The trouble with retirement, as the saying goes, is that you never get a day off. Well, Kevin Iwamoto, GLP, GTP, has solved that problem. The meetings industry veteran who retired in March 2023 has signed on as a strategic advisor to Proske, a Germany-based event company that hopes to expand in the U.S.
Proske, founded in 1986 by Bernd Proske, today has about 110 employees, with offices in Rosenheim and Munich, Germany, as well as New York City’s financial district. Co-CEO Larissa Steinbäcker said in a statement that the company aims to “significantly expand and strategically grow our presence in the U.S. market” and that Iwamoto’s role will be to consult around strategy, thought leadership, and business development. Maintaining a semi-retired position, Iwamoto will serve as a non-executive board member for the company in the U.S.
Iwamoto had a long and impactful career that started in 1988 with Northwest Airlines and included 10 years with Hewlett-Packard as senior global travel commodity manager, positions at event technology pioneers StarCite and Lanyon, consulting on meeting procurement and strategic meetings management with GoldSpring Consulting, and finally working on strategy with meeting-booking platform Bizly. His influence was also felt through leadership positions at the Global Business Travel Association and as co-author of a book on strategic meetings management.
