Owner & Creative Director, EventStyle
Designer and entertaining expert Mark Addison has had an insatiable curiosity about design and entertaining since he was very young. His purposeful design and passion for creating entertaining spaces has made him a sought after voice on all things chic and clever—from home design and entertaining to signature drinks and cooking. Mark believes that great living doesn’t have to empty the wallet.
Mark has been featured on the “Today” show, “Better TV,” FOX News, “The Apprentice,” “Access Hollywood” and “America’s Next Top Model.” In addition, his content can be found in InStyle, People, New York and Interiors and he is a regular contributor for Us Weekly.
At age 7 Mark mastered donut making and at 13 he began hosting dinner parties for his siblings and neighborhood friends, developing his signature meals that are still requested at family gatherings. A native of Miami, Florida, he enrolled in culinary classes while still in high school. He then added a hefty dose of theatrics and presentation while studying interior design and theater in college, all while working as a catering chef
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Owner & Creative Director, Scoozi Events NYC
Stella Ballarini is the creative force behind one of NY's most dynamic caterers, Scoozi. Together with her husband and General Manager Gianluca, and their team of twelve, they handle many of the most high profile events in the beauty and fashion industry. Clients have included Chanel, GQ Magazine, Sex And The City, 30 Rock, Sean Jean, Conan O'Brien, W Magazine, 9/11 Memorial, Children's Book Council, and many others. Scoozi won the 2009 ISES Big Apple Award for Best Food & Beverage Creation.
Stella is a professionally trained chef, a classically trained ballerina, and, most importantly, as a child was a Finalist in a McDonalds contest for reciting all the ingredients in a Big Mac in under 2 seconds!
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VP Operations/Client Relations, JCALPRO, Inc.
With over seven years sales and marketing experience under her belt, Elise has owned and operated a sales franchise in several counties in New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts while generating over $1.5 million in personal and office sales. Elise has worked for JCALPRO, Inc. at the BCEC, Hynes Convention Center, among other locations, since 2005. She has sat on the board of directors and holds memberships for the New England chapter of the International Special Event Society (ISES), Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) and Massachusetts Chamber of Business and Industry (MassCBI). With a proven track record in hiring, training, and managing over 200 sales reps and employees, Elise has proven to be an integral member of the JCALPRO Operations team
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Business & Marketing Consultant, AlanBerg.com
Who am I? If I had to answer this in one sentence I’d say “I’m a Suburban Renaissance Man”. I’m a husband, father, son, friend, speaker, author, salesman, marketer, musician, handyman, consultant, teacher and all-around nice guy. I’m passionate about my family and my work. I love being creative and working with my hands, as well as my mind.
I revel in the success of others and truly believe that your success will lead to more success for me. I believe that when you give first, you’ll get more than you could have ever asked for. I also believe in living for today, while planning for tomorrow.
I listened to my father and followed my passion as he did. I was going to be an accountant like my father, but after two years in college, despite doing very well, I decided to follow my passion into marketing. I thought it would be tough to tell him that we would never be in practice together but he simply said that he loved what he does and that I should follow my passion and find something that I love. Sound familiar? I’m sure it does.
Math was my strong subject in school, yet now I find myself working more with words as my medium. I was a relatively shy child, yet I now find myself
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President & Managing Partner, About Entertainment, LLC
Danny Bergold has over 20 years experience in the entertainment and event production industries. He began his performance career as a young boy, playing the role of Tom of Warrick in Camelot starring Robert Goulet. He went on to appear in over 50 musicals in New York City and around the world including Crazy For You, Saturday Night Fever, West Side Story, A Chorus Line, Music Man, Cats, Oklahoma, The Sound of Music and 42nd Street. Along the way he earned his BA from the University of California, Irvine where he studied the performing arts. In 2003 he left the performance industry where he would begin his career as an entertainment producer. He worked briefly for Broadway producers Ted Tulchin and Richard Frankel Productions, two of the world's most distinguished Broadway producers and general management companies. In 2005 he left the Broadway industry to run the entertainment division at the award winning, New York based, event production company, Empire Force Events. While there, Bergold, along with the Empire Force Events' entertainment division, produced hundreds of entertainment experiences including dance bands, custom shows, solo musicians, variety acts, and world-class performances
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Owner & President, Marcy Blum Associates
Marcy Blum is a world-renowned event planner, entertaining expert and owner of the acclaimed event planning company Marcy Blum Associates based in New York City. She crafts every event with her own unique brand of elegance, talent and an almost-preternatural ability to visualize space. With attention to detail and a flair for the unimaginable, Marcy creates events that stimulate the senses and awe guests.
Her signature style is actually the ability to find a signature style for her clients, "there's no such thing as a Marcy Blum event." As she explains, "I try to get a real sense of my clients and use my knowledge and know-how to bring their event to life." Having orchestrated lavish functions for Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, Carl Icahn, Salmon Rushdie and Padma Lakshmi, Billy Joel and Katie Lee, the Rockefeller family and Regis and Joy Philbin, Marcy Blum literally wrote the books on event planning: Wedding Planning for Dummies and Wedding Kit for Dummies. In 1986, Marcy launched her eponymous company, Marcy Blum Associates, beginning with corporate events and evolving into social events and particularly weddings.
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Chief AV Girl, Pulse Staging and Events
Midori Connolly is the Chief AVGirl at Pulse Staging & Events and Sr. Tech Advisor to 7 Degrees Communications. In addition to owning and operating an AudioVisual company, she is a professional speaker and writer for organizations like MPI, PlanYourMeetings.com and rAVe Green AV. With a strong focus on sustainability as a business practice, Midori wrote the first-ever set of guidelines for Green AV. She then successfully designed and implemented hybrid meeting strategies for clients such as PCMA and BMW, while delivering measured business results. She is the only industry expert with the ability to provide end-to-end hybrid meeting design, strategic planning and technological execution.
Her AVGirl vision is to make technology more human, approachable and sustainable. For more information or guidance on hybrid meetings, social technology support or AV support, you can reach her via Twitter: @GreenA_V
When not speaking, writing or creating AudioVisual wonders, Midori can be found golfing, riding horses, or even racing the world’s first veggie-oil offroad car with her two children and husband in sunny San Diego, CA.
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President & Founder, Elegant Affairs
For Andrea Correale, it all started around the family dinner table. From a very young age, her mother made her see that a table could be set with creativity, no matter the budget. Today, Andrea leads a small catering and event planning empire aptly called Elegant Affairs.
Every great party, be it a small gathering of friends or a gala event for hundreds, starts with a great idea, and that's where Andrea's expertise comes in. Her sense of style has made her a favorite of the Hamptons Summer set, as well as corporate and private clients from Long Island to New York City. Andrea manages a growing list of corporate clients who count on her for everything from catering meetings to helping them organize large-scale events and galas.
Andrea's knowledge and expertise on celebrity party planning was featured on VH1's The Fabulous Life: The Hamptons. She has also offered her knowledge to Woman's Day Magazine and has been heard on the Martha Stewart Living Radio Show on Sirius Satellite Radio. Andrea has also appeared on Fox News Channel, NBC’s Today Show as well as numerous other media outlets.
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Director of Special Events, Nyack Hospital
Mary Fiore brings over 13 years experience in the non-profit sector, with a primary focus on major fund raising events. Prior to starting her own business, Ms. Fiore served as the event planner and fund raiser for the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, the American charity patronized by the Princely Family of Monaco. During her tenure, Ms. Fiore doubled the funds raised and nearly tripled the attendance at the Foundation’s annual awards gala.
Before joining the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, Ms. Fiore worked to fulfill the missions of diverse organizations, including Covenant House (a homeless shelter for youth), Wave Hill (a public garden in the Bronx), and The Bronx Museum of the Arts.
Ms. Fiore has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Greater New York Chapter of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals (AFP), and has served as its secretary of the board as well as editing several of the chapter’s membership directories. Ms. Fiore has also served as a vice chair of the operations committee for AFP’s Fundraising Day in New York, and has chaired its Career Services Committee.
Ms. Fiore is an active speaker
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President, Play With A Purpose
Sharon Fisher is a professional "experience-maker". When all her friends where getting real degrees, she chose to major in "whistle blowing" as her father called her degree in Recreation. Now celebrating 20 years in her business, Play with a Purpose runs hundreds of events a year. Chosen as one of Entrepreneur Magazines Young Millionaires, she has proven that the passion for play works.
Her quote "in a world full of copies, here's to the originals!" summerizes her business style. Sharon's reputation for leading the industry in creating teambuilding, community service, and icebreaker events has led to 20 years in business. Now the next evolution is putting play on the broader meeting platform -- gamifying meetings, making them more engaging and relevant, and adding experiential learning programs to bring learning alive. She also helps organizations "think different" about their business with Quirkshops and Idea Explorations into customer service, creating engaging experiences, process improvement, and improving employee morale.
In addition
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Principal, marlo marketing/communications
An attorney licensed in New York and Massachusetts, Marlo brings a unique skill set and background to the world of communications and marketing. Thanks to her thorough, cohesive approach and her laser-sharp focus on the big picture, Marlo has become recognized as one of the country’s leading consumer publicists in a relatively short time.
In 2004, Marlo created marlo marketing/communications, a full-service agency focused on best-of-class consumer lifestyle products and services. Highly regarded by her clients for her personal approach; honest, ethical business style; and accessibility, Marlo prides herself on becoming a part of her client’s “team.” Though she runs one of the industry’s most successful privately-held agencies, Marlo practices a hands-on approach and remains a firm believer in a rock-sold marketing strategy – an approach that’s become the basis of the agency’s philosophy. Whether hired for her PR prowess or her overall marketing vision, Marlo continues to lead her clients to success in whatever venture they undertake.
When she’s not leading her rapidly-growing company,
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Executive Chef of Special Events & Catering Operations, Walt Disney World Resort
Executive Chef Robert Gilbert has seen and worked with the best in the culinary world, and in locations from Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa to the high seas with Disney Cruise Line®.
Chef Robert's first taste of the restaurant business was in an Italian restaurant owned by his uncle in Warren, Ohio. After working in family restaurants, he attended the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts.
Today, Chef Robert oversees 35 chefs and 200 full-time culinary Cast Members who cater more than 35,000 events a year, including conventions, weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthday parties, meetings and executive gatherings.
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Executive Director, Event Leadership Institute
With over 20 years of industry experience, Howard is a widely recognized expert and innovator in the field of special events, meetings and small business growth strategy.
Educator & Thought Leader
Howard is the Founder and Executive Director of the Event Leadership Institute, provider of best-in-class training and education for the events industry, through online, on-demand video classes, interviews with industry leaders, white papers, webinars and live events.
Event Agency Owner
He is the founder of Paint The Town Red, Inc., and the former CEO of North America for Global Events Group, the 13th largest event agency in the world, which acquired Paint The Town Red in 2008. During his tenure the company won over 30 industry awards.
Industry Leader & Expert
Howard is a Past President of the ISES (International Special Events Society) NY Metro Chapter; has served on the board of directors of MPI (Meeting Professionals International) Greater NY Chapter as VP of Education; has served on the Advisory Board of Special Events Magazine; been a judge of the Gala Awards & HSMAI’s Adrian Awards. He is a frequent speaker at
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Founder & President, Elizabeth Rose Consulting, LLC
Goldie Hawn, Kate Hudson, Joe Torre, Allan Houston, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mikhail Gorbachev are just some of the celebs who have turned to Liz's boutique firm to produce their charities' galas.
Liz founded Elizabeth Rose Consulting, LLC in 2003 with the vision of utilizing nearly two decades of professional event planning experience, fundraising expertise, staff management and corporate savvy to make a positive impact on non-profit organizations. Her goal is to offer services that are geared towards rejuvenating fundraising efforts for local non-profits; bringing them to the next level.
Liz’s non-profit experience started in her church as a young girl, where she worked side by side with her parents to implement and run various community outreaches. As an adult, Liz spent over 13½ years at a Real Estate Investment firm as VP Corporate Events, where she was tasked in developing a successful charitable foundation from the ground up giving her a strong understanding of the various growth stages non-profit experience and ultimately solidified her more focused career path.
Her multi-tasking skills came in handy as she
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Owner, jesGORDON/properFUN
Jes Gordon, event designer and planner extraordinaire lends her fun, fresh approach to every celebration undertaken by her namesake company. With Jes, you get the experience, taste and personal service, but you get lots of personality and fun as part of the package. And now, with the publication of her first book, Party Like A Rock Star…The Celebrity Party Planner’s Tips and Tricks For Throwing An Unforgettable Bash, (Globe Pequot Press, 2009), everyone, regardless of their budget, will be able to throw the party of their dreams.
She stumbled into the industry at the ripe old age of thirteen as an assistant to a floral designer, where she discovered she had a keen eye for color. By the time she was a junior at Bard College she had a blooming floral business of her own. Jes took her talents to Taos, New Mexico, where she opened a contemporary art gallery and flower shop. Then it was on to New Orleans where she worked on set designs for films, including Interview with a Vampire and Dead Man Walking. While in the Big Easy, she was also commissioned to design no-holds-barred floats for the Mardi Gras parade.
In 1992, Jes was offered the
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Owner, Tara Guérard Soirée
Recognized as the southeast's leading leading event designer, Tara Guérard has earned a national reputation for her exceptional ability to create spectacular settings celebrating life's most anticipated occasions for clients both locally and across the United States.
Since opening the doors of Soirée by Tara Guérard in Charleston, South Carolina over a decade ago, Tara has been noted as a leading arbiter of entertaining and southern style. In 2005, she was selected as a “Top 25 Trendsetter” by Modern Bride magazine. Soirée’s work has been featured by a wide range of media including Elegant Bride, Food & Wine magazine, Southern Accents, Martha Stewart Weddings and Town & Country Weddings, among other prestigious publications. Most recently, she was tapped by Martha Stewart and the editors of Martha Stewart Weddings to create a “Gorgeous and Green” Nashville, Tennessee wedding which was highlighted in the magazine and televised on the Style Network in December 2008.
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Executive Vice President, Superfly Marketing Group
Since joining Superfly Presents in 2002, Issaq has helped produce more than 25 nationally recognized festivals, including the launch of Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, and the new Superfly culinary property called the Great Googamooga. He leads business development and partnerships for Superfly Marketing Group, focused on monetization of its festivals and creating and implementing brand-driven multiplatform music and entertainment programs. He has helped Superfly develop partnerships with dozens of Fortune 500 companies. A 1997 graduate of the UNLV College of Hotel & Business Administration, Issaq began his career in San Francisco at Clear Channel, developing marketing programs by leveraging its extensive network of radio stations and promotional outlets.
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Editor in Chief, BizBash Media
Chad Kaydo oversees all editorial content in BizBash's New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Chicago, and Washington products, including BizBash magazine, BizBash.com, the BizBash Media email newsletters, and the BizBash National Venue Guide. He leads a team of editors and freelance reporters who cover all types of events, watching for news about industry trends, leaders, and new ideas.
As an industry expert, Chad has spoken about special event trends for NY1, WB11, CBS 2 This Morning, Fox-5's Good Day New York, the Food Network's What's Hot, What's Cool, the RSVP show in London, the Council of Protocol Executives' Eventpower seminar, and the BizBash trade show.
Before joining BizBash in 2000 to help launch the original Web site, Chad was an associate editor at Sales & Marketing Management magazine, where he wrote about topics including event marketing, meetings, business travel, and incentives. He holds degrees in English and journalism from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
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Director, Corporate Technology, metroConnections
After graduating from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1995 with a degree in Technical Theatre, Brandt found himself working for a theatrical equipment rental company. It was there that he made initial contacts that would draw him away from the theater and into hotel ballrooms around the world. Just under a year later, he was hired by metroConnections to help build, literally, their event decor fabrication shop, and to manage their growing event rental inventory. A first generation personal computer user since the age of 6, technology is part of Brandt's DNA. Shortly after starting with metroConnections, he built the company's first website, and started designing interactive game shows for teambuilding events within the next couple years. Initially using the page linking technology in PowerPoint, then moving on to full fledge Flash programming, these game shows and their descendants still feature prominently in metroConnections teambuilding event arsenal. As the fabrication shop grew, Brandt bowed out and moved exclusively into a full time technology role. Stage management experience made him a natural for the tech table, and now he's "the
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Vice President & General Manager,, EventSpot from Constant Contact
Chris has been with Constant Contact since 2006 and currently runs the company’s EventSpot Business Unit. EventSpot is designed to help small business and nonprofit event planners automate and simplify many details associated with planning, promoting and managing an event, freeing them up to focus on providing the best attendee experience possible. Before joining Constant Contact, Chris held a series of marketing and management positions at IBM Corporation and Rational Software Corporation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an MBA from Northeastern University.
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Founder & President, The Business of Being Creative
Sean Low is the Founder and President of The Business of Being Creative, a consulting firm focused on providing practical advice to those in the business of being creative. Prior to founding The Business of Being Creative, Sean spent six years as the President of Preston Bailey Design, Inc. representing Preston in his business endeavors around the world.
Sean has a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and, apart from working with amazing creative professionals, his business acumen is honed from his previous experience as a lawyer, investment banker, financial executive and small business owner.
Sean’s client list includes, among many others: wedding designers, Tara Guerard and Michelle Rago; eventiste, Marcy Blum; wedding cake master, Sylvia Weinstock; wedding bloggerati, Style Me Pretty; wedding photographer, Christian Oth and famed interior designer, Vicente Wolf; and furnishing retailer, Interieurs. Sean is passionate about challenging creative businesses to be the best versions of themselves, helping them set the foundation for growth and
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President & Founder, Suzanne B. Lowell Lighting Design
In 1997 Suzanne Lowell founded Suzanne B. Lowell Lighting Design, Inc. to provide best-of-class, custom lighting solutions for galas, special events and weddings. With more than 20 years of experience and training, Suzanne has established her firm as one of the country’s leading sources for artful, elegant and impactful event lighting design.
A graduate of Connecticut College, Suzanne holds a B.A. in theatrical lighting design with a strong focus on musical theater and modern dance lighting. She has served as a faculty member at The Boston Conservatory where she instructed lighting, stage management and production. Recognized for her signature style of carefully crafted and multi-layered lighting designs, Suzanne’s work is regularly featured by top planners at premier venues, such as The Boston Public Library, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Boston and The Four Seasons Hotel Boston.
An active community member and philanthropist, Suzanne supports a number of non-profit and charitable organizations. Each year her firm donates their services to the lighting and production of the Kelley for Ellie fashion show,
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Senior Conference Planner, MetLife
Lindsay Maloni is a Sr. Conference Planner for Metlife. She previously spent 9 years on the Incentive Team, managing sales incentives and large business meetings for the enterprise. Maloni currently serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for FICP (Financial & Insurance Conference Planners Association. (Bio to come)
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Production Manager, Staging Techniques
David Marshall brings 35 years of presentation experience to his current position as Production Manager of the New York office of Staging Techniques. He has a long resume as an Equity stage manager, technical director and producer that began with Contempo Commnications in the 1970s. Today David brings all the skills learned throughout his long career to be able to mount shows for Staging Techniques, NY. As a team player he has even been known to participate as a crew member should the need arise. Staging Techniques, with over 40 years of experience, is a leading supplier of technical services and management for events, meetings, and presentations of all kinds. This includes: video projection and control systems, camera facilities packages, audio, lighting, scenic design and staging as well as general production management. While some work is done in the entertainment arena and some for permanent installations, most of the work is done for corporate presentations. Over the years Staging Techniques has serviced at one time or another most of the major companies that build cars, manufacture cosmetics, process data, provide financial services, telecommunicate, bottle soft drinks, distribute
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Chief of Protocol of the United States, U.S. Department of State
Ambassador Marshall leads the State Department’s Office of Protocol in its mission to advance the foreign policy of the Obama Administration by creating and fostering an environment for successful diplomacy. As the first hand that welcomes kings, queens, presidents, and prime ministers to the U.S., Ambassador Marshall serves on the front lines of diplomatic engagement building bridges and fostering understanding between people and governments. Marshall oversees the work of the six divisions—visits, ceremonials, diplomatic affairs, diplomatic partnerships, Blair House, and management— in setting the stage for diplomacy and ensuring that international protocol is executed. She serves as the primary liaison for visiting dignitaries meeting with the president, vice president, secretary of state, and other administration officials, and manages and executes protocol arrangements for presidential travel abroad. Marshall also worked in the White House during the Clinton administration: from 1993 to 1997, she served as special assistant to the first lady, and in 1997, she was appointed deputy assistant to the president and social secretary to the White House.
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Manager, Sales & Marketing, HCC Specialty Underwriters, Inc.
Melissa Maybury is the Manager of Sales and Marketing for HCC Specialty Underwriters and has been with the company for a little over 5 years. While knowledgeable of all HCCSU’s products, her main focus has been on the event related insurance products in the entertainment, event planning, sporting, tradeshow, and promotion marketing industries. Melissa has worked with many event planning companies, event organizers, and/or their insurance brokers to determine what exposures they have and what products will be best suited for them. Melissa and HCCSU are members of ISES International, MPI New England, The Association of Bridal Consultants, IFEA, IAFE, and the Promotion Marketing Association. Prior to HCCSU, Melissa worked in sales for a payroll company. She attended the University of Connecticut and graduated with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. She now resides in Charlestown, MA with her husband and dog.
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Founder & CEO, Red Carpet Runway
Doug Melville is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Red Carpet Runway, America’s premiere brand of red carpet and custom designed entrances. By developing a line of patent pending products, anyone can now create a custom red carpet experience, any time and any place. Over 1000 clients, including Clarins, Swarovski, MTV, have tied into red carpet themed strategies, spearheading the company as the fastest growing red carpet brand in the U.S.
Melville worked alongside Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson from 2005 until 2009, first as President of Magic Johnson and Jordan Zimmerman’s marketing and advertising agency, ZMagic, and then as the Vice President-Business Development and Marketing for Magic Johnson Enterprises – developing online, non-traditional and branding strategies for the Magic Johnson Brand, his New York Times best selling book and for his portfolio of partners.
Melville was the founder of his own marketing and branding agency, Off The Bench Marketing in 1999. In 2005, Melville developed strategies for the two largest U.S. network re-launches, MTV2 and the USA Network. He has worked to develop branding opportunities for Britney Spears,
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President & Creative Director, AOO Events
Since David Merrell opened AOO events in 1989, he has earned a reputation as designing some of the most innovative, cutting edge events in the business. Honored as “Designer of the Year” by Event Solutions in 2008, Merrell has also earned nine Gala Awards from Special Event Magazine; the event industry’s ”Oscar.” He is also the recipient of seven Esprit Awards, a BizBash and a Crystal Site Award. Merrell is the former President of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the International Special Events Society (ISES), and has served in numerous positions of international boards of ISES. A member of Event Solutions and BizBash Magazine’s Advisory Board, Merrell is regularly featured in numerous trade and consumer publications and is a popular industry speaker both nationally and internationally. He is also the “Big Dawg” of AOO’s award-winning blog, www.designdawgs.net.
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Client Services Director, First Protocol
Rick is responsible for the overall account management of First Protocol's US clients to ensure they are being properly serviced by the account teams. Rick is also integral to the US office's sales and marketing team, supporting sales activities with existing accounts as well as new clients. He has extensive marketing experience and provides invaluable advice to clients on strategic marketing plans and the best way to utilize their marketing spend over various marketing vehicles.
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin- Madison in '92, Rick spent over 10 years living and working in San Francisco where he built his event management career. Rick has been working in the event marketing world for over 15 years and draws on his experience from a variety of industries including the non-profit sector (San Francisco Ballet), the beverage industry (Tanqueray and Coca-Cola) and the technology sector (BEA Systems, Inc.). At BEA, Rick oversaw the overall conference direction for their annual user conferences, developer road shows, and managed their trade show participation at over 35 shows per year. Rick has been fortunate enough to travel extensively, delivering
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Senior Vice President, Managing Director (Boston), Jack Morton Worldwide
As Managing Director of Jack Morton’s Boston office, Steve oversees the development of multi-year agency relationships dedicated to building and activating brands for clients. He has succeeded with a strong focus on the agency’s digital and strategic planning offerings. Since he joined Jack Morton in 1992, Steve has played various roles from creative and production to management; as well as helped form Jack Morton’s Experiential Planning Group and worked on integrated campaigns for Harvard Business School and Fidelity Investments. Steve is a strong advocate of using technology to make new connections and is a frequent contributor to Jack Morton’s twitter feed and blog. Out of the office, Steve’s all about connecting with people aerodynamically: he’s a world-renowned ultimate Frisbee player who has won world championships from the World Flying Disc Federation.
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President, Faith Moore & Associates
Faith Moore has been helping prestigious corporate clients succeed through events and incentives for over 25 years. Faith founded FM&A in 1990 and leads the company with her deep knowledge of New England, and her elegant, eclectic sense of style.
Faith has an uncanny ability to put people at ease, and she finds common ground with everyone she meets. The daughter of a US ambassador, she grew up living in an Embassy overseas and traveled extensively. She is intimately familiar with the protocol to deal with dignitaries, and has a firm grasp of contemporary business and what it takes in these times to help clients succeed. She enjoys the fine art of hospitality with a keen focus on how strategic event management will influence behavior and create desired outcomes.
Faith also brings a sense of social responsibility to bear in the corporate market, and will seek opportunities to fulfill a client’s philanthropic mission to support the community through event planning.
A Smith College graduate, Faith started in the industry as an inspired tour guide with an art historian’s knowledge of architecture. She still considers one of her best talents to be her
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President, Alpine Creative Group
Steve Paster is President of Alpine Creative Group, an award-winning graphic design and custom printing firm located in New York City. Founded in 1987, Alpine Creative Group manufactures high-end custom invitations, stationery and corporate marketing materials. All printing, engraving, creative and hand-crafted designs are completed in-house allowing for shorter lead times, greater cost efficiency and exceptional design. Alpine's innovative invitations have been featured in New York Magazine, People Magazine and in Page Six of the New York Post as well as on Fox News, Eyewitness Morning Show and on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Clients include brides, special event PR firms, fashion, finance and entertainment clients as well as many non-profit organizations.
Mr. Paster was a member of the Founding Board of the Gilda's Club of Northern New Jersey, the Board of Managers of the Englewood Field Club and supports several other non-profit and community organizations. A father of three, he resides in New Jersey with his wife Barbara and his twin daughters.
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Creative President & CEO, MS Productions
Milena Santoro, CMM CMP PIDP - author, international speaker, award winning certified meeting and special events professional who has earned many accolades managing events for corporations, international associations, social clients and not-for-profit agencies. She is the Creative President and CEO of MS Productions Inc., a full service international event and wedding production, design and destination management company with offices in Canada and Europe.
Milena has been planning events and wedding for over 20 years both locally and internationally and has a natural ability to create, design and produce experiential events. With her background in hospitality and culinary arts, floral and interior design, she is able to translate her client’s ideas into reality. She is an entrepreneur who has built her business on integrity and a solid work ethic and continues to mold the future of the event industry as a speaker, facilitator and educator.
To stay ahead of the curve, she seeks inspiration by traveling and attending many industry events, as well as collaborating with her peers to continuously raise the standards in the industry. Over the years she has built a strong network and
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President & C.E.O., EventQuest
John Schwartz founded EventQuest Middle East, the full-service experiential design and event marketing agency, with business partner Mark Veeder.
He is based in the UAE and responsible for building international offices and overseeing the company’s client base of global brands, driving the growth and profitability of the company’s operations and continuing to advance the EventQuest profile as a leading experiential marketing and event design firm.
With over 20 years of experience serving corporate clients, John’s key focus is on client value in conjunction with creative thinking. He has built strong relationships with a diverse group of clients that includes Masdar, ENEC, UPC, Mercedes-Benz, Liz Claiborne, Lipitor, Sanofi, Condé Nast, Samsung, Chase, Chrysler, Citigroup and Dyson.
Since founding Obscura Digital in 2000, Threlkel has been leading a team of 50 people and providing immersive branded environments created with the latest technologies,
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Managing Director, Sequence Events
Lizz Torgovnick is the Managing Director of Sequence, a bespoke events agency specializing in production, strategic planning, and design. Recognizing a gap between the resources of a large organization and the personalized attention from a boutique firm, she co-founded the company with Adam Sloyer in 2011 and is based in the New York headquarters.
Prior to Sequence, Lizz was the Head of Production at Global Events, an international experiential marketing company, where she oversaw the production department and spearheaded creative proposals. Her client experience boasts global and local brands and organizations, ranging from 30 to 3,000 guests: Moët Hennessy, Porsche, Travel Channel, Unilever, Toy Industry Association, Children's Book Council, Women's Bond Club, Hospitality Marketing Awards, and Wharton Business School.
A lifelong art lover, Lizz’s expertise in event planning reflects her innate sense of balance between being creative and managing logistics. An industry-recognized entrepreneur, she is profiled in the cover story for the January 2012 issue of Meetings & Conventions, one of the most influential publications for events professionals.
Lizz
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Director, CLIO Awards
With more than 18 years of experience in face-to-face events, Karl Vontz is responsible for the brand development of one of the world's most recognized advertising award shows: the Clio Awards. He works to keep the Clio brand relevant with today's audience by constantly staying in touch with the creative community and paying attention to industry chatter on social media. Technology continues to change the way consumers interact with brands, and as a leader of the Clio Awards, Karl is not only responsible for what happens at a face-to-face event, he is responsible for every manner in which the target audience interacts with the Clio brand.
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Eco-Event Planner, Twirl Management
Johanna Walsh is an eco-event planner and consultant based in San Francisco and New York City. She is the founder and manager of Twirl Management, a firm that develops and promotes environmentally responsible opportunities for events. Twirl is a Certified Green Business by the City & County of San Francisco. Walsh sits on the Board of Directors for the Northern California Chapter of the Green Meeting Industry Council.
Johanna gained her event planning and consulting skills while working in fashion and film industries in New York City. She relocated in 2006 to the Bay Area to follow her career as an event planner. After working on several events, she realized one common theme: they were all inherently wasteful - and little infrastructure was available to help make them more environmentally friendly. With this motivation, she started Twirl – an organization that coordinates low impact and eco-friendly events and supports other planners and venues by providing a green infrastructure in which to produce their events and meetings. In the past three years the company has been recognized for its commitment to sustainability by Co-Op America
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Author & Senior Editor, Wired Magazine
Bill edits feature-length articles on technology, science, and culture. Prior to joining Wired in 2010, he was an editor at Harper’s Magazine for 10 years. He is the author of And Then There’s This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture, and co-author of the forthcoming Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus (summer 2012 from Viking). He lives in Oakland with his wife, son, and whippet.
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Founder, Relate Solutions
Michael Westcott has been instrumental in helping to shape the dialogue in the experiential marketing industry for over twenty years. He started Relate Solutions to help transform the web from pages and links to places where people meet and do business. He served as VP Marketing of virtual business software leader, INXPO and has founded several non-traditional agencies including Firebrand and Fitch Boston. He also ran the Event Marketing Institute at Red7Media and helped turn George P. Johnson into a global event leader as VP of Marketing.
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Founder & Chief Strategist, XPL
For over a 15 years, Kevin has been designing and producing corporate experiences worldwide. Kevin is an ISES past president of both the Philadelphia and New York chapters, has served as the chair of its international Certification Committee, and is currently serving his second term on ISES’s Board of Governors.
Kevin was one of the youngest event professionals to attain the CSEP certification. He is an Adjunct Professor at New York University in the Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management school and has been a presenter at university campuses and event industry conferences throughout the world on various event topics. Most recently Kevin has been focusing on environmental research and solutions for the event industry, including his current work on the American technical advisory group developing the international standard for sustainable event management.
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