Boston, MA – The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) has announced that Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce President & CEO, James E. Rooney has been named to a newly created Business Events Customer Advisory Board (BECAB). The Board is a key element of Mexico’s plan to position the country as a meetings industry leader in Latin America and the rest of the world.

The Customer Advisory Board is comprised of 14 international hospitality and tourism industry executives. These industry experts will provide actionable counsel to MTB and the country’s meetings industry with the goal of positioning Mexico as a front-running meetings destination. The Board is endorsed and supported by the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and will be facilitated by Bruce MacMillan of Bandwidth Management LLC, and Eduardo Chaillo of Global Meetings and Tourism Specialists.

“We are incredibly pleased to have Jim Rooney on our Advisory Council Board,” said Lourdes Berho, CEO of the Mexico Tourism Board. “He contributes a wealth of knowledge and experience telling the story of a destination by thinking creatively beyond traditional tourism marketing. We are excited to tap into this experience and apply renewed focus and investment to make Mexico the Latin American leader in the meetings industry.”

“From my fourteen years in the hospitality and tourism industry, I came to deeply appreciate the role that the meetings industry plays in regional economic development, city building, destination branding, business activity and connecting people to break down barriers, learn, exchange knowledge and information. That formula certainly worked for us in Boston.” said Rooney. “As a member of Mexico’s Business Events Customer Advisory Board, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help that amazing country think about advancing Mexico in all of these areas, and in turn helping them grow their economy and connections to the United States and the rest of the world.”

“[Jim] contributes a wealth of knowledge and experience telling the story of a destination by thinking creatively beyond traditional tourism marketing.

Rooney served fourteen years as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority which owns and operates the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC), the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston’s Back Bay, and the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. Under his tenure, the BCEC was named the 2007 Convention Center of the Year, and Boston was consistently listed as a top ten U.S. meetings destination and the number one destination for international associations and events. Rooney has been a PCMA North American Advisory board member to Tourism Mexico for nearly a decade and is a former member of both the PCMA Board of Directors, as well as the PCMA Foundation Board of Trustees. In 2015, he received a PCMA Visionary Award for Lifetime Achievement. Rooney also served as a board member for the International Association of Congress Centers (AIPC) based in Brussels.

MTB’s Business Events Customer Advisory Board
Nancy DeBrosse	Experient
Oscar Cerezales	MCI Group
Dean Martin	Microsoft Corporation
Lisa Dyson	TESOL International Association
Leigh Ann Runyon	Society of Petroleum Engineers
Angie Pfeifer	Investors Group
Janet Traphagen	The Creative Group Inc.
Dan Berger	Social Tables
Johnnie White	American Academy of Otolaryngology
Jim Rooney	Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
Tina Wehmeir	AMC Institute
Ben Hainsworth	K.I.T. Group
Candice Boaz	Streamlinevents Inc.
Roberta Kravitz	ISMRM
Endorsed and supported by Professional Convention Management Association
Facilitators: Bruce MacMillan and Eduardo Chaillo