be a need. I also recognized early in this pandemic that we had to get creative and not wait for things to return to a new version of normal. I don’t care if we try something new and it doesn’t totally stick the landing. We’re going to keep being creative and adjust on the fly because the game plan is out the window. Our ability to respond rapidly to the evolving needs of our community is paramount.
Reunite for Recovery: MPI WEC Grapevine, Nov. 3-6, 2020
There seems to be a very collaborative environment within the meeting and event industry right now. How important has that collaboration been in seeking solutions for the future?
Very important, and I think that associations and meeting planners by nature are very well suited to collaboration. There’s a sense of community in the meetings industry and a desire to share information and learn from each other that can really help us weather the circumstances created by this pandemic. We’re all going through similar challenges. If ASAE tries something and it works, or it doesn’t, that’s something we want our members and our industry colleagues to see and learn from. ASAE is also participating in the Events Industry Council’s APEX COVID-19 Task Force, an industry-wide collaboration to set mutually agreed upon standards and requirements for face-to-face meetings in this environment. Many industry players are highly engaged in this work.
What is the message you would like to send to meeting professionals right now?
First of all, that I understand your plight. This pandemic has put meeting professionals under extreme pressure to adapt and completely reimagine programming and logistics for countless events and it’s incredibly impressive to see the creativity and execution of these virtually transitioned meetings. My second message is that contingency planning is going to be crucial in everything we do. We need back-up plans for everything because who knows what disruptive event is around the corner.
What do you see as the takeaways from this panel discussion?
I think the biggest takeaway will be that the meetings industry isn’t going anywhere. It’s already proven to be resilient and adaptive to extraordinary circumstances. We’re going to take the lessons we learned during this pandemic and bet big on our future.
Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash
