Amelia Island, FL – ABM members voted April 28 to approve a merger with the Software & Industry Information Association (SIIA) at the ABM Annual Conference 2013, running April 28-May 1 at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort. After an 18-month effort to evaluate the best option for the association, ABM announced plans to join forces with SIIA in early April, and members voted 83 to 3 to approve the measure.
ABM, the 107-year-old association of business information companies, including media firms which organize exhibitions, will now operate as a part of the Content Division of SIIA, which represents 700 member companies that develop software and digital information content. The two groups said they hope the merger will create a comprehensive business information and media industry association.
In addition to its Content Division, SIIA features a number of other divisions, including Education, Software, Financial Information Services Division (FISD), Public Sector Innovation Group (PSIG) and Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA).
ABM also voted to approve a new board of directors, including: Chair Neal Vitale, president & CEO, 1105 Media, Inc; Vice Chair Douglas Manoni, CEO, SourceMedia; Treasurer James Casella, president & CEO, Asset International; Secretary Marion Minor, CEO, Specialty Information Media LLC; and Past Chair William Pollak, CEO, The Gordian Group.
In addition, ABM announced nine new board members, including: Ty Bobit, president & CEO, Bobit Media; Bill Carter, president & CEO, ALM; Alex DeBarr, president & CEO, Naylor; Alan Glass, chairman & CEO, CFO Media; Peter Goldstone, CEO, Hanley Wood LLC; Kerry Gumas, president & CEO, Questex Media Group; Janet Ludwig, president, Allured Business Media; Andy McLaughlin, president & CEO, PaperClip Communications; and Greg Watt, president & CEO, Watt Publishing.
Reach Clark Pettit, president & CEO, ABM, at (212) 661-6360 or c.pettit@abmmail.com
Clark Pettit speaks in more detail today with Danica on the ABM/SIIA merger. Stay tuned for the update.
