Bringing over 20 years of experience, Claire Smith, CMP was appointed Vice-President, Sales and Marketing in June 2008. Claire is responsible for strategic business development, leading and directing the Vancouver Convention Centre sales department, as well as positioning the facility in the global marketplace.
As the convention centre’s former Director of Sales & Client Services from 1997 to 2005, Claire played an integral role, managing sales, marketing and event services. For the last three years, Claire has been the principal of her own consulting firm where she provided business development strategies for convention venues, bureaus, associations and event management companies. She has worked with convention centres around the world and until her appointment at the Vancouver Convention Centre, worked with Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the industry’s largest association with 24,000 meeting professionals worldwide, as their VP, Marketplace Performance.
Claire is a recognized expert in her field and has been a featured speaker and session facilitator at ASAE, MPI and PCMA. She was Meeting Professionals International (MPI) British Columbia Chapter President in 1996/97 and has actively participated on various International committees and Advisory Boards.