A total of 12 international industry associations belong to the Joint Meetings Industry Council, including the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association), MPI (Meeting Professionals International), AIPC (Association Internationale des Palais de Congrès), IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organizers) and SITE (Society of Incentive Travel Executives). Once a year, the organization singles out exceptional personalities in the conference industry world-wide for the Unity Award: this year this honor went to Christian Mutschlechner, director of the Vienna Tourist Board´s Vienna Convention Bureau.

Leading role in the development of a system for the financial analysis of the conference industry

JMIC president Leigh Harry presented the award to Christian Mutschlechner at a gala dinner held at the end of May during IMEX in Frankfurt, the foremost trade fair of the world-wide conference industry. In his laudation, Leigh Harry stressed the role which Christian Mutschlechner had played in international projects in the conference in-dustry: “This year´s Unity Award winner is best known as a long-standing industry professional and association leader, but his role goes well beyond that. He has been involved with many key industry-building projects over many years ranging from roles in professional development and education to driving the critical area of industry valuation on a global scale. He has been a great leader and at the same time generous in sharing his expertise.”

Christian Mutschlechner commented: “I see this award as more than a mere personal achievement. For me it also reflects international recognition of the Vienna Convention Bureau and its team as groundbreakers in the conference industry world-wide.” As a winner of the Unity Award, Christian Mutschlechner joins the ranks of celebrities like Roger Tondeur, owner of the world´s largest business agency, and Luca Favetta, director of the meeting planning department at SAP AG.