Meet the faces behind ICCA's famous First Time Attendee programme! ICCA places huge importance on giving First Time Attendees (New-Bees) at the ICCA Congress a very warm welcome. Each year, just before the ICCA Congress begins, new attendees are invited to join a specialised session that aims to prepare them for success. Jam-packed full of helpful advice that is delivered from member to member, the programme has been delivered to over 3,000 delegates since it initially began and is designed with care to help them network, do business, learn, and maximise the benefits of attending their first ICCA Congress.

At the centre of the entire programme are the people we couldn’t do it without: our mentors, an amazing group of ICCA members and #ICCAFriends who are Congress veterans and want to help support and steer our New-Bees as they join the ICCA Family.

Charles Beckers
Senior International Business Development Manager Association - MECC Maastricht

I started my career within the hospitality sector, during this time I gained a lot of experience within the art of hospitality and multilingual (informal/ formal) communication in guest relations.  This enabled me to develop strong interpersonal and communication skills.  After graduating with a master degree in Hotel Management in 2004  I took my career to a higher-level in which I started to develop my professional commercial drive and sales attitude. My current senior position demands a specific and thorough knowledge of lobbying within medical professionals, institutions, societies, associations and all other parties related to the field of health and life sciences.  This has enabled me to gain an experienced consultative selling attitude which I have gladly developed over the past years with great success and seniority. Marketing and strategic financial planning are skills I hold at the heart of my role, as well as being eager and persistent to gain success and network with new and current accounts. Bringing people together at the correct moment in time, within the right setting and circumstances with the exact tools and information is my specialty and this has led to numerous successful lobbying processes and wins.

Thank you to Charles, for being a mentor to our New-Bees! Are you interested in helping our New-Bees to settle in? Please email Ksenija.p@iccaworld.org to find out how you can become a mentor.

Let’s get social by using the following hashtags: #ICCANewBee #ICCAMentorBee #LetsGetBuzzing #ICCA2021