ICMS Australasia (ICMSA), an Australia-headquartered PCO, has expanded its footprint and opened an office in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Karen Hamilton, who has been working in the New Zealand business events sector for the past 16 years, has assumed the new role of director New Zealand.
She will join ICMSA owner and managing director, Emma Bowyer, and fellow directors at the company’s first Directors’ Meeting in 2023 in Christchurch in late March.
Bowyer said it had been a long-held goal for the company to move beyond Australia and, with confirmed future business in New Zealand, now was the right time.
“In recent years we have been approached by our clients – particularly associations – to manage their events in New Zealand. With a dedicated New Zealand office that now becomes more realistic,” Bowyer said.
“The opening of Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, the Tākina Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre coming online this year, and excitement building for SkyCity’s New Zealand International Convention Centre bodes well for a strong business pipeline.”
ICMSA has already been confirmed as PCO for the Australasian Polymer Conference in New Zealand in 2024, and the 62nd Annual Meeting of the International Forensic Toxicologists in Auckland in 2025.
ChristchurchNZ head of business events, Megan Crum, said she was thrilled ICMS Australasia had selected Ōtautahi Christchurch as its New Zealand base.
“The arrival of ICMSA here brings a new level of high-profile event opportunities and boosts Christchurch’s reputation as a fantastic place not only to host business events but also to do business.”
