Strategic Thinking and Impact

Resource and infrastructure constraints, geopolitical instability, evolving regulations, and increasingly frequent weather and technical disruptions are reshaping how meetings and events are planned – particularly when it comes to attendee travel.

This program kicks off with Kevin Hinton (U.S. Travel Association) offering forward-looking insights into these shifts and practical guidance on how meetings professionals can prepare for continued volatility. The expert perspective is complemented by real-world case studies from strategic leaders, Katherine LaMacchia (Baird) and Rutger Hoorn (Ovation Global DMC), who will share lessons learned and outline tangible updates to protocols, risk mitigation, and contingency planning.

Back by popular demand, we’re bringing one of the most talked-about sessions from the 2025 FICP Annual Conference straight to your screen!

The Incentive Research Foundation’s (IRF) Top Performer Study examines what successful companies are doing differently regarding investments in incentives, rewards and recognition. During this session, our panel will drill down into the results of the study to examine best practices of top-performing finance and insurance companies. They’ll discuss how key factors — including leadership support, collaboration across departments, program design, reward selection and budget — contribute to a strategy that maximizes the use of non-cash rewards to drive employee performance.

CMP-IS Domain A: Strategic Planning

Participants joined their peers for an engaging virtual roundtable that focused on how meeting professionals and hospitality partners were adapting to the dynamic global environment. Through guided group discussion, they explored how global regulatory updates, economic shifts, and changing travel dynamics were reshaping international event and incentive travel. The session concluded with group reflections highlighting key takeaways and actionable insights to plan confidently amid uncertainty.

Read how fellow FICP meetings professionals and hospitality partners to discuss how AI, business expectations and geopolitics are shaping the future of meetings and events. Whether you're interested in learning about current trends or looking to benchmark against industry standards, this discussion will provide actionable insights from FICP’s 2025 Summer Pulse Survey report for curating programs in 2026 and beyond.

Note: The pulse survey report was released in August 2025.

FICP meeting professionals and hospitality partners gathered to discuss the importance of tracking and analyzing data from events. Experienced meeting professionals shared their best practices and the tools they used, followed by a group discussion to refine additional solutions and recommendations. Participants explored metrics such as Participation, Engagement, Financial, Experience, Marketing, Operational, Technology, and Sustainability to evaluate performance, improve planning, demonstrate ROI, and enhance the participant experience.