Throughout the nation, corporate event-related organizations are continuing to elevate team members, expand teams and tap experienced leaders as they prepare for strong third and fourth quarters this year. Take a look! 

Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority 

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has welcomed four new sales leaders to help grow meeting, convention and trade show sales for Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). 

As vice president of destination sales, Rebecca DeLuca will oversee the sales and marketing efforts of LVCVA’s destination sales team. The proven sales and marketing professional joins from Caesars Entertainment, where she served as director of key accounts and strategic partnerships, leading the team responsible for driving third-party sales strategy. She has also held positions with the LVCVA, MGM Resorts International, Gaylord Hotels and Cardinal Health. 

As senior director of trade show and convention sales, David Sargent will work to create new opportunities for meetings, conventions, incentives and trade show markets. Based in Chicago, he will represent the LVCVA domestically and internationally and work with various stakeholders, including Las Vegas resort and mission partners, to boost attendance at events in the destination. Bringing more than 30 years of sales and marketing experience to the LVCVA, Sargent has held leadership positions at major hotels in New York City and Chicago, at Freeman and at Choose Chicago and Visit Orlando.

Responsible for leading and growing meeting, convention and trade show sales for the destination and the LVCC while driving business opportunities to the LVCVA’s resort and mission partners, Mai Lim was appointed director of intermediary sales. She will direct sales strategy to drive leads and room nights for meetings and conventions into Las Vegas and oversee retention and growth from key intermediary customers. Lim joins the LVCVA from Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI), where she served as director of global sales. A veteran hotelier for more than two decades, she has held a variety of sales leadership roles at MGM Resorts International and Station Casinos in Las Vegas and at Viejas Casino and Resort in San Diego. 

Based in Washington D.C., Jon Watson was appointed national sales manager, responsible for promoting Las Vegas to the LVCVA’s mid-Atlantic based customers, lead generation, regional account development and building and maintaining client relationships. Watson joins the LVCVA from Caesars Entertainment, where he spent eight years as a national sales manager. He has also held sales positions at Destination DC, Hargrove, Inc., Marriott International and Starwood Hotels and Resorts. 

Baltimore Convention Center 

The Baltimore Convention Center recently appointed three new directors: Ethan Lang as director of facilities and engineering; Keith Runk as director of public safety; and Jennifer Guevarra as assistant director of convention services. These three industry professionals joined the team following the retirement of Rob Parker, the center’s former director of facilities, engineering and public safety, and the promotion of Tyler DeBella, who served as the venue’s former assistant director of convention services.

Bringing years of experience in engineering and operations, Lang is responsible for many aspects of the venue’s infrastructure, including plant operations, project planning and energy efficiency. Before joining the center’s team, he worked for numerous corporations, including the Laz Parking & Maintenance Systems as an assistant director, Sports Turf Specialties as the operations director and project manager, and most recently, Columbia-Greene Community College, where he served as assistant director of buildings. 

With extensive knowledge in policing, investigations, operations and more, Runk brings more than 30 years of related experience and graduated second in his class at the Maryland State Police Academy. He is responsible for overseeing the center’s security, including leading the organization’s Department of Public Safety, being a liaison for the Baltimore Police Department and working with external event security companies. Along with managing public safety operations, he is skilled in safety training and has led emergency management classes. 

Bringing more than 20 years of sales and event management skills to her new role, including positions at Marriott, Las Vegas Sands and the M&T Bank Stadium, Guevarra is responsible for supervising the center’s team of convention services managers and coordinating client event needs such as audiovisual, catering and electrical services. She will also work closely with the center’s Department of Operations for event setups and breakdowns. With experience managing departmental budgets, event services and sales leads, and leading a sales and event services team, her previous positions in the hospitality industry include director of corporate sales, senior director of premium services and most recently, vice president of business development and sales.  

360 Destination Group

Leading destination management company 360 Destination Group made two significant promotions recently.

Industry veteran Craig Caron has been promoted from senior vice president of sales to COO, focused on growing the organization and streamlining processes as he continues to mentor and support the 360DG team nationwide. In his new leadership role, he will work hand-in-hand with 360DG Managing Partners Shelly Archer and Trevor Hanks on company-wide initiatives.  

Caron began his hospitality career in 1989, working for major hotel groups including Loews, Marriott and Hilton, where he gained experience in operations, catering, convention services and finally, sales. In 2003, Caron was named executive director of the Hilton Worldwide Sales team, where he led many portions of the organization, and in 2018, he made the jump into the audio-visual sector as Encore/PSAV’s vice president of global sales.  

Hospitality industry veteran Stefanie Hassan was recently promoted to general manager for 360DC’s Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, rounding out a team of six general managers focused on overseeing and guiding the success and growth of 18 destinations across the U.S. During her 17-year tenure at 360DG, she has held various roles, including operations manager, senior operations manager and senior account executive. Prior to working with 360DG, Hassan served as a meetings manager for a notable association in Washington, D.C.  

ASM Global  

Event production, venue management and event strategy leader ASM Global has appointed 30-year industry authority John Hale as general manager of Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center in Wichita, Kan. With experience including prior management roles at the venue, he is responsible for the overall management, promotion and operation of the facilities, including purchasing, booking, marketing, finance, human resources, food and beverage, box office, security, production and operations.

Most recently, Hale was the facility’s assistant general manager and director of operations, previously serving as its technical director from 2001-2006 and as operations manager and technical director from 2011-2020. Prior to joining ASM Global, Hale served as director of engineering for Hyatt Regency Wichita. 

Canopy by Hilton San Francisco SoMa 

Canopy by Hilton San Francisco SoMa, an elevated boutique hotel located in the city’s South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood, recently made two major hires: Jeff Ossenkop as chief enthusiast – general manager and Heidi Calhoun as lead sales enthusiast ­– director of sales and marketing.  

Bringing more than 22 years of hospitality leadership experience to his role, Ossenkop most recently served as general manager at The Tremont House – A Tribute Portfolio in Galveston, Texas. He initially joined the Canopy brand in 2019 during the launch of the Canopy by Hilton Austin Downtown and boasts an extensive background in boutique and luxury hospitality, including a 13-year tenure with Starwood Hotels & Resorts under W Hotels, where he was assigned a task force for new builds and transitions in the Washington, D.C., Ft. Lauderdale, Scottsdale and San Francisco markets.

Calhoun brings a wealth of directorship experience from world-class properties to her new role, including her most recent foray in Galveston at The Tremont House – A Tribute Portfolio, where she worked with Ossenkop. With more than 20 years in the industry, she previously worked at the Canopy by Hilton Washington DC Embassy Row in Washington, D.C., and the Canopy by Hilton Austin Downtown.   

Visit Winston-Salem 

Stephanie Pace Brown has taken the helm of Visit Winston-Salem as its new president, responsible for overseeing a staff of 17 with the prime directive of generating overnight leisure, convention and sports visitation to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County. A tourism industry veteran of more than 30 years, she replaces Richard Geiger, who officially retired on June 30 after leading the organization for 13 years. 

Brown most recently served as executive vice president of Strategic Marketing & Research Insights (SMARInsights), a leading national tourism research firm. She is the former president of Explore Asheville for the Buncombe County TDA and has also held executive positions at The Alexandria Convention & Visitors Association; Mount Vernon: George Washington’s Estate; and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. 

Brown has served as chair of the Destinations International Foundation and on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Travel Association and North Carolina Travel & Tourism Board, among others. 

Terramar DMC 

Full-service event, destination, conference and meeting services company Terramar Destinations, a DMC Network Company, recently expanded its global team with two major promotions.

In an effort to further develop its team’s reach and customer-facing side of business, sales and operations leader Lisa DeLeon has been elevated from vice president, North American sales to vice president of global sales. As part of Terramar’s corporate team, she will head up the expansion of the global sales team while helping the company continue to grow.  

Event, hospitality and leadership professional Kate Patay also joins Terramar’s corporate team with her promotion from director of engagement to vice president of engagement. Known as a top strategist, consultant and international speaker with a focus on creating experiences, producing events, destination marketing and brand positioning, she will focus on global media and industry engagement. 

Convention Data Services 

Event registration, business intelligence and lead management partner Convention Data Services (CDS), a Freeman Company, recently updated its executive leadership team with the appointment of Casey McMullen as vice president of innovation and technology and the promotions of Ken Ferreira to vice president of client solutions and Kathy Tracey to vice president of client success.  

Bringing more than 35 years of technology experience and a decade of events industry expertise to his role at CDS, McMullen leads all CDS’ technical initiatives, including ensuring the delivery of software-based products and services. Before joining CDS, he served as the director of software development at Freeman. 

As vice president of client solutions, 29-year CDS team member Ferreira will oversee new business development and exhibitor services sales and support. Having started his career at CDS as an onsite systems manager and most recently serving as national sales application manager, he brings nearly 30 years of trade show registration and account management experience to his role.  

Tracey joined CDS as an account executive last December. In her new role, she will lead CDS’ account executive team, overseeing client relationships. She previously served for nearly two decades at CompuSystems, most recently as senior manager of event services, where she managed client relationships and supervised a team of account managers.  

Additionally, Ferreira and Tracey will lead CDS’ sales department in its transition to a customer success model. 

INFiLED

Global LED displays leader INFiLED has hired two regional sales directors for its fast-growing fixed installation team in North America: Jason Manguba and Zack Stewart, who will work in tandem in the West and Central regions, respectively, to grow the company’s reach for dvLED fixed installation projects.  

Bringing more than 20 years of experience in the channel, Manguba boasts myriad brand management, distribution, key account manager (end-user) and channel sales roles at technology companies, including PPDS, ASUS North America and Elo Touch Solutions. 

With more than 12 years in the AV world, Stewart brings vast experience in account management, AV consulting, dvLED engineering and distribution, with sales and management roles at companies including Stirling Communications Supply Co., Clear Touch and HD Distributing. 

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