(NEW YORK, NY)– April 8, 2013 -- President of IACC, Peter Stewart recently announced the formation of IACC’s newest chapter. The IACC-Australia Asia Pacific chapter has been established to support the growing membership in Australia and Japan as well as the considerable opportunity for growth in Asia.  The chapter was announced as a key strategy for IACC in 2012 and the chapter formation is now complete.

IACC currently has 22 members in Australia, Japan and New Zealand, and the opportunities for growth are very positive.

Mark Cooper, CEO commented “with our emphasis on the meeting experience and the significant number of corporate and university conference centres in Australia as well as the increasing development of the conference centre concept throughout China, Korea, India and other Asian countries, this chapter has great potential to grow in the coming years.”

IACC now has three chapters including IACC-Americas, IACC-Europe, and IACC-Australia Asia-Pacific.

IACC-Australia Asia Pacific Board of Directors
Julian Clark, CEO of The Lancemore Group in South Melbourne, Australia is the President of the new chapter having served as President of the former IACC Australia Chapter and on the IACC Board of Directors for four years.   Julian is steadfastly committed to advancing and promoting the conference centre concept and providing exceptional meeting experiences in the region.

Bill Balcam, Managing Director of The Grange Group of Conference Centres, Anthony Closter, Director of Vue Grand in Queenscliff, Victoria; Jim Conway, Director of Key Conference Solutions in Ringwood East, Victoria; Kozue Honda, Director at Benchmark Hospitality International at Tokyo Conference Center Shinagawa Minato-ku Tokyo Japan; and Peter Stewart, Director of MGSM Executive Conference Centre in New South Wales, Australia complete the Board of Directors of the new chapter.   Peter Stewart also currently serves as President of the International Association of Conference Centres.

The IACC Mission Statement: The International Association of Conference Centres is the thought leader on the meeting experience. IACC represents its members by defining and promoting the IACC Meeting Concept and providing learning opportunities.

The IACC Vision: “IACC is a community of passionate people and organizations delivering innovative and exceptional meeting experiences.”

Founded in 1981, the International Association of Conference Centres is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting understanding and awareness of the conference center industry and to giving member properties the tools necessary to provide an exceptional meeting experience. Active members meet a set of stringent Universal Criteria and agree to a Code of Ethics. Currently, the association includes approximately 400 members from the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, France, England, The Netherlands, Germany and Japan. For more information, visit the website at www.iacconline.org.  “There are meetings and then there are IACC meetings."