Meet the faces behind ICCA's famous First Time Attendee programme! ICCA places huge importance on giving First Time Attendees (FTAs) 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 newbies as they join the ICCA Family.

Meet Christian Mutschlechner

I joined the meeting industry back in 1978 when I started my career as staff member of a PCO. In 1980 I became junior share holder of a PCO company in Vienna, organising already at that time congresses not only in Vienna, but also in Budapest, Hamburg and Vancouver. And we were also managing one international association.
In 1985 I joined the Vienna Tourist Board and in 1991 became director fo the Vienna Convention Bureau, an own department within the Tourist Board. Since then I did not leave the meeting industry and accompanied the interesting and sometimes dramatic changes in this very young industry.
January 2019 I retired from the Vienna Convention Bureau and became an Independent Meeting Industry Specialist.
Now I am Board Member of CONGREX International, Switzerland, but also consultant to Reed Messe Wien & Congress Center. And I am still helping and advising association clients throughout the world.
Why being mentor? It is so easy to explain. When I attended my first ICCA I was completely lost, did not know anyone and nobody took care – but at the same time I learned a lot. Being Mentor is an opportunity to help First Time Attendees to understand ICCA, to understand what is going on during the congress and the most important – to give back to younger people experience, knowledge, learning from mistakes etc. This cross generational network I think is the most important one.

Thank you to Christian for becoming an FTA mentor at the 58th ICCA Congress in Houston, U.S.A.! Are you interested in helping our First Time Attendees to settle in? Find out more about the programme or email Ksenija.p@iccaworld.org to find out how you can become a mentor.