Institute for International Research
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Institute for International Research (IIR) is credited by many as being one of the first -- if not the first -- modern conference company. It was founded by owner Irvine Laidlaw in 1973. According to its website, it serves a yearly audience of more than 650,000 executives around the world.
Debra Chipman is president of the New York and North American division of IIR.
IIR created a systematic method for developing a business conference quickly. This method allows a conference producer to research a business topic, recruit conference speakers, work with a marketer and sponsorship salesperson, design a brochure in under a month -- with no prior knowledge of the industry or topic he or she is addressing.
Many former IIR employees have used this general business model to create successful conference companies or new conference divisions at existing companies, including International Quality and Productivity Center, World Research Group and others.
