About the Ovation wOw Awards 2018
We are pleased to announce the Ovation wOw Awards 2018. The goal of these awards is to showcase the outstanding quality of individuals, institutions or organisations whose passion, talent and expertise made the greatest contribution to the development and advancement in the MICE industry.
#wOw25years
The Process
A judging panel consisting of Ovation Global DMC’s directors and senior managers chose the nominees for each category based on their expertise and success in the industry.
Our stakeholders are warmly invited to take part in the voting process by submitting their desired candidate by Friday 5 th October 2018, 6:00 pm CET. (Only submissions from corporate email addresses will be accepted)
The Ceremony
Winners will be unveiled at the wOw Award Ceremony taking place on 16 October 2018 at the Ovation Global DMC booth of IMEX America.
Meet the finalists
We invite you to vote for one of the below nominees that according to you, has greatly contributed to the advancement of the MICE industry within the last 2 years creating a favourable environment for MICE players to have an impact in their area
Alexandra Baltazar – Manager at the Lisbon Convention Bureau
After her studies, Alexandra started building her professional experience liaising with the American Market on behalf of various Portuguese tourism institutions. That´s how she has become a high-end professional in the travel and tourism industry. Since 2006 Alexandra has been working for the Lisbon Convention Bureau representing Lisbon and Portugal with a lot of success.
Caitriona Lavery – Sales Manager at Hastings Hotels Group
Caitriona Lavery is the Group Sales Manager for Hastings Hotels and is responsible for selling each of the group’s seven properties, including Grand Central Hotel domestically and internationally.. Over the last 20 years she has helped grow the international meetings and incentives business into Northern Ireland and Hastings Hotels alongside key stakeholders including Visit Belfast, Tourism NI, Tourism Ireland and Visit Derry.
Didier Scaillet, CIS – CEO (Chief Excellence Officer) at SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence)
The MICE industry veteran with high-level experience with multi-national associations has been announced as new SITE Chief Excellence Officer (CEO) in January 2018. After having engaged and served on various industry forums and organisations, Didier is now leading the association’s global management team.
Pablo Sismanian – Meeting Industry Coordinator at INPROTUR
With a large experience in the meeting industry, Pablo has been in charge of Argentina’s participation in many international fairs and events for 10 years in Fundación Export.ar. From 2011 to 2013, was Chairperson of the ICCA Latin American Chapter, and from 2013 represents the Latin American Region in the Board of Directors. Currently, he is Meeting Industry Coordinator at INPROTUR.
Patrick Smith – Senior director of Group Sales at LHW (The Leading Hotels of the World)
Patrick Smith leads the group sales teams for North America promoting travel to over 400 luxury properties in over 80 countries within The Leading Hotels of the World portfolio.
Mr Smith brings more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry to his current role. Most recently, he served for over a decade with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in a variety of sales roles.
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