Friday, October 9, 2015 
Ian Quartermaine and Jeffrey Devine, each with more than 25 years’ experience in the meetings industry behind them, are launching a global alliance offering business-critical support and solutions for Independent Meetings Professionals.
Entitled Dezika, the initiative aims to make independent planners more competitive through a host of services that will not only enable them to deliver service levels akin to those of large organizations, while retaining their independence, but also give them the recognition they deserve.
These include commission collection, ancillary service procurement to enable the scaling up of operations, electronic and forensic audits, sharing of problems and best practice through networking events, access to cruise and air group expertise, and a recognition program.
“Independent meetings planners are the lifeblood of the industry worldwide,” said Quartermaine, whose career includes key roles at Helms Briscoe. MeetingsIn and British Airways. “Jeff and I devised Dezika to provide solutions to the key issues they are facing day in, day out and offer crucial support that will help them to work smarter, improve performance and make them more competitive.”Dezika will champion independent planners, acting as a symbol of quality and professionalism.
“The recognition program is the single most effective driver in helping to build a cohesive community of member planners, that together, represent a substantial volume of business in our industry,” said Devine, an industry veteran who has held both management and executive positions with leading organizations, including Marriott Corporation, SmithBucklin, ConferenceDirect and the Hybrid Group.
Quartermaine and Devine will officially launch Dezika as the first official member-based organization offering tanglible business building tools. Dezika will launch Tuesday, October 13th during this year’s IMEX America show in Las Vegas Nevada where many of its newest members will be in attendance.
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