Former Walgreens Exec Brings Broad Experience to MPI

Paul Van Deventer, who began serving as the new CEO of Meeting Professionals International just two weeks ago, brings a perspective from both inside and outside of the meetings industry.

While Van Deventer comes directly from the drug store industry, serving in several executive roles at Walgreens,  he was with American Express for 22 years, some of that in corporate travel and meetings.

Although it’s early in his tenure, Van Deventer has an idea of what his role will be with MPI and what the association’s mission should be for meeting planners. Travel Market Report spoke with Deventer about those issues.

What does it mean to come to MPI from outside the industry?
Van Deventer: It’s nice to be stepping in from the outside. It gives me a chance to step back and listen. I will be spending most of the near future reaching out and listening to key constituencies – employees, membership, key suppliers and big sponsors. Out of that listening period I will be able to better formulate a vision and global strategy for MPI.

What was your American Express tenure like?
Van Deventer: The first 10 years, I was more on the consumer side – in marketing, advertising and sales. I then transitioned into corporate services for groups, including meeting and expense management for companies. I did that initially in the U.S., then had multinational accountability, including living in Australia for several years. Even while I was out of the industry I knew that it was constantly changing, but still vibrant.

What is MPI’s value for planners?
Van Deventer: It’s important for us to help them focus. It’s easy these days to go awry with so many options, so you lose focus on your core business. MPI can help with professional development which strengthens that focus and shows them where their talents lie.

What attracted you to the MPI position?
Van Deventer: It was two things. One was the passion of everyone I met. And, through my own due diligence of talking to people about MPI and the industry, they stressed over and over the importance MPI has played for individuals, in their careers and personal lives. It would be great if you could really harness that passion.

Second, I learned from my previous roles the importance of brands. If you have a strong brand you can really leverage that brand to expand the mission and bring the mission to bear to create relevance for all constituents. At American Express, the brand stood for the best customer service. At Walgreens, it stood for trust and wellness. At MPI it can stand for a strong vision and for being an advocate.

Advocacy has become a vital role in the last few years as the spotlight turned negatively on the meetings industry.
Van Deventer: Advocacy is very important. We are not a lobbying group like the U.S. Travel Association but we want to be a credible voice for the industry, to get people to understand our value and to promote our members.

And you mentioned wellness as being central to the Walgreen’s brand. Wellness has become central to many meetings. How will your recent experience bear on that?
Van Deventer: A number of my former Walgreen’s colleagues have already approached me on how they might integrate wellness programs into the meetings and events industry. There is so much synergy there and I think I can link to what I’ve done in the past on that front.

With MPI’s World Education Congress in Las Vegas just a couple of months away, will you have a say in that event?
Van Deventer: I will have a small influence; a lot is already in motion and this is a great opportunity for our incoming chairman, Mike Dominguez (senior vice president of MGM Resorts) to state his agenda for the year. When I mentioned passion before, Mike was one of the people I was referring to. It will be mostly his meeting but we will build on its influence and impact.