European Cities Marketing announce new President and Board Members
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At the General Assembly of European Cities Marketing held in Copenhagen, on June 2013 Ignacio de Delás (Barcelona) was elected as the Association’s new President.
“This role is a great honour and a privilege but it will also be a challenge in an unstable economic context. More than ever before, Convention bureaus, tourist boards and city marketing organizations have to join forces. The ECM strategy 2013-2016 will enable us to focus on new opportunity and work on break-through solutions to obtain growth. ECM will continue to provide essential research, and tools to bench-mark city performance and provide useful forums to exchange knowledge and best practice as well as new business opportunities.” says Ignacio de Delás, deputy general manager of Turisme de Barcelona and ECM President.
The General Assembly also appointed Dieter Hardt-Stremayr (Graz) as Vice-President and renewed Denis Zanon as Treasurer. Heike Mahmoud remains Vice-President dedicated to the Meetings Industry.
The newly elected board members are as follows: Eduard Pieter Oud (Amsterdam), Pier Paolo Mariotti (Bolzano), Peter Rømer Hansen (Copenhagen), Bettina Bunge (Dresden), Erwin Van de Wiele (Ghent), Camilla Nyman (Gothenburg), Elif Balci Fisunoglu (Istanbul) and Goran Pavlovic (Opatija). François Gaillard (Lyon) and Philippe Vignon (Genève) continue their mandates as ECM board members.
Current ECM Board:
- Ignacio de Delás, President, Deputy general manager, Turisme de Barcelona
- Heike Mahmoud, Vice President, Director Conventions, visitBerlin, Berlin Convention Office
- Dieter Hardt-Stremayr, Vice-President, Managing Director, Graz Tourist Office
- Denis Zanon, Treasurer, General Manager, Nice Convention and Visitors Bureau
Board members : Eduard Pieter Oud (COO, Amsterdam Marketing), Pier Paolo Mariotti (Meeting Manager, EURAC Convention Centre), Peter Rømer Hansen (Vice-President Business Development & Communication, Wonderful Copenhagen), Bettina Bunge (Managing director, Dresden Marketing GmbH), Philippe Vignon (General Manager, Genève Tourisme & Congrès), Erwin Van de Wiele (CEO, Ghent Tourist Office), Camilla Nyman (CEO, Gothenburg & Co), Elif Balci Fisunoglu (General Manager, Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau), François Gaillard (CEO, Lyon Tourism and Conventions), and Goran Pavlovic (Head of Opatija Convention and Incentive Bureau).
Ignacio de Delàs i de Ugarte is Graduated in Economic and Management Sciences by the University of Barcelona, focused on company and specialized in funding.
From 1983 to 1988 he was member of the Planning Studies Center and permanent consultant in the Centre d’Etudes des Transports pour la Méditerranée Occidentale, organism which depended on the United Nations.
Later he worked in THR, the leading tourist consultancy company in Spain, as a consultant to companies on issues of hotel management and restaurant industry, and he was an international consultant of the WTO (World Tourism Organization) and the UNDP (United Nations Development Program).
In 1992 he was the Services Director for Trade and Tourism of the Official Chamber of Trade, Industry and Navigation of Barcelona. After and until 2000 he was the Director of planning and management control of the Consortium Turisme de Barcelona, created in 1993 by the Town hall of Barcelona and the Official Chamber of Trade, Industry and Navigation of Barcelona.
From 2000 to his designation as the Director of the Consortium Turisme de Catalunya, he was the Deputy General Director of Turisme de Barcelona. He has been member of the Executive Committee of the Barcelona Convention Bureau, of the Executive Committee and the General Council of the Diputació de Barcelona Promotion Tourist Agency. He has also occupied the Vice-presidency of the European Cities Tourism Administration Board (2002-2004).
As the Director of the Catalan Tourism Board (2004-2011), he contributed to launch the Catalan Agency of Tourism, whose aim is Catalonia’s tourist promotion and the positioning of the brand Catalonia as a leading destination that stands out for its identity and quality and that is constructed on the criteria of the co partnership and the joint decision between the public and the private sector.
At present he is the Deputy General Manager of Turisme de Barcelona organism responsible for the promotion of a worldwide recognized tourist destination.
*ECM (European Cities Marketing) improves the competitiveness and performance of leading cities of Europe by providing a platform for convention, leisure and city marketing professionals to exchange knowledge, best practice and widen their network to build new business. European Cities Marketing is promoting and linking the interests of 110 members from more than 100 major cities in 32 countries.
For more information and pictures, please contact: Flavie Baudot, press@europeancitiesmarketing.com,
+33 380 56 02 00