Award Winning Event Strategist Driving Growth and Transformation For YOU | Plug-and-Play Project Manager | Technology Enthusiast | Always Curious

Shaping the Future of International Meetings | Collaborative Growth | Event Transformation

Curiosity - Innovation - Storytelling

As the Regional Director for North America at ICCA, I am passionate about driving growth and fostering collaboration within the global meetings and events industry. ICCA has stood at the forefront of shaping the future of international association meetings since 1963, and I'm honoured to be part of a team that champions innovation, sustainability, and advocacy on a global scale.

Over the years, I've had the privilege of strategizing, planning, and executing transformative events—from intimate gatherings to international conferences. My career has been built on an unwavering commitment to innovation, creative problem-solving, and a collaborative approach to ensure that every event exceeds expectations. Along the way, I've been fortunate to be recognized with honours such as "Planner of the Year" by Smart Meetings and a spot on the "40 Under 40" by Connect x BizBash.

But more than accolades, it's the connections I've built and the stories we've shaped together that truly inspire me. It was the Guinness World Record attempt to host the largest online event gathering, GMID Goes Virtual, in 2020, which connects almost all the industry associations across the globe. It was #EventprofsBreakShit that I co-founded in 2021, seeking an honest, authentic, but joyful way to explore event technology. 

These are the real rewards of our work, and they underscore the power of collaboration in our industry.

At ICCA, we're not just organizing meetings—we're creating spaces where ideas flourish, communities grow, and the future of our industry is redefined. I'd love to connect if you're interested in exploring how we can collaborate, build meaningful partnerships, or simply share ideas. Let's work together to amplify the value of international meetings and create sustainable, innovative solutions for the future.

Are you ready to shape the future of international association meetings? Let's connect and make an impact together.

Shawn (Yih-Hsiang) Cheng

Yard | Digital agency

Yard is the market leader in digital communication and community solutions for associations and public organizations in The Netherlands. With over a decade of experience, Yard knows how to build an active online community as a source of inspiration and a safe place where members can enjoy the benefits of an online group of like-minded people every day. As a communications and community strategist I help associations unleash their full potential to facilitate and amplify member connection, engagement, and knowledge sharing, and thus increase their impact.

Consultant Associations

Yunits

Activate your virtual community with Yunits!
We believe in the power of a network. By connecting people, knowledge and experience start to flow. An active online community is a source of inspiration where members can enjoy the benefits of an online group of like-minded people every day.
As a communications and community strategist I help associations unleash their full potential to facilitate and amplify member connection, engagement, and knowledge sharing, and thus increase their impact.
**Powered by Yard Digital Agency**

Community Consultants Collective

Advisory Board Member

Open Social

Always believing in the potential of online communities for associations, Mathijs is on a mission to unleash the full power of communities with a purpose, while also growing in the Community Strategist role for other types of mission-driven communities. In February 2021 he partnered up with Open Social on this mission.

Open Social is #MadeToShare: It is an open-SaaS community platform by the community, for the community. Open Social is specialized in communities with a purpose, serving clients including Greenpeace and the United Nations, and has won several international awards.

Open Social's vision: A pro-privacy, anti-monopoly and open web that inspires trusted connections and collaboration.

Open Social's  mission: Become the world’s leading community engagement platform that grows with the ambition of its users.

Mathijs provides Community Strategy Consultancy services for Open Social and spreads the gospel on the added value of online community in his “Online Community Evangelist” role. Activities include speaking at sessions at GIAF, BIAF, The Meetings Show, FIEXPO, BestCities Community Cafe, Community Thrive by Community by Association, ICCA Congress and Association Expert Seminar, and IMEX. Mathijs is AMI Expert Contributor on online communities and has written articles published by ASAE, Association Meetings International, CIM Magazine, MeetingsNet, VM Magazine by De Nederlandse Associatie, and more.

Roles:
* Strategic Marketing Consultancy for Open Social
* “Community Evangelist”: Speaking / writing on the power of communities
* Developing community building strategies with associations and other communities 
* Solutions Consultant: Identifying functional community platform solutions

Senior Strategy Consultant

ICCA

Heading the Marketing Division (5 FTE). As part of MT responsible for ICCA's global marketing strategy and activities. Leading role in the digital transformation of the organization. 

Tasks:
Centralizing global MarCom activities, from strategy to execution
PR strategy and crisis communication 
Event marketing
Implementation of CRM System and Marketing Automation Software
Architect and Product Owner of ICCA’s core online applications

Highlights:
Introduction of data-driven marketing for member retention
Repositioning the ICCA brand
Pioneering industry best practice social media strategy for events
ICCA 50-year anniversary campaign, including community activation and statistics report
Co-author of "Crisis Management for Meetings"
Creating the ICCA PR Award. Jury member for Best Marketing Award
Redesigning and implementing a new Member-Only Portal

Director Marketing

Leading ICCA's off- and online marketing and communication strategy; product development and project management,
Managing 3 fte.
Part of MT.

Marketing & Communication Strategist

Developing and managing online marketing/communications and media relations strategy; product development and online project management. Part of MT. Daily management of a team with an internal Developer and a Marketing Executive. 
Worked in different positions at ICCA before taking the Manager Marketing & PR role: Corporate Database Researcher; Marketing Developer; Marketing Project Manager.

Manager Marketing & PR

Marketing Project Manager

Marketing & Communication Executive

Direct Marketing and Research into the Corporate Meeting Market. 
Database management in Access / SQL.

Corporate Database Researcher

MarkIt Media

Combining and analysing different databases to identify target groups and create a Direct Marketing Strategy.

Database Marketeer

TBWA - Bridge DMS

Managing and training a team of temporary (tele-) marketeers and coordinating international direct marketing activities.

Coordinator Flexpool

Mathijs is an enthusiastic MarCom & Community Strategist, on a mission to unleash the full power of communities with a purpose.

With 20 years of experience at the “heart of professional community building” in the international association meetings industry at ICCA (the International Congress and Convention Association) as Director Marketing, and 3 years as a Community Strategy Consultant at community platform SaaS Open Social and Yard Digital Agency, he believes in the power of community to drive change.

Mathijs studied Communication Science and has a long career in the international meetings industry. At ICCA he led various projects leading up to a Director Marketing role: He designed ICCA’s PR- and Social Media Strategy and built its active online community from scratch, centralized global marketing activities, promoted all ICCA events, managed Online Product Development Projects and the implementation of a CRM system.

Outside work, Mathijs combines family life with Rock ‘n Roll life, being a proud family man with 2 kids while also playing guitar in 2 semi-professional bands.

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The Battle

Shawn (Yih-Hsiang) Cheng

Mathijs Vleeming

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