@accliverpool appoints man on the ground in States
ACC Liverpool has appointed a US market representative as part of its strategy to bring additional international and North American-based conferences to the city.
The venue, home to BT Convention Centre, Echo Arena and from next September Exhibition Centre Liverpool, will work closely with Peter J Berry, certified association executive (CAE) of Berry² & Associates, LLC.
Working alongside ACC Liverpool’s international team, his role will include targeting North American and global associations, with US-based members, which have the potential to hold their meetings in Liverpool.
Berry was founder and president of Association Resources (AR) for more than 30 years, an international association management firmbased in Hartford, Connecticut. He grew the company to more than 60 staff, managed 20 associations and created a satellite office in Washington, D.C. Berry now provides consultancy services in the meetings and association management sectors.
He said: “ACC Liverpool is one of the success stories in the UK meetings industry and has an interesting international growth plan. I met the team at IMEX America in 2012 and was immediately struck by everyone’s enthusiasm to expand beyond UK and European-based events and in turn generate more economic impact into Liverpool.
“I feel I can support these exciting strategic plans through my experience in the American market. We have spent time co-ordinating specific targets and formalising our relationship and contract.
“I am looking forward to getting started and helping ACC Liverpool to realise its growth potential.”
Berry was also executive director for the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA). He is currently a global taskforce member of the Professional Conference Management Association (PCMA).
Kerrin MacPhie, ACC Liverpool director of sales, said: “Peter shares our vision and recognises that Liverpool is a city that has flourished over the past decade and will continue to do so, particularly with the addition of Exhibition Centre Liverpool which will enable us to attract larger international congresses.
“His objective will be to identify associations which are looking to grow their European membership in addition to helping organisations explore new territory with confidence as he can advise on what Liverpool can offer and how we can support their events. He will be an extension to our international sales team and will use his wealth of experience to be our man on the ground in the American market, targeting outbound events.”
Forthcoming international congresses at ACC Liverpool include Arbonne UK Advantage Conference, EuroLabFocus 2014 and the European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO).
