A Note from the IACC President – IACC Annual Conference Postponed

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are all doing well and staying safe. Over the last few months we have been busy preparing for our Annual Conference that was set for December in Orlando, FL. Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the conference due to the proliferation of the COVID-19 Delta variant. The increased risk to health and safety, as well as ongoing and new travel restrictions caused by the Delta variant have made a December conference untenable. While we regret we won’t see our friends and colleagues in person this year, we are optimistic that next year will bring better health and travel conditions to facilitate safer and greater participation at our Annual Conference. We aim to reschedule the Annual Conference to the Spring of 2022 in Orlando, FL.

The good news is that our Annual Conference Co-Chairs have already prepared a robust agenda with several workshop and roundtable tracks designed to facilitate small group discussions in addition to high-level panel sessions. I look forward to implementing this exciting program at our rescheduled conference. My sincerest thanks to Eric Hawk from JTI, Carrie Hedayati from 100% Speedlab, Louise Butler from Diageo, Zach Toczyński  from Levi Strauss & Co., Virginia Cervieri from Cervieri & Monsuarez and Diana Martinez from Arochi & Lindner for all their hard work during this challenging time.

I also thank our sponsors, exhibitors and registered attendees for all your support and hope I will see you next year. An email will be sent that will provide the option of transferring your registrations to the next conference or receiving a full refund.

The last 18 months have presented many difficult challenges to all of us at a personal and professional level. I know they have been sometimes overwhelming, but I have seen a tremendous effort within the IP community to support each other to get through difficult times and to continue the fight against fakes. The IACC has been honored to be right there with you through our programs, trainings, task forces and virtual events. We can’t wait to see you at our Annual Conference next year. Please stay tuned for more information over the next few weeks.

Sincerely,

Bob Barchiesi
IACC President