Karen Bolinger is the Managing Director, Asia Pacific of The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

Bolinger stepped down as CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau in April 2019 and was also Chair of the BestCities Global Alliance.

Her focus will be on new initiatives to extend PCMA’s presence in the region. This includes region-specific events, thought leadership, curated content and education, as well as enhanced stakeholder engagement and identifying new business partners.

Keren Bolinger has experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the Events, Tourism and Hospitality services industry. Skilled in Leadership, Business Transformation, Strategic Planning, Marketing Management, Negotiation, Financial Management, Stakeholder Engagement and Sales.

Speaking and Board experience in Australia and internationally.

Karen is an innovative and outcomes driven C-suite executive who brings strong international experience, across various commercial and not for profit businesses in the travel and tourism industry, backed by an extensive local and global network, to achieve growth with long-term corporate and government partnerships. A trusted adviser to boards earned from a capacity to commercialise ideas, contribute to critical strategy decisions and attain ambitious standards of performance.

She is a key leader who offers astute insights into highly complex stakeholder environments, with the ability to secure engagement and leverage key partnerships to build advocacy, increase and extend investment. She is leading in transforming businesses through strategic visioning, identifying trends, creating new directions to grow market share, shaping leadership culture and utilising innovative technology and communication platforms. She can deliver outcomes within competitive funding constraints and secure the right levels of investment, collaboration and ‘buy in’.