By Andrew Kittell From its senior leaders masquerading as caped crusaders (see photo below) to its routinely sold out annual conference, the Bay Area Mobility Management (BAMM) relocation-focused group distinguishes itself from the rest.
It all starts with an active and engaged membership, one encompassing those new to Global Mobility and senior thought leaders across the corporate and service-providing universe. BAMM draws members from within the Greater San Francisco region and far beyond.
BAMM President William Taylor and Vice President Rajiv Thadani as annual conference super heroes Batman and Robin.
Founded in 2012 through the combination of two predecessors, BAMM claims nearly 900 active members, making it likely the largest regional Global Mobility association in America. What makes BAMM such a success? To find out, we asked current BAMM President and Dark Knight William Taylor, a former corporate international relocation in-house professional turned immigration attorney with Lewis Brisbois.
William Taylor describes BAMM’s “magic sauce” so, “Professionals across the industry recognize that BAMM is driving the conversation around what is next in the world of Global Mobility. The innovation happening within this space and in our Bay Area community is a natural bi-product of the innovative organizations our members represent. Our meetings are attended by a significant number of professionals who are eager to participate in our corporate-only roundtable discussions. Many regional organizations struggle to attract corporate members to their events. BAMM is incredibly fortunate and proud of the fact that our meetings are very well attended by many of our nearly 400 corporate members. I love the fact that our BAMM events are filled with a sense of optimism and positivity that is palpable and infectious.”
The BAMM events calendar is a full one, including the annual conference generally held on the last Thursday of February. There are three quarterly events in June, September, and December. During August, as a “thank you” to their top two sponsorship levels, Platinum and Keystone, BAMM hosts a summer soiree. BAMM also plans to host several volunteer events, giving back to the broader Bay Area community. Finally, BAMM formerly recognizes young professionals with its YP40 events, open to all but intended for those relatively new to Global Mobility.
Clearly, BAMM membership has its benefits. William Taylor describes the “value add” this way, “I consider many of our members to be “legends” in the industry. These individuals have given so much to our profession and they continue to help our newest members grow, learn, and succeed. A few years ago, we launched our Mentorship program, connecting those earlier in their careers in Mobility with experienced leaders who can quickly help them learn the essential skills necessary to manage and scale a successful Mobility program. This mentoring has been hugely successful and is a source of BAMM pride!”
BAMM membership certainly benefits those new to international relocation and talent management, but may be even more beneficial for those with storied careers. William Taylor explains, “There’s always room to grow in Global Mobility. It is one of the things I love about this work – there is always something new to learn and always an opportunity to innovate. BAMM membership offers those at all stages of their careers a chance to develop, share, and engage with an organization that is dedicated to driving the future of our industry. Moreover, we have a great deal of fun, so for even those who feel they know it all, I can guarantee they’ll enjoy being part of BAMM.”
These days, BAMM sets an enviable standard for a regional relocation-linked association. But President William Taylor and the BAMM leadership have some ambitious plans.
William Taylor, BAMM President
William describes the way forward, “I would really like to see our organization connect with some of the key internal partners that our corporate members work with daily. I have challenged our Board to reach out to those in Payroll, Talent/Recruiting, Finance and Corporate Tax, and get them engaged with BAMM to further the dialogue and ensure all our partners understand how we work together and how we impact employees, their families, and ultimately the bottom line. I believe we are up to this challenge and feel it will offer our members greater exposure and new opportunities to work more closely with internal leadership. Additionally, I’d like to see us offer more break-out, ‘mini-meetings’, where we can dive deep into a particular topic of interest. Currently, we struggle to find space that can accommodate our meetings, given our quarterly meetings often attract 250-300 attendees. If we can develop programming that goes deeper into areas that our members need help understanding, then we can help those members grow without having to worry about whether we can accommodate all those who wish to participate. I think smaller, break-out meetings will provide for deeper networking opportunities.”