Feb 29, 2024
Taking place each February, Black History Month is an ideal time to honor and celebrate the achievements of Black trade show and event industry professionals and renew our commitment to continue fostering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
We want to recognize and highlight Black industry leaders and share their experiences. This week, we are featuring Julie Coker, president and CEO of San Diego Tourism and Al Hutchison, president and CEO of Visit Baltimore. Find out how their organizations are supporting the Black community and Black History Month, and how all of us can champion… more
Feb 22, 2024
Taking place each February, Black History Month is an ideal time to honor and celebrate the achievements of Black people in the events and trade show industry and renew our commitment to continue fostering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
We want to recognize and highlight Black industry leaders and share their experiences. This week, we are featuring Marveen Hart, Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Freeman, a full-service exhibitions, exhibits and events company with a 97-year legacy, and Ed Jeffry, business development manager for Gielissen, a Netherlands-based exhibitions,… more
Feb 16, 2024
Taking place each February, Black History Month is an ideal time to honor and celebrate the achievements of Black people in the events and trade show industry and renew our commitment to continue fostering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
We want to recognize and highlight Black industry leaders and share their experiences. This week, we are featuring Tavar James, head of field and partner marketing, Riskified, a publicly traded company that provides software as a service fraud and chargeback prevention technology. Find who inspires him and what tips he can offer others to champion DEI… more
Feb 12, 2024
The U.S. meetings industry is continuing its steady pace of hiring and promoting, with meeting and event-related companies elevating and appointing staff as business forecasts signal a positive outlook for the coming year. Here’s our latest recap of new hires and promotions.
Connect
Matt Johnson has been promoted to managing director of meetings, events, travel and tourism industry leader Connect, which was acquired by Informa in 2023 and is now part of Informa Connect. A part of the Connect team for nearly 19 years, he is responsible for spearheading new initiatives to best serve customers… more
Jan 30, 2024
Destination and event management company CSI DMC, Inc. has appointed a new president. The company tapped 28-year events industry veteran Hope Valentine to take the helm after serving as an integral part of CSI DMC’s senior leadership team for 12 years, most recently as chief sales officer.
A Florida native based in the Greater Orlando area, Valentine has built a successful career developing and managing large, complex programs for FORTUNE 500 companies, including Ford, Procter & Gamble, CVS, Honda and Wells Fargo, in a variety of roles spanning proposal development, sales and event… more
Jan 22, 2024
Event-related organizations across the U.S., especially DMOs, are kicking off the New Year with new hires, staff promotions and executive leadership announcements.
Seattle Convention Center
After serving as Seattle Convention Center (SCC) president and CEO for more than 12 years, 45-year venue management industry veteran Jeff Blosser is retiring in May 2024. During his time at the helm of the SCC, Blosser opened a new building, guided operations through a pandemic, served in leadership on numerous industry boards and was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International… more
Jan 12, 2024
Talk to Lux Narayan, co-founder of event audience engagement technology platform StreamAlive, and it quickly becomes apparent that he is anything but your typical event tech CEO. Not only has the serial entrepreneur founded three technology companies over the past two decades, including AI-powered SaaS StreamAlive in 2021, social media benchmarking company Unmetric and online data backup company Vembu Technologies, but also he is a TED speaker, amateur standup comedian, author and storyteller who feels just as comfortable telling jokes in front of an audience as he does delivering PowerPoint… more
Dec 20, 2023
Edlen Electrical Vice President Business Development Julie Pazina was elected Nevada State Senator of District 12 in 2022, and she served in her first legislative session earlier this year. As a first-term Senator, she had eight pieces of legislation signed into law — the most of any freshman legislator.
Related: EDLEN ELECTRICAL EXHIBITIONS' JULIE PAZINA SWORN IN AS NEVADA STATE SENATOR
The Nevada State Legislature has 63 members — 21 senators and 42 assembly people. They meet in session in Carson City for 120 days every other year, so there’s a lot to accomplish in a short period of time… more
Dec 13, 2023
Like many event professionals, Stefanie Rowe did not follow a direct path into the hospitality and events industry. If anything, she imagined opening her own dance studio and performing company. While teaching dance classes post-graduation while serving at a local high-end restaurant inside a hotel, Rowe was recognized by a hospitality leader who noted her natural abilities in sales and negotiation and encouraged her to consider hospitality sales and marketing as a possible career.
“I was instantly drawn to relationship building, negotiating contracts, the fine details of a perfectly… more
Dec 11, 2023
An array of CVBs, hotels, event agencies and industry associations have been steadily hiring and promoting staff, as well as padding their executive teams as they anticipate a busy 2024.
InVision Communications
Full-service event marketing agency InVision Communications recently appointed 25-year event marketing and leadership veteran Angie Smith as its new CEO, effective Jan. 1.
Smith most recently served as head of experiential and field marketing at Atlassian, an InVision client. Previously, she spent more than three years at InVision as its group executive, strategy, a role in which… more
Partner Voices
MGM Resorts is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse culture, not just among employees and guests but also within its supply chain. The company prioritizes procuring goods and services from businesses owned by minorities, women, veterans, people with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals and those facing economic disadvantages. This commitment is integral to MGM Resorts' global procurement strategy.
Through its voluntary supplier diversity program, MGM Resorts actively identifies and connects certified diverse-owned suppliers to opportunities within its supply chain. The company is more