Desireé Baltussen will join the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) as Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO) from 1st November 2021. According to ICCA, she will be managing the ICCA Regional development and responsible for the Event & Marketing strategy, coordinating multiple interdisciplinary projects ensuring a successful event strategy focused on cutting edge content for members.

Other key areas will be the setup and implementation of processes to support the growth and development of what ICCA as an association can do for its members.

Désirée has a Masters in European Studies and has over 20 years of experience in the international meetings industry, starting her career as International Marketing & Sales Manager with the Rai in Amsterdam.

In 2004 Désirée Baltussen started her career as the Marketing Director of Cape Town International Convention Centre. During her next career move she started her own Management consultancy business in South Africa to support leading organisations whose objectives were to grow their presence and activities on the African continent. From 2011 to 2019 Désirée was the Regional Vice President Africa & Benelux with HelmsBriscoe, a global company in Meetings Procurement & Site Selection. From 2019 she became the Director of Conventions of the Ahoy in Rotterdam.