Local to lead national public speakers group

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on June 4, 2009 at 11:08 am

After a term as secretary and treasurer, Franklin exec Duane Ward will lead a trade group for speaker’s bureaus in more than a dozen countries.

Duane Ward of Franklin, Tenn. has been elected president of the International Association of Speakers Bureaus (IASB), the association representing 163 speakers bureaus in all corners of the world.

Ward, the president of Franklin’s Premiere Speakers Bureau, said he will focus primarily on providing new and efficient technologies for IASB’s member organizations.“Like all industries effected by shrinking corporate event and travel budget, so, too, have speaker bureaus been impacted,” Ward said. “With new technologies, we can do more with less—and come out of this challenging period stronger and better positioned for the future.”

Ward, an IASB member since 2000, recently served as treasurer of IASB as well as one year in the president-elect position. He will preside at IASB’s annual convention in April 2010 in New York City. A former public relations executive in Washington, D.C., Ward founded Premiere 15 years ago in the Nashville area. The company recently moved their headquarters to their new offices on International Drive in Franklin.

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Tags: Duane Ward, International Association of Speakers Bureaus, Premiere Speakers Bureau Inc., public speaking, trade associations