ABOUT ORBIT

Our story

The Organization for Recognition in Business, Innovation and Tourism was founded in 2018 by Dr. Amara Osei on a simple observation: the people who grow local economies had no global credential of their own.

In the United States, chamber executives pursued national designations for chamber leadership. Destination marketing leaders earned credentials built for their own industry. In the United Kingdom, trade professionals worked toward nationally recognized qualifications. Regional bodies offered their own accreditations across state and national lines.

Each of these served its own country, region, or industry. But a chamber executive outside the United States, or a leader working across business, innovation, and tourism at once, had no single global credential that recognized the full scope of the work.

ORBIT was founded to be that credential.

It also recognized a quieter problem. Capable professionals who had not completed traditional criteria simply went without a credential at all. ORBIT gave them a path forward: the ability to demonstrate competence and earn the credential through field work and an adjusted curriculum. This was never about skipping the profession’s basics. It was about putting experienced professionals and executives on a level playing field, recognized as equals among their peers while they continued pursuing the training, experience, and credentials the field requires.

From the beginning, ORBIT built its certifications the way its holders work: in partnership. Chambers of commerce, destination marketing organizations, workforce boards, and economic development agencies helped shape credentials that reflect real demands, not classroom theory.

The framework grew into seven designations across three tiers: executive credentials for senior leaders, professional credentials for marketing and commerce specialists, and the Resilience Series for early-career professionals building their foundation. The flagship ORBIT Certified Chamber Executive recognizes mastery in board governance, advocacy, membership development, and community impact.

Today, ORBIT is based in the United Kingdom, with international representatives and credential holders in the United States and across the globe. Every credential is issued and verified through Accredible, so recognition travels as far as the work does.