Interview
Visit Scotland ’ s Brownlee steps onto the world stage as PCMA chair
Neil Brownlee became the first non-North American chair of industry association PCMA in January 2025 . He discusses here with Mike Fletcher both his new role and his 16 years of experience championing business events in Scotland
Congratulations on becoming the first non-North American chair of PCMA . Thank you . The PCMA is approaching its 70th anniversary in 2026 and it has never had a non-North American chair before . So , I ’ m the first and that has come off the back of all the work that PCMA is doing in regions outside of the US including EMEA , APAC and LATAM . It ’ s perfect timing , therefore , to have a chair that is from another culture , albeit an English-speaking one . It is a huge honour for me .
When did your relationship with PCMA start ? In 2011 when I went to Convening Leaders in Las Vegas . I then hosted several global summits in Scotland during 2012 and 2015 . I got onto the Board in 2018 until 2022 and then came back in 2023 as secretary-treasurer .
My year as chair-elect last year was perhaps the trickiest as you feel that everyone else is doing all the work and you ’ re just there , watching and absorbing but feeling rather guilty that you ’ re not getting stuck in . That will all change now .
Above : Neil Brownlee
What does the role of PCMA chair involve ? It is to collaborate with PCMA ’ s 18 Board directors and the team , led by Sheriff Karamat , to drive PCMA ’ s strategic vision forward . It ’ s a one-year position . A lot of what I want to do in 2025 will build upon the tremendous work of Leonard [ Hoops , PCMA ’ s 2024 Board chair ] and the previous Boards and leaderships .
PCMA has a strong strategic direction , and its 2030 vision is what I want to build upon . Major priorities in my year will be rolling
“ The $ 1.6 trillion of GDP supported by international business events ranks our sector as the 13th largest economy globally ” out a new branding ; further integration of PCMA ’ s recent acquisitions such as CEMA , EMA UK and ELI ; the return of Convene for Climate ; a new membership model and critical work and developments in DEI and AI .
I ’ m the chair of the entire organisation . I will represent everyone ’ s interests , cultures and ways of working to transform societies and economies through business events .
To make the world a better place through business events is PCMA ’ s mantra isn ’ t it ? Yes , and it plays very well in my home country of Scotland . As head of business events for Visit Scotland , I see PCMA ’ s messaging cut through with the Scottish Government . Cities like Glasgow , Aberdeen , Dundee and Edinburgh may not always need more leisure tourism , but business delegates bring a different kind of tourism . The impact left by events and business spend is something the Scottish Government is rightly keen to capitalise upon . It ’ s refreshing they understand the true value of business events , as too often a country ’ s media just want to know how many canapes were eaten or how many kilometres of cable were laid .
Would you rather business events were talked about as a $ 1.6 trillion global industry ? What proportion of that does Scottish business events generate ? It ’ s a wonderful figure , isn ’ t it – calculated by the Events Industry Council in partnership with Oxford Economics . The $ 1.6 trillion of total GDP supported by international business events ranks our sector as the 13th largest economy globally . It ’ s tricky to put an economic impact figure on Scotland ’ s business events , but we believe it ’ s somewhere
16 Issue 1 2025 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk