Kimberley Gishler has served as CEMA President and CEO since 2010. She also served on CEMA’s Board for nine years, and held roles of Vice Chairwoman and Chairwoman.

As CEMA President, Kimberley has spearheaded a strategic transformation that has led the organization into a sustained period of membership and reputation growth. CEMA membership has tripled on her watch, attendance at CEMA events has grown steadily year-over-year, and CEMA is recognized today as an eminent professional community for event marketing leaders.

Kimberley has been instrumental in plotting the course for future growth. She helped craft a new CEMA charter to define and differentiate the organization, and re-organized the internal organization, bringing on top industry talent to manage operations and events.

Kimberley works tirelessly to promote the integrity and sense of community of the association, creating a culture of innovation, forward thinking and continuous learning. A relationship maven, Kimberley has forged strong partnerships with leading event services vendors to advance the organization’s mission. She works continually with the CEMA Board to enhance the quality and diversity of member activities – setting new standards for event value in professional development, networking and event experience.

Throughout her tenure with CEMA, Kimberley has been a catalyst for creativity and ingenuity within the event marketing community, tapping into the substantial talent and expertise of CEMA members to create cutting-edge educational, experiential and information sharing opportunities.

Kimberley is the architect of industry-leading event marketing learning programs, including event study tours – behind-the-scenes, under-the-hood views of how events are planned and executed across various industries, best practices sharing opportunities both at CEMA events and via the “Ask CEMA” online program, and “pop-up” organic social-media sharing events.