Meeting Professionals International Acquires Assets of Plan Your Meetings

DALLAS, Nov. 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meeting Professionals International (MPI) announces it has acquired the assets of Plan Your Meetings, a leading, privately-owned educational and networking resources company based in Atlanta. Plan Your Meetings produces live education, networking events, an award-winning annual meeting planning guide and a variety of digital resources and tools for meeting planners in the U.S.

The acquisition of Plan Your Meetings' assets strengthens MPI's portfolio of professional development offerings and supports MPI's strategic vision to be the first choice for professional career development for its members and the global meeting and event community. With the acquisition, MPI has the opportunity to deliver quality, timely, professional development programming to Plan Your Meetings' broad audience of more than 90,000 non-traditional planners, such as executive assistants and other business professionals with meeting planning responsibilities. The association will initially manage the new product offerings as a separate business unit, maintaining the Plan Your Meetings brand name.

"MPI is very excited about this acquisition, which further extends our reach and influence within the U.S. meeting and event community," said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI. "We look forward to connecting with more of the non-traditional planner market and helping this segment grow professionally, supporting MPI's ongoing efforts to elevate our great industry."

With the integration of the Plan Your Meetings assets, MPI member benefits will expand to include access to more digital resources and tools and regional events, as well as the subsequent growth of MyMPI – the online member community of MPI. In addition, MPI supplier members, sales partners and sponsors will have the opportunity to raise their brand visibility among an important and often difficult to reach, segment of meeting planners affiliated with the prominent MPI brand.

Note, the terms of this acquisition will not be disclosed publicly.

About MPI

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is the largest and most vibrant global meeting and event industry association. The organization provides innovative and relevant education, networking opportunities and business exchanges, and acts as a prominent voice for the promotion and growth of the industry. MPI membership is comprised of approximately 18,500 members belonging to more than 80 chapters and clubs in 22 countries. For additional information or to join, visit www.mpiweb.org.

About Plan Your Meetings

Plan Your Meetings (PYM) is the meeting industry's most innovative media company. In addition to providing education and inspiration to its community of more than 90,000 primarily US-based corporate meeting and event planners, PYM leads the industry in developing some of the most effective and forward-looking multi-channel marketing programs for its hotel, CVB and meeting industry supplier partners. Founded by Atlanta Metropolitan Publishing Inc., it published its first annual guide in 1995. Its mission is to educate, inspire and empower planners and connect them to the people and resources they need to plan better meetings and events. For more information, visit planyourmeetings.com.