Michelle Planche, CMP, President, Paradigm Events

Michelle Planche is an accomplished event specialist who has built a name for herself in the event planning industry. President of Paradigm Events Inc., winner of the 2005 Canadian Event Producer of the Year Award, nominee for the 2006 & 2007 Canadian Event Producer of the Year, Michelle represents the true essence of entrepreneurship. Planche started Paradigm Events Inc. in 1996 specializing in conference and special event planning.

Michelle’s passion for planning started with the original creation The Art of Fashion; an organization dedicated to supporting up and coming designers in Canada by providing them with opportunities for exposure and business development. Since the event’s introduction, The Art of Fashion has provided opportunities for emerging Canadian designers with over 20,000 attendees. The annual Design Competition and has benefited charities such as Theresa Group, A Child’s Voice Foundation, Sunshine Dreams for Kids and Rethink Breast Cancer. Art of Fashion was awarded “Best Public Entertainment Event” in 2008.

A few of Michelle’s career highlights include:

• Event Director of Portfolio Night Canada, taking place in over 35 countries around the world simultaneously on one night
• Professional Congress Organizer of AIJA, International Association of Young Lawyer’s Congress which featured an opening ceremonies at the Hart House Theatre, closing “For Your Eyes Only” gala
• Brand development and event planning for Canadian Society of Nutrition Managers (CSNM), Balancing Expectations and Adapting Together Conference (BEAT), Toronto, Ontario and CORE POWER Conference, Montreal, Quebec
• Placing 250,000 computers in schools and libraries across Canada through the national campaign Computers for Schools, in partnership with Sears
• Cross-Canada marketing launch for a new line of Schwarzkopf’s hair care products called OSIS
• Founder and event producer of the annual “Thrill of the Grill” festival at Deerhurst Resort
• Founder and president of: Take One Film & Television and the Executive Producer of a thirteen episode series, Career Moves, about the struggles and successes of being an entrepreneur that aired on four Canadian networks
• Speaker at industry events such as Canadian Special Events & Meetings Expo (CSEME) and Convention Meetings & Incentive Travel Show (CMITS)
• Certified Meeting Planner (CMP)

Michelle is an active member of the event industry and believes in giving back to the industry, creating standards of excellence and raising the bar of professionalism. Her commitment to that goal is shown by her devoted contributions to many event industry associations.

A few of Michelle’s associations include:

• Event Chair, Fashion Group International; a global non-profit organization of executives, designers and entrepreneurs in more than thirty chapters around the world. The Fashion Group provides a high-profile forum to promote the fashion and beauty industry since 2009
• Conference Committee, Meeting Planners International (MPI) since 2009
• Special Events Committee, Meeting Planners International (MPI) since 2009
• Member and volunteer of Meeting Planners International (MPI) since 2008
• Conference Committee, CANSPEP, Canadian Association of Professional Event Planners- 2007
• Member of the Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce since 2003
• Professor, George Brown College, Special Events & Hospitality since 2003
• VP of Partnership, Independent Meeting Planner’s Association (IMPAC) from 2002-2003
• VP of Membership, Independent Meeting Planner’s Association (IMPAC) from 2001-2002
• Member and volunteer of Canadian Association of Professional Event Planners (CANSPEP), since 2000
• President and Founder, The Art of Fashion, a non for profit organization dedicated to supporting emerging designers, 1996-2009
• President and Founder, The Karma Club; a group of women dedicated to giving back to the community through volunteer initiatives