Ruud Janssen, CMM, DES

Ruud Janssen, CMM, DES (1970) is an international speaker, facilitator and designer of high stakes conferences & events. He is the Author of the Event Design Handbook, the EventCanvas™️ and co-founder of Event Design Collective (http://edco.global). He helps organisations innovate by thinking differently based on functional, social and technological advancements using business and event model innovation. www.eventcanvas.org

Joseph Pine

Joseph Pine II is an internationally acclaimed author, speaker, and management advisor to Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial start-ups alike. He co-founded Strategic Horizons LLP, a thinking studio dedicated to helping businesses conceive and design new ways of adding value to their economic offerings.

His published work includes The Experience Economy: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money and The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage, which deals with a shift from goods and services to experiences – memorable events that engage each customer in an inherently personal way.

Matthew Franceschini

Matthew has been with Aventri since 2018 as an Account Executive focused on building relationships and increasing our reach in North America with potential clients to drive new business opportunities. With 5+ years of experience in B2B sales, Matt has experience working in the digital and technology space for companies like ADP, Indeed, and SiriusDecisions.

Carina Bauer

Having graduated from Oxford University, UK, in Politics, Philosophy and Economics in 1998, Carina began her career in retail and catering, in the newly established GoodBean Coffee – a family owned chain of coffee shops located throughout the South of England. As Managing Director, Carina was in charge of the running of the business which grew to 13 stores in three years and was sold to a publicly listed company in December 2001.

An avid skier, Carina enjoyed a short break working in a ski resort in Italy, before entering the meetings industry in 2002 as the Marketing and Operations Director for IMEX in Frankfurt as part of the original launch team for the exhibition.

Following the expansion of the IMEX brand into America in 2009, Carina was appointed CEO of the IMEX Group. In this role, Carina is responsible for all aspects of the business.

Throughout her career, Carina has been an active member of the meetings industry. She was Chair of the Marketing Committee for MPI’s European Meetings & Events Conference, London (2008), has served on the Board of the MPI UK Chapter, the MPI International Multicultural Committee and on PCMA’s Global and Advocacy Taskforces. She is currently President of the SITE Foundation and serves on the AEO Council.

Carina lives on the south coast of the UK, near to the IMEX Group office in Brighton, called “London-by-the-Sea” for its cosmopolitan nature and youth culture.

She enjoys spending time with her family (she’s a mother to two boys), and is a keen climber and skier, hitting the slopes with friends and family when she can.

Kai Hattendorf

Kai Hattendorf is Managing Director / CEO of UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition

Industry. As such, he is responsible for UFI activities and events globally, as well as the operation of its offices and presences in Paris, Brussels, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai, and Bogota.

Currently, Kai also serves as Honorary President of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC), the global council of international and global associations serving the Business Events Industry.

Prior to his current role, Kai worked in the exhibition industry for numerous years in senior

management positions at Messe Frankfurt’s global headquarters, focusing on transformational issues ranging from digitisation to marketing and communications.

His previous career also includes leadership positions in marketing/strategic communications as well as in strategy and product development in the ITC and Media Industry for the Deutsche Telekom Group, the dpa Group (the German Press Agency), and a start-up.

A journalist by education, Kai has internationally reported and worked for the WDR and Radio Bremen broadcasters in Germany, at Euronews in France, the BBC in the UK, and the Voice of America. He holds a Master’s degree from the American University, Washington, DC. He also studied in Dortmund and Edinburgh.

Yarkin Sakucoglu

Yarkin Sakucoglu, CEO of the event management platform Socio, is on a mission to help organizers power event success in any venue, including virtual, hybrid, and in-person events.

The Forbes 30 Under 30 CEO started what is now Socio in 2016. Under Yarkin’s leadership, the company has raised its Series A financing round and has evolved into one of the most forward-thinking end-to-end event management solutions. Today, Socio has more than 100 employees globally.

Yarkin met his co-founders during his studies at Purdue University and to this day, they continually disrupt the event industry to create the best experience possible for event organizers. Socio serves more than 80 countries and its customers include Google, Microsoft, SAS, Lessonly, Greenhouse, Greenpeace, LogMeIn, and other recognizable names. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Yarkin also runs an office in Istanbul, Turkey.

Filip Matous

London based B2B Rebrand Consultant for 8 and 9 figure brands. Not an event pro—but someone that understands their role and budget allocation as part of brand building campaigns.

Experienced with industrial events, book launches, and closed-door think tank roundtables with government and media—turning events into multimedia campaigns to stretch their marketing value long after the event is over.

filipmatous.com

Gerrit Heijkoop

On a mission to create meaningful content, which really impacts the professional or personal lives of the participant. Spending his days on stage or in front of a camera to help planners and their managers increase the value of their meetings and conferences. As engaging moderator, program designer and host for livestreams and video.

Gerrit Heijkoop is an entrepreneur with a passion for technology, impactful change and public speaking. Building up experience with connecting online and on-site audiences since 2009. A familiar face in the international meetings industry as speaker, moderator and interviewer; both on- and offline. Known for his enthusiasm and always striving to keep matters simple and meaningful.

Gerrit is educated with a master’s degree in Systems Engineering and Policy Analysis at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. He was awarded “Best of Class” of his year. Shaped and formed as a management consultant and project manager at Boer & Croon Consultancy firm, Gerrit then followed his passion for the events industry.

He has been the founder of How Can I Be Social (HCIBS), a digital communication agency, all about sharing inspiration. In January 2014 he joined LiveOnlineEvents (LOE), the first European event agency specialised in meaningful and engaging livestreaming and online video. 

Joe Schwinger

Joe Schwinger is Co-Founder and CEO of MeetingPlay, an event technology company forging meaningful connections for Fortune 500 companies including Marriott, PepsiCo and Bristol-Myers Squibb. With a background in ecommerce, he has extensive experience providing customer-facing solutions on a global scale.

Joe was named to the 2018 list of 40 under 40 by Connect Corporate and the elite list of BizBash 500. In 2019, he was again named in the BizBash 1000 list of Top People in the U.S. Event Industry.

Rhiannon Phinbow

Rhiannon is the People and Talent Director for the IMEX Group, she is new to the events industry and as she joined the team at the beginning of the pandemic she has been thrown into the deep end! With over 14 years experience working in senior HR roles across a number of diverse sectors including travel, games and education, Rhiannon has built a reputation as a genuine people advocate.

Rhiannon’s real passion is wellbeing and inclusivity, and these have never been more critical than in the current climate. As a working parent to 2 young children Rhiannon understands the importance of work/life integration and is a keen advocate for flexibility and adaptability to enable people to bring their best self to work.

Narmeen Kamran

Narmeen is an 11 year global hospitality and events professional having worked on a variety of events across the world from Olympic sporting competitions to international conferences and awards. She is experienced in all sides of the industry from recruitment and training to operations and management. Pivoting with the changing industry Narmeen hosts an industry podcast and runs her own business. Mental Health, Diversity and Personal Development are Narmeen’s passions; she also acts as a strong advocate and speaker on these topics through her own personal experience and growth.

Steven A. Adelman

Steven A. Adelman is head of Adelman Law Group, PLLC in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, and Vice President of the Event Safety Alliance. His practice focuses on risk and safety at live events throughout North America, and he serves as an expert witness in crowd-related lawsuits.

Steve Adelman is principal author of the authoritative Crowd Management standard, ANSI ES1.9-2020, and lead author of the Event Safety Alliance Reopening Guide, which has been translated into nearly a dozen languages.  He is a law professor, author of the “Adelman on Venues” blog, and he recently has served as health and safety director for a series of live events in the United States.  Steve Adelman can be reached at sadelman@adelmanlawgroup.com.

Aoife Delaney

Based in Dublin, Ireland – Aoife brings over 14 years of industry knowledge and experience to her role within the DMC Network family.

Aoife’s background is in the DMC arena where her experience spans everything from operations and sales to marketing and global strategy.

Aoife is an active member of many industry associations, particularly SITE, where she currently serves as President for the Association. She is the recipient of a number of prestigious industry awards, including the 2016 Smart Women in Meetings Award and recipient of the 2016 CIC Pacesetter Award for outstanding achievement and leadership in the meetings and events industry.

Aoife has been named on the 22 Millennials to watch list with Meetings and Conventions, a Meeting trendsetter with Meetings Focus, a Rising Star with C&IT and most recently the 2020 Wise Icon Award with SITE Ireland – we certainly have our hands full with this one on board!

In addition to her mounting industry accolades, Aoife is also hugely into health and wellbeing and, as well as having completed both the Dublin and New York Marathons, has also added fully qualified Yoga instructor to her list of accomplishments.  Aoife is a big believer in health and wellbeing and loves to intertwine this into her busy industry lifestyle.

Born and raised in the US before moving back to her parents’ home town of Dublin, Aoife spent many summers living and working in the States through her college years – meeting her Irish husband, Alexander, while working in San Diego.  Together they have a daughter, Addison and a Son, Maximillian, who have both been firmly placed as the stars of the family.

Aoife’s favourite food is ice-cream and favourite pastime is knitting… a true misnomer of stereotypes : )

Pádraic Gilligan

With his business partner Patrick Delaney, Pádraic is currently the managing partner at SoolNua, a specialist advisory helping destinations, hotels, agencies, associations and venues with marketing, strategy and training for the MICE marketplace. Prior to founding SoolNua, Gilligan was the vice president of Ovation, MCI’s global DMC network and the VP of Industry Relations at MCI.

Kathryn Frankson

Kathryn Frankson is the Director of Event Marketing at Informa, the global leader in specialized events and event intelligence. After 48 straight quarters selling exhibition space and custom event sponsorships, Kathryn launched Informa’s sales marketing team, modernizing demand generation. Kathryn now leads the event and digital marketing efforts for Informa’s content led events in the architecture, event planning and foodservice space.

Karlet Hewitt

Understanding the power of instincts, Karlet Hewitt’s credible judgment has positioned her as a top connoisseur in business development, event production and business strategy. Coupled with her deep reservoir of experience and skill, her commitment to exceptional results is unwavering.

As founder of The Purpoint Group, Reid provides sound counsel to a wide-range of clientele in the entertainment, media, medical and lifestyle industries. Hewitt has never shied away from unfamiliar terrain. Growing up she was infatuated with trying and mastering all of her ambitions. Fast forward to adulthood, her procured adaptability has ensured she is well adept to disentangle any challenge in her path. During her illustrious 13+ year career as an Executive Assistant, she was admired and praised for being the go-to individual with all the know-how.

Her wide breadth of knowledge and resources made it hard to consider anyone else. It was widely understood that Hewitt can be trusted and relied on to get the job done, and well. Over the course of her executive career, she refined her instinctive ability to anticipate and interpret clients’ needs and produce their desired outcomes.

Shawna McKinley

Shawna McKinley is an event sustainability solutionary who works with progressive organizations to understand and manage the sustainability impacts of diverse events. She is meticulous about understanding negative sustainability impacts from events to enable organizations to reduce risks, control costs and protect their brand. She also helps organizations use sustainability as a tool to provide diverse benefits to event participants, employees, communities and society at large through experiential ideas, legacy projects and benefit metrics. She facilitates courses in sustainability and ethics to current and future event professionals at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and is the author of Event Manager Blog’s Sustainable Event Guide.

Lizzy Williamson

Dubbed by the US media as ‘the excuse-buster from Down-Under’, Lizzy brings her energy-boosting, bite-size wellness breaks to companies and conferences around the world. She is the regular fitness expert on Australian morning television and is the founder and author of Two Minute Moves.

Sam Fleming

Samuel Peter Fleming aka Efsharp, has filled dancefloors at over two thousand events across six countries since starting at CKCU in Ottawa in 94. Sam has shared the stage with MC’s Guru & Jazzmatazz, Shad K & Maestro Fresh Wes to bands such as Sam Roberts, Dragonette, Keys N Krates, The Arkells, City and Colour, to world class DJ’s Starting From Scratch, Mayer Hawthorne, Dopey, Pump, Hedspin, Shub and Skratch Bastid. Sam was also the Toronto Fashion Week DJ for ten seasons and has mixed hundreds of fashion shows and parties.

Every Friday he hosts Wax Candy with fellow jockey of discs Cyclist.