Co-Chair Roles and Responsibilities
January 20, 2017, v1.0
PLMA is committed to presenting quality educational (in-person conferences, web-based discussions, etc.) that deliver
valuable ideas and information to our attendees. PLMA recognizes that co-chairing a session at one of our events
requires substantial effort on your part and we thank you in advance for your contribution. Co-Chair participation is
considered a contribution to the industry and thus no honorarium is offered and travel / per diem expenses are not
reimbursed unless subject to a written agreement negotiated in advance.
The role of session co-chairs is three-fold: Communicate with Presenters, Organize the Session, Manage Session On-site.
Communicate
You will receive a copy of the presenter confirmations with all email addresses as well as a list with names, emails, and
phone numbers of the person who submitted the session. Submissions are required to include contact information for
presenters; sometimes they are "protected" by an administrative assistant, and you must reach out.
• Maintain communication with presenters to ensure they are prepared and have an enjoyable experience.
• Contact the panelists, arrange a call, and communicate the details of the session to them.
• Ensuring presenters confirm acceptance by registering for the event by specified deadline.
• Ensure presenters understand the PLMA Presenter Policy.
Organize
• Ensure presenters are prepared to provide professional, educational presentations or moderated discussions.
• Coordinate the presenters for appropriate topic and flow based on the session description.
• Ensure presentation length is appropriate with 2/3 of time in presentation and 1/3 of the time reserved for Q&A
(e.g., a 30-minute session with 2 presenters would allow each presenter 10 minutes to present, and reserve 10
minutes for Q&A).
• Organize the order of presentations and provide agenda description updates as needed.
• Identify and notify us of any special AV requirements.
• Encourage the use of the PLMA Wide-Screen PPT Slide Template. We understand that sometimes corporate
legal structure will not allow this, so use your best judgement, or let us know if you need assistance.
• REVIEW the presentations in advance (give yourself at least two-weeks for back-and-forth) for appropriate case-
study content and to ensure there are no blatant commercials. Contact the Presenter and review any concerns
you have regarding their presentation. See the PLMA Presenter Policy for additional guidance.
• Obtain short introductions/bios of your presenters and prepare an introduction of the session.
• Prepare soft-ball questions to help start the Q&A session and audience discussion.
• Notify us if there are any presenter changes.
• Provide final copies of any PowerPoint presentations no less than 24-hours in advance for upload to
presentation computer (operations will NOT accept presentations from presenters without your approval, and
will not accept last-minute "edits" on-site that you have not reviewed and approved).
Manage
• Introduce your session and presenters.
• Manage the time and stay on schedule (you will have the time cards).
• Moderate Question and Answer sessions and discussion following presentations.
