Londonderry woman recognised as one of the brightest and most talented global event professionals in the world

ICC Belfast’s Eimear Hone has this year been named in the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) ‘20 in their Twenties’ list, recognising her as one of the brightest and most talented global event professionals in the world.

PCMA is one of the world’s largest and most respected network of business events specialists and Eimear is the sole selection made in Northern Ireland, and one of only five European selections.

Eimear is a senior association account manager at ICC Belfast, the city’s only purpose-built convention centre.

Hailing from Londonderry, Eimear’s role involves promoting Belfast and Northern Ireland on the worldstage.

Targeting key national and international conferences to come to ICC Belfast that are aligned to the Department for Economy’s 10X Strategy is Eimear’s priority.

This not only brings millions of pounds of money into Northern Ireland, but it showcases the expertise of people and builds on reputation in priority sectors, exponentially driving economic benefit.

Eimear said: “I’m overjoyed to be named in the PCMA ‘20 in their Twenties’ list. It’s a huge honour to share this with my peers across the world who also made the list and of course with my colleagues at ICC Belfast. It’s really rewarding to see my work recognised.

“A lot of my success has come from my innovative approach to solving problems. In 2020 when flights were grounded and one of my top event prospects couldn’t visit the venue as planned, I put our in-house facilities to use and delivered a live sales pitch from our hybrid studio and conducted a real time virtual site visit. The client loved how we adapted to their needs and as a result we secured a 2025 conference worth £1.5m in economic impact for the city.

“Being part of a team that actually makes a difference is incredibly motivating. We are committed to Belfast and its journey to resilience and recognise the power that business tourism has to deliver that. Our motto is; when we win everyone wins and it’s something I really believe in.”

She graduated with a first-class honours degree in Leisure and Event Management Ulster University in 2015, and has been working at ICC Belfast for five years, receiving three promotions in that time.

Earlier this year Eimear also developed a Knowledge Hub to educate her peers on emerging trends specific to business events. She also regularly delivers presentations at further education centres to educate and inspire young people to join the industry.

Oonagh O’Reilly, sales and marketing director at ICC Belfast, added: “We are immensely proud of Eimear. To have been part of her growth and continued success with ICC Belfast over the past five years has been fantastic and this global recognition is well deserved. Eimear constantly seeks out opportunities for improvement and takes action to bring plans to life. Working in partnership with clients is what Eimear does best and the passion and the high regard in which she holds her clients' goals and objectives is infectious!”

Eimear will travel to Ohio to receive her award in January 2023.