I don't yet know any more than was in the press release, but word is that Bruce MacMillan is out at Meeting Professionals International and MPI COO Cindy D’Aoust will serve as interim leader until a search committee (now being formed) finds a new head for MPI. Weirdly, I can't find a link on MPI's Web site, so here's the press release. My colleague is attending the press conference as we speak, so look for an update hopefully later today.
June 18, 2012 – DALLAS, TX --Meeting Professionals International (MPI) President and CEO Bruce MacMillan, CA, today announced that he has elected not to renew his current employment agreement, which ends on June 30, 2012.
“Bruce has been a visionary catalyst, guiding the organization through a time of intense economic challenges – all while helping to bring to life MPI’s strategic plans for robust growth and innovative, rich content and programs,” said Sebastien Tondeur, MPI International Chairman and CEO of MCI Group Holding SA. “We are thankful for his many years of dedicated service both as CEO and as a member volunteer. He is leaving MPI well positioned for the future.”
Under MacMillan’s leadership, the MPI team modernized and globalized its membership and chapter models, reinvented its relationship with the MPI Foundation to support the development of authoritative content, redesigned live events and online experiences and introduced a Global Training practice with a portfolio of certifications and relevant training.
“I've been blessed to work directly with an inspired group of volunteer leaders, management colleagues and industry partners over the past six years. Without their close support and passionate commitment to all things MPI our success would not have been possible,” MacMillan said. “No industry organization anywhere harvests its members' passion like MPI does. And that's because MPI is not just about one partner, or one group of chapters or even its volunteer committees. MPI is about all of these...but most importantly it's about the collective commitment to the success of the individual member.”
Tondeur is appointing a CEO search committee to be chaired by Chairman-elect Kevin Hinton, executive vice president for Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI). Hinton will serve as an ex officio member of the search committee. The identity of the other search committee members will remain confidential until the new CEO is named to protect the integrity of the search process. The committee will be representative of MPI’s diverse membership.
MPI COO Cindy D’Aoust will lead the association’s Dallas-based headquarters as interim chief staff executive. D’Aoust has been directing the operational deployment of MPI’s strategic business plan, working closely with MacMillan. Prior to joining MPI, D'Aoust was vice president of shared services at Maxvantage, the strategic alliance between Maritz Travel Company and American Express. She is a long-time member of MPI’s community and brings 20 years of organizational management to MPI.