PCMA’s new Asia Pacific Advisory Board offers a useful look at how global associations can give regional members a structured voice in shaping strategy. The model also highlights an important distinction between regional consultation and genuine influence—and what associations need to put in place to make that voice count.
SINGAPORE — Most global associations with regional memberships face the same structural tension: how do you ensure that members in a specific region shape the organisation’s direction rather than simply receive a version of what was designed elsewhere. The answer usually falls into one of two camps: restructure global governance to give regions a formal vote, or create a parallel advisory layer that feeds regional input into decisions without holding voting authority. PCMA has chosen the second, and the details of how it has structured that layer are worth examining.
The Professional Convention Management Association announced its 2026 to 2027 Asia Pacific Advisory Board comprising 15 senior industry leaders drawn from destinations, venues, agencies, corporations and event professionals across the region. The board includes leaders from organisations including Marina Bay Sands, Oracle, Salesforce, Gartner, Cvent, Saxton and FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia, spanning both the demand and supply sides of the business events industry. Members serve either one or two year terms, and several are returning for extended terms, meaning the board carries both institutional memory and fresh perspectives simultaneously.
PCMA President and CEO Sherrif Karamat said Asia Pacific is at the forefront of innovation and growth in business events, and that the advisory board’s guidance would be essential in ensuring the organisation’s education, community building and thought leadership remain relevant, inclusive and impactful for members across the region. PCMA Managing Director for Asia Pacific Florence Chua described the board as comprising leaders whose collective expertise ensures PCMA remains relevant to local market needs while advancing its global mission.
The structural distinction is worth naming clearly. An advisory board is not the same as a governance board. Its members advise on regional strategy, education and community building, but they do not hold voting authority over the global organisation’s decisions. That means the board’s influence depends entirely on how and when regional input is sought, whether it shapes decisions before a global agenda is set, or whether it is consulted after the direction is already determined.
For associations with chapters, affiliate bodies or communities across Asia Pacific, PCMA’s model raises a direct governance question: does your current structure give regional members a formal, named channel to influence strategy before decisions are made, or does regional input arrive as feedback on decisions already taken at the centre?
Building a regional advisory board is a structural decision that carries real implications for how influence actually flows inside a global organisation. The value of such a board is not in the appointment itself but in whether the advice it gives arrives early enough to shape decisions rather than simply validate them. Associations considering a similar model should define upfront how advisory input feeds into the global agenda, at what stage it is sought, and how the organisation will know whether the regional voice is genuinely shaping strategy or functioning as a consultation exercise after the key decisions have already been made.
