Certified Meeting Professional, Bridging the Atlantic

In April at the IMEX in Frankfurt my colleague of p’concept Andreas Laube and I successfully took the exam offered by the Convention Industry Council (CIC) in order to receive the designation of a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP).

The requirements for this certification are based on professional experience and a written examination. In order to qualify for the application process one needs to prove his long-term experience in the field of meeting management and that he is responsible and accountable for the successful execution of meetings.

Once accepted, the preparation for the examination, lasting four hours with 165 questions, starts. As part of their preparation Gerrit and Andreas decided to participate in three CMP Study weekends, offered through the MPI Germany Chapter.

The CMP designation recognizes meeting managers who have achieved the industry's highest standard of professionalism. It was established in 1985 aiming to increase the proficiency of meeting professionals in any component or sector of the industry.

A successful examinee gains industry-wide recognition by achieving the CMP designation. We aimed for the CMP designation because of the widespread acceptance of the CMP designation in the US meetings market.

The elite CMP community now numbers over 12,000, with representatives from every sector of the industry - from corporations and associations to governmental and institutional organizations - in 32 countries.