Dallas-based MPI today that Colin Rorrie, PhD, CAE, has been named its president and chief executive officer. He will take the helm of the association on Sept. 1.
Rorrie comes to MPI from the Irving, Texas-based American College of Emergency Physicians, a national professional organization with 53 chapters representing emergency medicine. There he led growth from 8,000 members, 55 staff and $5 million budget to 22,000 members (80 percent of the market), 98 staff and an $18 million budget, MPI reported.
Announcing the appointment today, Terri Breining, CMP, CMM, MPI's 2003-2004 chairwoman of the board and chair of the executive search committee said, "Colin brings to MPI the critical leadership qualities that it takes to run the industry's premier trade association ... vision, management skills and the experience to succeed. As the guiding force in implementing MPI's recently unveiled strategic plan, he will ensure MPI continues to lead the way in making meetings a critical success factor for business and a dominant force in the global economy. Colin is the leader who will take MPI and our industry to the next-more strategic-level."
One of the first items on Rorrie's agenda is to align all MPI programs and services with Pathways to Excellence, the association's new multi-year strategic plan that was designed to proactively guide the association's future and prepare the industry for change, the association said. The plan aligns against three core objectives: creating professional development pathways to evolve member careers toward positions of strategic understanding and influence; increasing MPI's influence with corporate, association and other senior-level decision makers; and intensifying business opportunities for industry suppliers.
Based at MPI's international headquarters in Dallas, Rorrie will lead the association's 70-person staff, which includes offices in Europe and Canada. He also will oversee all membership programs and services, manage a $16 million annual budget, and ensure MPI's financial success. He will also serve as an ambassador for MPI's position as the global authority for the meeting industry.
Rorrie succeeds Edwin L. Griffin Jr., CAE, who served as MPI's president and CEO from November 1990 to April 2003. While the search for a new president and CEO was underway, David DuBois, CMP, CAE, executive vice president of the MPI Foundation, is leading the association as interim chief operating officer.
