At its General Assembly this November, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) elected Marta Gomes as its new President. She will serve as president for the term 2022-2024.
Marta Gomes has been involved in the ICCA for 12 years. She was previously President of the France-Benelux Chapter from 2009 to 2015. She was then elected to the Board as a representative of the European region. In 2019, she became the 1st female Vice-President of the association.
Her ambition is to make the ICCA the voice of the events sector when dealing with governments and other stakeholders. It is a sector that Marta Gomes knows well. She is currently Deputy Commercial Director of Viparis and has over 20 years’ experience in the events industry. In her role, she already works to bring international events to Paris and leads a team responsible for business development and convention sales for the 10 convention and exhibition centres in the Viparis group.
A graduate of the University of St Andrews, Marta Gomes started in the industry in 1999 at ICEP Portugal where she held the position of Promotion Manager. Between 2001 and the beginning of her adventure at Viparis in 2008, she was International Sales Manager at Paris’ Palais des Congrès.
I am proud to represent France in this prestigious international association. We must continue to adapt and innovate in order to face current and future challenges. I hope that the ICCA will become the platform for sharing best practices for the benefit of all. Like all ICCA members, I have lived through years of success (winning bids, opening of the Paris Convention Centre) or crisis (terrorist attacks, Covid) and I have learned that in the best of times and in the worst of times, we never win alone, and mutual support and collaboration help us to get through difficulties and bounce back stronger.
Marta Gomes, President of the ICCA & Deputy Commercial Director of Viparis
I am very proud of the election of Marta Gomes as President of the ICCA. Professional and international associations, like the ICCA, are necessary to build a collective vision, to understand the challenges and opportunities of the world ahead.
Pablo Nakhlé Cerruti, Managing Director of Viparis
