Hugo Slimbrouck 

SITE Past President Hugo Slimbrouck is a Belgian born meetings industry professional with 39 years sales and marketing experience in international hotel groups, convention bureau management, destination services and the organization of association conferences, corporate meetings and events as well as motivational travel experiences.

He served on the Site International Board of Directors for six years, and was global president in 2007. In his year of presidency he instigated the re-branding of SITE, a process that was completed in December 2008 (www.siteglobal.com) . He also served, as the permanent representative for SITE in the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) and under his leadership the ‘Meetings Mean Business’ campaign was launched as well as the Profile and Power Award (www.themeetingsindustry.org).

Hugo has been a popular speaker at international industry congresses and ministerial conferences in Belgium, Holland, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Greece, Hungary, Russia, Scotland, England, France, Croatia, Malta, Poland, Jordan, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Dubai, India, Mexico, Panama, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Italy. Through all of these activities he has established a national and international network of meetings industry professionals as well as a powerful database of clients and prospects worldwide. Professionalism, networking, pro-activity, ethics and “joie de vivre” have been key components in Hugo’s career development and he encourages all Site members to "get engaged."

The future of the incentive travel and motivational events industry is bright.

In a recent marketing trends study, researchers discovered that 67% of B2B content marketers considered event marketing the most effective strategy. It’s great to know that the motivational events industry is right in the middle of this target group. If properly designed, incentive programmes can increase performance twice as much as cash thanks to face-to-face engagement with participants.

When I joined Site in the mid-nineties, the motivational aspect of the meetings industry appealed to me the most. Not only does it elevate face-to-face communication to a higher ground it is motivational for our clients and partners and for oneself as well. When I signed up as a new Site member I was reminded by other members that putting a signature under a document and paying a membership fee was just the tip of the iceberg. If I wanted to be successful and gain the most out of my Site membership, I had to engage, participate and share.

Twenty years later I can state that they were right. As a Site Member, I have learned a lot-primarily from my industry peers, rather than ex-cathedra education from faculty at the chapter meetings and conferences. Through my involvement, I have built a strong global network. Not only have I personally gained from my Site experiences, but my business owners have profited then, today and tomorrow. Camaraderie with the Site community is one of the strong elements of a professional growth strategy and can set you apart from the competition.

Thanks to the network developed within the SITE community the deployment of the Global Strategic Partnership community within Ovation Global DMC went smooth, allowing the MCI Group (www.mci-group.com) to have offices, strategic partners and alliances in over 125 destinations around the world delivering local event management and support. (www.ovationdmc.com)