The Iceberg is now identifying and celebrating the greater mass of hard-to-see business events legacies that lie hidden beneath the surface in a new podcast “Below the Waterline”.
In the fifth of a series featuring significant meetings industry players, Iceberg founder James Latham catches up with Talley Management Group President and CEO Gregg Talley. Gregg is a close friend of The Iceberg, and TMG is an Iceberg partner.
Gregg Talley, also with AfSAE’s Jeffers Miruka in 2018 launching AFAMCO.
Gregg Talley’s career spans over three decades in association and event management. He has personally managed hundreds of events around the world for associations, societies, corporations and for religious organisations, including one of the largest convention events in North America, the 50,000 plus delegate International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous, a TMG client for more than thirty years.
Gregg consults, speaks and writes regularly on association and event management for organisations and destinations. He’s a past national chair and current member of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), and a board member of Iceberg partner the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
In 2018 Jeffers Miruka, President of the African Society of Association Executives (AfSAE), joined with TMG to launch the African Association Management Company. Billing itself as the premier AMC on the African Continent, AFAMCO now supports a growing industry of professional or trade associations, and other nonprofit organisations.
In this fifth “Below the Waterline”, James talks to “our man in Africa” about the launches of both AfSAE and AFAMCO, plus of AfSAE’s African Association Summit. The pair discuss wider economic prospects for the continent and its diversification into a knowledge economy. They talk about the difficulties Africa faces in retaining talent, and the idea of staging events for the purpose of attracting talent. Conversation also addresses the travesty that only three percent of rotating association meetings are currently staged within the continent.
Other topics covered include TMG’s work at the upcoming Meetings Africa, which hosts an Association Day. When James asks Gregg if African governments “get it”, Gregg is adamant that “they absolutely do not!”. But while only South Africa and Rwanda have thus far established convention bureaux, others are coming soon, which offers some hope of future legacies for Africa that derive from the sharing of knowledge at business events.
Podcast production: Toby Miller.
Further content from or about Gregg Talley previously posted on The Iceberg:
“Incredible Impacts”: The Beyond Tourism Impact of Meetings (Iceberg video)
Business Events: Change Agents or Travel Agents? (Iceberg video)
Business Events: The Power of Associations (Iceberg video)
Business Events: African Associations (Iceberg video)
Miruka and Talley launch African AMC (Association Meetings International article)
20 Thought Leaders Told Us What They Think About How the Industry is Getting Better (PCMA Convene article)
Heather Seasholtz’s Unconventional Path to Personal, Professional Fulfillment (PCMA Convene article)
AfSAE’s Association Management Training Leaves Lasting Legacy (Boardroom article)
