2018 Speaking Faculty

Shimon Avish is a 20+ year veteran of Travel and Meetings Management. As a consultant, he currently is the head of Acquis Consulting Group’s Meetings Management Group. Previously he has worked for American Express Consulting, American Express Meetings & Events, Management Alternatives, Shimon Avish Consulting, and BCD Meetings & Events. Shimon has led initiatives to design and build a global strategic meetings management program for a major pharmaceutical company, and built a global congress program for another major pharmaceutical company. As current member, and former Vice-Chair, of GBTA’s Meetings Committee, he has led the Committee’s Thought Leadership Initiative. Shimon is a frequent contributor to industry publications, and presenter at conferences, and is considered an industry thought leader.

Since Joining Destination Hotels in 1999 Kevin has held sales leadership positions at The Inverness Hotel, Terranea Resort and the national sales team. He currently serves as Vice President of Global Group Sales for Two Roads Hospitality the parent company for Destination Hotels, ALila Hotels and Resorts, Joie de Vivre Hotels, Thompson Hotels, and tommie hotels. He is inspired by a dedicated team of sales professionals who serve from their heart and are committed to creating exceptional meeting experiences for their customers. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Restaurant Hotel Management from Keuka College and a certificate of completion in Kitchen Production Management from Swiss Hotel Management School “Les Roches.” In addition, he completed the management training course at Walt Disney World’s Disney University. He calls Colorado home, but is a modern nomad and has traveled to all seven continents.

FastFive Interview

Jacqueline Beaulieu, HMCC is currently with BlueHive Strategic Environments and is the Executive Director, Healthcare Education & Events. Jackie is formerly the Executive Director of the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA), an industry trade organization whose mission it is to improve healthcare conventions, exhibitions and events. With over 15 + years of experience working with pharmaceutical, medical device, biotech and other healthcare organizations and associations, she continues to educate those in our industry.

Jackie’s has conducted exhibitor training sessions at a number of large healthcare meetings such as Medtrade, American Heart Association, American Society of Microbiology, American College of Family Physicians, California Dental Association, Digestive Disease Week and College of American Pathologists. In addition, Jacqueline also conducts educational workshops at various trade associations and has participated in numerous educational sessions on the CMS Open Payments/Sunshine Act.

Betsy began her career in restaurants in 1977, transitioned into hotel sales and ultimately found her passion in meeting and trade show management. During her 15 year tenure at the world’s largest biotech company, Betsy developed and implemented a pioneering corporate-wide strategic meeting management program. This experience also provided her deep insight into the regulations affecting the Life Sciences industry. In 2007, she moved from the corporate meeting world to consulting, much of which has been within procurement organizations. In addition to her current work with Fortune 500 companies, Betsy is considered a Subject Matter Expert in the area of Strategic Meetings Management Programs and as such, has authored many articles, developed educational content, and presented to audiences in North America, Europe and Asia.

Betsy holds a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She has been an active member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) since 1994; having served on many of international committees, as a member of the International Board of Directors and is currently the chair of the Knowledge Advisory Council. Betsy believes in giving back, and as a result has participated in a number of industry advisory boards, panels, and forums. In 2009, Betsy was one of the first to achieve MPI’s Accredited Trainer designation. Betsy has been recognized as one of Business Travel News “Best Practitioners” and has been honored as one of Meeting News “25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry, and recently was awarded the 2010 MPI “Chairwoman’s Award”.

[email protected]

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Born and raised in the south of France, Agnès also lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Grand Case, St. Martin prior to moving to the United States in 1981. She is fluent in French and Spanish and has a working knowledge of Brazilian Portuguese. Her professional background includes owning her own incentive company for over a decade and filling the role of strategic meeting manager in multiple industry sectors, including Life Sciences. For the last 14 years, Agnès has worked for leading agencies, responsible for implementing, growing, and leading International teams and accounts across the globe, delivering programs in over 50 countries.

Agnès joined MCI USA in 2015 to lead the Corporate Meetings & Events division across multiple industry sectors. As a thought leader/subject matter expert in the meetings industry, Agnès is frequently invited as a Subject Matter Expert contributor on SMMP, International & Life Sciences subjects, in addition to serving as an advisory board member for various global hotel brands. Canonica obtained her Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation in 2000, as well as her Certification in Meeting Management (CMM) in March 2008. Agnès is also an active member of the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) and currently serving a three-year term on the CIC CMP Governance Commission.

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Becky Cavanaugh began her career in both the meetings industry and the Contract Research Organization world in 2002 at a niche company in Cincinnati where she spent five years planning meetings and last served as Manager, Client Management and Business Development . She briefly left the CRO world to expand her experience in the events industry to try exhibit management. It was only six months when she realized it wasn’t for her. In 2007, Becky joined the Global Clinical Education and Strategic Programs team at INC Research. After a number of promotions within the team, she is now the Associate Director, Strategic Programs and leads the Americas region. Becky's role as an Associate Director includes growth and management of the Americas region staff, ensuring successful program management by her team and building organizational capacity to increase work effectiveness and cost efficiencies. In Becky’s spare time (when she isn’t traveling for work-which isn’t very often), she enjoys spending time with her family and friends in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Becky has an extremely supportive husband and a wonderful “mini-me” daughter who’s a high school senior and soon to be studying Stage Management/Theater in college. Becky’s favorite city in the world she’s gotten to visit is Istanbul (with Florence, Italy a close 2nd).

Deb is a Co-Founder and CEO of Lenos Software (1999), an innovative provider of Strategic Meeting+Event Management Cloud Solutions.

She developed her interest in technology as a Partner in several global law firms, as her financial services, regulated industries, corporate, e-commerce and emerging technology clients transformed their businesses to the Internet. This led to her becoming a drafter of the Public Key Infrastructure Assessment Guidelines which provided cryptography requirements and standards, including privacy.

Deb’s background as an Attorney for the Office of the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), regarding legislative, enforcement and regulatory proceedings has been invaluable. One of her opinions was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court resulting in the landmark integration of banking and insurance industries.

She remains an active participant in the bar, with an appointment to the Standing Committee on Gavel Awards, American Bar Association. Her prior appointments include the Standing Committees on Membership and Technology, which strategically directs the delivery of technology and services to the ABA's 400,000+ members. She also was elected to Board of Directors of the American Bar Endowment ($90 MM+) and AEFC Pension Plan ($50 MM+) and Alistar Insurance Company.

Deb is a graduate of Boston University, Georgetown University Law Center and the Pacific Coast Banking School, University of Washington.

Heidi Cocca has been at Merck for over 10 years, working on various aspects of the clinical trial process, including training investigative sites. In 2009, she joined the newly formed meeting management department with a goal to develop, implement, and sustain a new meeting model that produces compliant, cost effective and high quality investigator meetings. Prior to joining Merck, Heidi worked in software development, and now brings that zeal for technology to her current meetings, through digital and hybrid meetings, as well as staying on top of the latest trends such as meeting applications and gamification.

Heidi received her undergraduate degree from Lynchburg College, and now lives outside of Philadelphia, with her husband and two boys.

Romano Del Fiacco is responsible for Medical Education in Lilly, a multinational pharma company active especially in Diabetes, Oncology, and Immunology. He obtained his Medical Degree and his Ph.D. in Rome (Italy) where he practiced before joining Lilly. Romano is always looking for the "out of the box" solution, is really convinced there should always be "a bit of fun” in what we do and in how we learn.

Michelle Devine is a dynamic and respected hospitality expert specializing in group sales. With over 20-years of experience, Michelle has an intimate knowledge of the industry, invaluable experience with luxury clientele and vast expertise of the sales craft.

At Michelle's current role as National Account Director with Visit Newport Beach Inc., she successfully and strategically positions Newport Beach, California as the leading destination for meetings, conferences and events. Michelle represents seven hotel partner properties in her territories of the Northeast and Los Angeles, California.

Prior to joining Visit Newport Beach Inc., Michelle last held a vital role at Newport Beach's Island Hotel and then Balboa Bay Resort, as director of sales and earning the accolade of "Director of Sales of the Year" for Pacific Hospitality Group in 2012. Michelle oversaw leisure, group and corporate sales for the resort. Previous to that role, Michelle held key senior sales roles with MGM Mirage Resorts, St. Regis Hotels and Resorts, golf clubs and the Irvine Company.

Michelle was a nominee for 2014 Orange County Business Journal's Women in Business Award and is part of industry associations including Meeting Planner International (MPI), Society for Incentive Travel Excellence SoCal (SITE) and Financial & Insurance Conference Planners (FICP).

Michael Dominguez is the Senior Vice President for MGM Resorts International providing oversight for all Hotel Sales operations in Las Vegas, Regional and Global destinations.

Michael is actively involved in leadership roles in the Meetings and Events Industry and currently serves as the Chairman on the International Board of Directors for Meeting Professionals International. His other industry leadership involvement includes board positions with: US Travel Association (Executive Committee), Steering Committee for US Travel’s Meetings Means Business Coalition, Starcite Advisory Board, Elite Meetings Advisory Board, PCMA Issues and Trends Taskforce, ASAE Industry Partner Alliance and Convene Green Advisory Board.

Piers Dooley has over 25 years of event operations and meeting planning experience with the Royal Airforce Club in London, U.K., Westin Hotels, Marriott International and Boston College.

Piers’ experience in the hotel industry includes using a collaborative approach to increase key analytics including profitability, customer satisfaction and sales retention. Piers has led teams of up to 300 while planning events ranging from dinners for the British Royal Family to Boston College Football Games.

Piers studied Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management at Brighton University in the UK, takes classes at Boston Collegeand has earned the Certificate in Meeting Management (CMM), an MBA-level executive education for meeting professionals.

Marlize Eckert is Head of Compliance Solutions at GCO (Global Conference Organisers) B.V. based in The Netherlands. GCO is a professional meetings and events’ organiser within the life sciences industry, successfully operating with a global footprint for close to 30 years.

Marlize manages the Compliance department focusing on pharmaceutical compliance requirements and mandatory reports related to meetings and events within the Pharma industry such as Open Payments and EFPIA Disclosure reports.

Marlize has previously held an office manager and compliance related position at Samsung Corporation, a sales related position at Xerox Corporation and a project coordinator position at a non-profit organization travelling worldwide promoting education by supplying vital literature resources, encouraging cross-cultural understanding, training young people and providing needed relief.

Marlize earned a bachelor degree in business administration from the Pontifical Catholic University in Brazil, has a Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certification (HMCC) and a European Healthcare Compliance Certification (HCCP) by Seton Hall Law University.

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As President of Audience Communication & Events, Tim is passionate about presentation excellence.

Has a long experience working in various companies and positions in the Pharma industry from sales, marketing and launching global mega brands. As she was launching one of the big global brands for AZ she fell in love with meetings and has since then devoted her career to this communication channel.

Anna has a master degree in Business Management from Uppsala University, Sweden.

Anna is currently the Head of the Global Congress and Engagement Strategy Team at Roche. Anna is also the current past president of IPCAA (International Pharmaceutical Congress Advisory Association).

Anna is the mother of three teenagers and in her spare time the family is enjoying the great outdoors activities offered in Switzerland.

With his business partner Patrick Delaney, Pádraic is currently Managing Partner at SoolNua, a specialist agency helping destinations, hotels and venues with marketing, strategy and training for the MICE marketplace. Prior to founding SoolNua, Gilligan was Vice President of Ovation, MCI’s global DMC network and Vice President of Industry Relations at MCI.

Following a 13 year career in education, teaching at second and third levels, he started Delaney Marketing Consultants in 1994 with Patrick Delaney. In 2002 Delaney Marketing acquired Ovation and re-branded as Ovation Group. In June 2007 Ovation was acquired by MCI Group and Gilligan led a robust global expansion which saw the establishment of offices at 100 global destinations under the Ovation Global DMC brand.

In 2004 he was elected to the International Board of the SITE and served as international President of this global organisation in 2008. He has won many industry awards including Industry Personality of the Year from Meetings.net in 2009, Destination Management Professional of the Year from ADMEI in 2012 and Changemaker in 2015 with US based MeetingsNet. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the SITE Foundation and on the Advisory Board of the Grow Dublin Taskforce. He is ranked at 14 on the Bizzabo list of global MICE influencers and blogs regularly for EventMB and on his own popular blog, http://www.padraicino.com

Contact: Padraic Gilligan [email protected] Tel +353 86 811 3134

FastFive Interview

A global strategic meeting professional, Mozelle’s experience spans more than 20 years in the medical education programming arena as well as programming in higher education, publishing and technology. Her career started at Sterling Drug where she was introduced to the world of meeting planning. She later acquired a position at a third-party medical education agency, where she held positions in operations and account management during her 13-year tenure before deciding to venture out as an Independent Planner. Having a passion for medical programming, Mozelle is currently in her third year with Eisai Inc. as a Pharmaceutical Meeting Planner.

A member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) since 1997, she earned her CMP in 1998, served as President of the WestField Chapter from 2013-2014 and has recently rejoined the chapter’s board of directors as Director of Leadership Development. In 2016, she was invited to be a member of the inaugural MPI-MD Advisory Council whose objective is to support and promote medical meeting professionals through education, career development programs and resources, an exclusive online member community, and private consulting. Mozelle currently serves as a member of the MPI-MD Advisory Council, as well as the Maritz Travel HCP Advisory Council.

Other certifications include Sports, Entertainment and Event Marketing (New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies) and Healthcare Meetings Compliance (MPI and St. Louis University). Mozelle holds a BSBA in general business from Bowling Green State University (Ohio).

Bonnie Grant joined the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) in April, 2008, as Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Congress (PHLLifeSciences), responsible for marketing Greater Philadelphia, ranked one of the largest life sciences sectors in the country, as “America’s Life Sciences Meetings Destination.”

Representing our region’s public, private and academic entities, members of PHLLIfeSciences assist PHLCVB with sales, on-site services and sponsorship efforts to attract conventions, meetings and new business, as well as promoting the region’s premier attractions in history, medicine, science, arts, culture and entertainment, all making for a unique and memorable Philadelphia convention experience.

Bonnie was appointed to serve on the Professional Convention Management Association’s (PCMA) Medical Meetings Task Force, beginning in January, 2016. In October, 2012, Bonnie was awarded the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Life Sciences Award in the “Best Consultant” category.

Bonnie served for 11 years in the City of Philadelphia as Deputy City Representative for the City of Philadelphia under the administrations of Mayors Edward G. Rendell and John F. Street, charged with promoting Philadelphia as a world-class destination, and in the Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation. She has also served as director of communications and spokesperson for Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition; the Philadelphia Eagles; and Chestnut Hill College.

Bonnie is past president of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA), and serves on the boards of PPRA, Foundation for Breast and Prostate Health (Secretary), and the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia. She is past board member of The Wellness Community of Philadelphia (now The Cancer Support Community of Philadelphia). A writer and actor, she has also served on the boards of Plays and Players Theater and Random Acts of Theater. She holds a BFA from Tyler School of Art and a Master’s in Journalism from Temple University.

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Shelley Harris is the Director, Marketing Operations for Alkermes where she is responsible for Conferences & Tradeshows, Content Clearance Committee (CCC), Closed Loop Marketing (CLM), Digital Asset Library (DAM), traditional and e-Fulfillment, Print and Speakers Bureau. Shelley has over 20 years of experience in the Pharmaceutical industry in Marketing Operations working at such companies as: Cubist, Oscient, Basilea and most recently Vertex. She joined each of these companies at the beginning of their Commercialization establishing both process and programs to support the launch of their initial products. When she is not busy with Continuous Improvement initiatives and process, she likes to spend her time with her family enjoying outdoor activities like boating and skiing.

Gavin has worked in the pharmaceutical meeting planning industry with Ashfield Meetings & Events since 1998. After beginning his meeting planning career in Europe, Gavin moved to the US in 2001 to build US operations for, what is now, Ashfield Meetings & Events. The organization is now the largest meetings management agency in the US that focuses solely on managing meetings for the healthcare industry, and is the only company in the CMI 25 list (the most widely recognized source of top US meetings agencies) to enjoy this distinction.

As a specialist in the pharmaceutical meetings management industry, Gavin has worked with countless pharmaceutical companies of various sizes, managing internal, HCP-attended meetings and congress events that span the product life cycle, from clinical meetings to commercial sales, launch and marketing programs.

As CEO, a position which he has held since 2012, Gavin now oversees a team of over 150 full time staff who work to provide meeting operations, venue sourcing, creative production and communications solutions for the healthcare industry. Active in the pharmaceutical meetings industry, Gavin speaks regularly at US pharmaceutical meeting management conferences on topics such as open payments, compliance and HCP engagement at medical meetings. With a background built solidly in operations, Gavin has also been instrumental in ensuring that his organization stays ahead of the curve of industry game-changing HCP regulatory compliance and transfer of value reporting requirements.

Gavin also has served on various industry advisory boards and was also profiled as one of Philadelphia’s top 40 business leaders under the age of 40 by Philadelphia Business Journal in 2013. Gavin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Glasgow and worked for PriceWaterhouseCoopers prior to joining Ashfield Meetings & Events. Gavin currently resides in Center City, Philadelphia, with his partner Rob.

Kevin Iwamoto, Senior Consultant at GoldSpring Consulting, an independent travel management consultancy, brings more than 30 years of experience in corporate travel and meetings/events management.

Iwamoto is a former President & CEO of the Board of Directors for the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). He has served on numerous corporate and association boards, most recently as a Board member for the US Council for the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Foundation.

Iwamoto has won almost every major industry award in both business travel and the meetings and events industries. Recent accolades include the 2016 MPI Rise Award for Meetings Industry Leadership and the Changemakers Award for MeetingsNet in June 2016, where he was also featured on the magazine’s cover. He also maintains a popular award-winning industry blog (Gold Magellan Award for Best Industry Blog from Travel Weekly), published though Meetings & Conventions on-line.

He has two published books to his credit, Strategic Meetings Management: From Theory to Practice published in April, 2011 and most recently, Your Personal Brand, Your Power Tool to Build Career Integrity, published in October of 2016. Both are available via Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/keviniwamoto

Prior to joining GoldSpring Consulting, Iwamoto was Vice President of Industry Strategy for Lanyon, senior global category manager in the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Global Travel & Meetings Team. He has also served as a senior travel account manager with the Walt Disney Company, as well as a corporate sales manager with Northwest Airlines.

Iwamoto holds a bachelor of arts degree in business administration from the University of Hawaii, a Global Travel Professional (GTP) designation from GBTA and a Global Leadership Professional (GLP) Masters designation from the Wharton School of Business.

Judy Johnson has been in the meeting and event industry for over 40 years. After graduating from college with a degree in special education, she returned to school to pursue a career in the hospitality industry.

She founded Rx Worldwide Meetings, which focused solely on pharmaceutical and medical meetings and has locations in Dallas and the UK. After twenty successful years, she recently sold the company to pursue a consulting practice in healthcare compliance. She now teaches at Richland College in the meeting and event program.

Active in industry associations, a certified meeting professional (CMP) as well as a certified HMCC, Ms. Johnson has taught a variety of meeting planning classes and has spoken at many industry-related events including the Meeting Professionals International WEC, the Pharmaceutical Meeting Planners’ Forum, Global World Congress, SPIN and the DIA (Drug Industry Association). She is featured in Harvey MacKay’s bestseller, “We got fired and it’s the Best Thing That Happened to Us” and has authored several articles on pharmaceutical meetings. She currently serves on the TEMM (Travel Event Meeting Management) program at Richland College as well as advisory boards for several hotels.

Kris Justice is a Senior Strategic Account Consultant with Cvent. She specializes in helping global life sciences clients leverage the Cvent platform to meet their compliance and business goals. Kris currently manages a portfolio of clients operating in North America, EMEA, Asia, and Latin America. Prior to joining Cvent, Kris held roles in technology and knowledge management. She resides in Atlanta, GA.

Kirsten Knauer is a Global Sales Leader who has managed high performance teams in North and South America, UAE and Europe. Her experience spans from Private Clubs, Restaurants to Hotels, and she has been published in the prestigious Crittendon Golf Magazine, and continues to contribute to MPI, ASAE and PCMA with content and perspective from the restaurant industry. She is a staunch supporter of education for the restaurant industry on the Healthcare Compliance guidelines for medical meetings.

Kirsten has a passion for excellence and that includes the culinary arena. She is an evangelist for Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse, engaging clients and building lasting relationships with key industry professionals. When not traveling, Kirsten can be found at her home in Dallas with her extended family. She holds a BS in Hotel and Restaurant Management from California State Polytechnic University Pomona.

Grady Lee has spent the past decade creating opportunities and experiences for people to engage with each other and help change the world.

He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Give2Get, a production company that creates social impact programs for meetings and events, companies, and brands. This builds on his work as the Co-Founder/COO of RockCorps where he built a global operation that engaged more than 160,000 volunteers in 10 countries through thousands of volunteer events.

In 2015, Grady co-founded and now chairs the executive committee of IMPACT2030, the only private-sector led initiative with the United Nations aligning human capital investments to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

He earned his MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA and his BA from Princeton University.

Susan is the leader of Maritz Travel’s operations team in Philadelphia which supports our Healthcare Solutions, as well as our meetings, events and incentive business. She is responsible for strategic planning, staffing, process development/implementation, maintaining the level of high touch service that our customers expect, and creating a collaborative highly effective work environment. Susan has been with Maritz for 30 years, with a career encompassing sales leadership, project management and on-site program operations.

Passionate about engagement, professionally and personally, Frank has been fortunate to build a career that has provided him the opportunity to do something he truly enjoys.

As Chief Sales Officer at MeetingPlay, his role is to enhance the future of MeetingPlay’s growth including development, tracking, and overseeing the MeetingPlay Brand; Designing and Implementing the MeetingPlay Sales Growth Strategy. In addition, his goal is to develop and build a fabulous team: Work hard, ‘wow’ clients, and provide each associate an atmosphere for personal growth.

His background has been successfully building high performing sales & marketing teams in the ‘engagement’ space, and his specialties include strategic planning, business development & sales; team building, training, coaching, and mentoring. He’s worked at E Group Inc., Burlington Industries, Triad Systems Corp, and IBM. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University in PA with a BSBA in Marketing, and enjoys tennis, golf, the outdoors, cooking, and a love of music. (www.meetingplay.com)

Lisa is a meetings and event professional with over 25 years’ experience in managing life-science meetings and medical congresses around the globe. She now brings that expertise to the implementation and rollout of key medical meetings initiatives. Recent projects include the design and launch of a platform to manage a global Congress program spanning over 40 countries, as well as the design and implementation of an onsite support model for speaker programs. Lisa is based in Melrose Park, PA.

Carol has been in the Hospitality Industry for over 30 years, she started her career in Washington, DC and then moved to NYC to join ITT Sheraton in National Sales. She opened a satellite office in Stamford, CT and after 8 years rejoined the NYC Global Sales Office and eventually integrated the Sheraton and Westin offices to become Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Global Sales in NYC. Carol then moved to the Starwood Global Sales office to lead the offices in North America and the group segment. After 24 years with Starwood, Carol took a different path and consulted and eventually worked full time for Elite Meetings International and then Cvent. She joined Wyndham Hotel Group in 2015 and is leading the Global Sales team in North America.

Ryan Mazon is the Senior Vice President of Educational Measures, a meeting technology and analytics company. He has more than a decade of event technology experience in a variety of industries with a primary focus in life science education and healthcare. His experience spans everything from speaker trainings to investigator meetings, from technology to meeting design. Ryan has worked with clients all over the world helping them use technology to maximize engagement, improve meeting impact and create remarkable experiences. Ryan served in the military as a Sergeant in the Army and was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq where he received awards and accommodations for service. Ryan holds a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice from Grantham University, with a focus in Homeland Security.

Brian began his career 20+ years ago working at the Krisam Group, a hotel sales and marketing company. He joined WorldTravel Meetings & Incentives on-site at Warner-Lambert as a Sourcing Manager in 1999, staying through the Pfizer acquisition. In 2006, he joined Maritz Travel on-site at Schering-Plough to develop their International sourcing department.

Following Merck’s acquisition of Schering in 2010, he joined the Maritz team on-site at Novartis to develop an international sourcing department there. He moved to Forest Laboratories, Inc. in November, 2013 as Manager, Global Procurement, Meeting/Conference Sourcing, overseeing the company’s venue sourcing program. Promoted to Senior Manager in 2017, he continues in that role following the acquisition of Allergan.

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Hannah Kate works for Cvent, a global leader in meetings and events technology. A founding member of Cvent’s Enterprise Team, she has spent the last seven years helping corporate clients implement SMM and event marketing programs. Most recently she was a member of the Enterprise Marketing team where she started The Leadership Summit at Cvent CONNECT and managed Cvent’s marketing for tradeshows. Currently Hannah Kate serves as a resource to clients as they evaluate their strategy and how technology can help. She is an SMM enthusiast and lives in Charlotte NC. Hannah Kate graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Washington and Lee University in 2010.

Nancy is an innovative hospitality executive best known for developing high performing sales teams and industry leaders. A travel aficionado and fitness ninja, Nancy is a two-time Marathoner and avid Soul-Cycle enthusiast who views life as an ongoing journey to refine your personal brand, pursue your passions and pay it forward.

Nancy recently joined BCD Meetings & Events as Vice President, Global Sales. In this role Nancy and her newly created global sales team focus on customized, innovative and enterprise wide solutions rooted in customer centricity with the ultimate goal of positive market disruption.

Prior to BCD Meetings & Events Nancy “grew up” in the industry with Marriott International where she held various Global Sales leadership and Operations positions for twenty five years.

Nancy holds a Bachelor of Science in Hotel, Tourism and Travel Administration from Boston University where she currently serves as an adjunct professor teaching Strategic Marketing and Sales Management. Nancy also earned an MBA with distinction from DeVry University with a concentration in International business.

She has been invited to speak and has consulted in the US and Europe on numerous leadership topics such as: “Leading Through Change, Creating a Winning Sales Culture, Leveraging Confidence in the Workplace and Developing your Personal Brand”.

Brenda Miller Is a 27 year industry professional serving in the role as a Senior Director, SMM Global Life Sciences for CWT Meetings & Events. Brenda’s experience spans not only the meetings and travel space but also experience from the customer side within an established procurement community. Brenda since 2010, has been a leader in the development of best in class strategic meetings programs with a focus on compliance and transparency regulations, globally. Brenda is responsible for the strategy and deployment for CWT Meetings and Events global life sciences client base with over 75 countries in scope.

Brenda holds a BS in Accounting/Finance. She has held various roles in her career including procurement, project management, contract negotiations/analysis, operations management and program/account management.

Niall has over 20 years industry experience in enterprise technology services. Beginning his career in the broadcast environment, he evolved his skillset working as an audio-visual solutions provider with in the conference & event industry. Managing the technical delivery for events such as Abbott's Worldwide HR Conference and Irish Distillers' "Jameson Global Broadcast" highlights proven expertise delivering innovative solutions design in the corporate environment.

Niall is the founder and creative driver behind the SonorPlex delegate interactive services and content analysis platform. SonorPlex has delivered services to tens of thousands of delegates at events hosted in more than fifteen countries on three continents. These events were delivered in high-profile pressure environments for large multinational corporates demanding the highest standards of service.

Taya Paige has over 25 years of meeting, incentive and recognition industry experience, including leadership positions in sales, marketing and operations and as an entrepreneur. She is known for her impact and roots within the pharmaceutical/healthcare meetings industry and is a contributing author of the CMP-HC certification, which represents current and best practices in the industry. She also serves on the MPI-MD Advisory Counsel. She is well-known in the hospitality field for her ability to build a robust network of U.S. and global relationships driving innovation solutions, results and building deep and long-lasting partnerships that have made her a reliable and trustworthy resource.

Paige received her Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Business from Ithaca College in New York and has earned the Certificate in Meeting Management (CMM), an MBA-level executive education for meeting professionals. She also has the Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate (HMCC).

Jill Joy Rankin, C.P.M. Global Category Manager, is part of a Global Sourcing Team at Boehringer Ingelheim, whose corporate offices are based in Ingelheim, Germany. Jill is based out of Ridgefield Connecticut and is currently responsible for Global Sourcing initiatives for domestic and international programs. She has extensive leadership and cross functional experience across Sourcing and Procurement for more than 20 years. She currently supports Global Sourcing categories which includes Contract Sales, Meetings, Congresses, Sales Training, and Print management at BI leading Cross Functional and Cross Divisional Project Teams.

Prior to Boehringer Ingelheim, Jill supported Sourcing and Procurement Categories as Associate Director at Novartis Consumer Health which included Global Category strategy management of their Marketing Services and Digital Services programs as part of their Over the Counter (OTC) Division. In addition she worked in Strategic sourcing group for Johnson and Johnson, based in New Brunswick New Jersey as part of a shared services team function supporting and leading Strategic Sourcing specific categories across three business sectors including Pharma, Consumer and Medical Devise Business units. Jill was previously based on the West Coast as part of the Purchasing team for Neutrogena supporting all Supply Chain plant site functions.

Jill has been in a Procurement function across multiple industries including Software, Health and Beauty, and worked in manufacturing leading the purchasing team for a Billion dollar Global Corporation in the Food industry as well as experience working for Wella Corporation running the Purchasing function for their West Coast division. She is a Lifetime Certified Purchasing Manager and Green Belt for Six Sigma and has a vast knowledge across many industries which lends to her success and leadership in Procurement roles and expertise initiating new processes, approach and innovation to this field with both her internal stakeholders and Suppliers.

Danielle Restaino, CMP, is a Senior Professional Meeting Partner with Genentech’s Meeting & Convention Services team. As a strategic business partner to internal stakeholders, Danielle drives teams to meet business goals and objectives through sales and marketing meetings, product launch meetings, convention related activities, advisory board meetings, clinical trial and other HCP meetings and interactions.

With recognition and a proven track record as a meeting strategist, she leads cross-functional teams, drives to maintain excellent event operational and compliance standards, cost containment strategies, and manages vendor teams to provide excellent pre-planning and onsite production and logistics management.

Previously with Kaiser Permanente’s Corporate Meeting, Danielle has been in the meeting & event planning industry for nearly twenty years. She graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Art History and entered the world of Arts Administration, where she realized her aptitude managing workshops and conferences was destined for a career in the Meetings and Events Industry.

An active industry professional, Danielle served on the Meeting Professional International Northern California Chapter Board of Directors in various roles, including Director of Education, Vice-President of Education, and Vice President of Membership, as well as serving on Meeting Professional International’s Committees. For over six years she co-authored articles for the MPINCC Quarterly Magazine Perspective, continues to be active in MPINCC and the Green Meetings Industry Council, as well serving on hotel and CVB customer advisory panels.

Christian-Claus Roth has been employed at Novartis Pharma since 2001, in different roles of increasing responsibility. After his studies in Business Administration he started his career with the International Pharmaceutical wholesaler GEHE Pharma Handel GmbH and later Celesio AG, in Germany.

From there he moved to the Novartis Pharma affiliate in Berne, Switzerland, where he set up the congress & event department for the Swiss market, shortly later being promoted to the Global Headquarter in Basel with responsibility for the Pain and Urology Areas as International Congress Manager, with additional responsibility later for the Bone area.

Christian now oversees the strategic global Congress & Conventions team focusing on the impact of external regulatory requirements on global medical event management – one of several key areas for which the team is responsible. Additionally he regularly participates as a panel member and speaker at conferences.

Bob Russo has over 30 years’ experience in event and theatre production. After a brief stint as an actor, he realized his shortcomings and moved to the production side of the business. His work as an award-winning event designer, stage combat choreographer, and Emmy nominated costume designer, affords him a unique ability to interpret a client's vision. Additionally, you can catch Bob speaking at numerous industry organizations such as Meeting Professionals International (MPI), International Live Events Association (ILEA), The Exhibit Designers and Producers Association (EDPA), The Experiential Marketing Summit (EMS), and as a featured guest speaker at The Special Event, the industry's premier tradeshow and conference for event professionals.

As Executive Director of Strategy & Creative at VDA Productions, Bob works with start-ups and fortune 500 and 100 companies while mentoring the younger design generation and still finding some time to ride his motorcycle. Bob Russo is an expert in the design and logistical planning/ reality of corporate events, themed events, retail and museum environments, and corporate facilities. Bob's will happily bore you while talking at length about fabrication and materials selection, site selection, industry trends, lighting and technological integration, and the current industry trends.

Follow Bob on Twitter @BobRussoVDA #ListenToBob

Tracy grew up in Connecticut and graduated from the University of Hartford. She started her meeting planning career at the Hanson Publishing Group, now known as Cowles Business Media, in Stamford, Connecticut as a meeting coordinator in the publisher’s tradeshow management department. Through the years she gained increasing responsibility in meeting & event planning then moved on to corporate event management, spending 14 years as a senior meeting planner and team supervisor at Bayer Healthcare, Connecticut. In 2009, Tracy joined Covidien’s Surgical business unit, now known as Medtronic’s Minimally Invasive Therapies Group (MITG). Tracy is an MITG Meetings & Events group leader working with a fabulous team of event managers out of Medtronic’s Boulder and New Haven offices. Tracy lives in Connecticut with her husband John, their three teenage daughters, and Ellie, their Australian cattle dog.

Pat is the Sr. Director, Healthcare Compliance, Maritz Travel

Pat is the author of "Breaking the Code to Healthcare Compliance", 1st, 2nd and 3 rd Edition, a health policy resource book for meeting professionals, physicians and manufacturers that addresses the impact of the National Physician Payment Transparency Program: Open Payments (formally the Physician Payments Sunshine Act) and global cross-border compliance. The book is the resource for the Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate program being offered globally through MPI, St. Louis University and the Convention Industry Council CMP-HC certification program. She is also the Executive Editor of the newly released “MPI CMP Healthcare Training Manual and "The Guide to Successful Destination Management”. Pat is a contributing editor to 5 editions of the CIC Manual.

The Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate (HMCC) program was designed by Pat and currently has 1,000 recipients representing 16 countries.

Pat was recently named by Meetings Today as on the 2016 Meetings Trendsetters. She was recently recognized, for the third time, by Successful Meetings magazine as One of the 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry. Her honors include being named the first recipient of the International Destination Management Professional of the Year by ADME International, named as One of the Magnificent 7 in the Global Hospitality Industry and was most recently named as One of the 25 Most Influential Women in Business by the St. Louis Business Journal. Pat was also selected as Meeting Professional of the Year by the MPI-St. Louis Chapter and Event Professional of the Year by ISES-Missouri Chapter.

She is proud of her impact and roots within the Hospitality Industry. She is past president of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), St. Louis Chapter, Founder and Past President of the International Special Event Society (ISES-Missouri Chapter) and Past President of the Association of Destination Management Executives International (ADME).

She has served as an adjunct Professor at 4 universities and currently Co-chairs the Hospitality Management Industry Advisory Board at St. Louis University's School of Professional Studies and serves as faculty for the Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate.

Debi Scholar is a coach and mentor in Strategic Meetings Management and Virtual / Hybrid meetings and volunteers her time to help corporations, associations, and suppliers. She was a Meetings Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, American Express, and owned her own consultancy, Scholar Consulting Group. In 2013, she accepted the role of Global Leader and Director in Meetings & Events at a major pharmaceutical company working in the Global Strategic Sourcing group.

Debi has authored four books on meetings and events was named one of the Top 25 Women in the Meetings Industry in 2015 and 2016 by Meetings and Conventions Magazine, one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry in 2013 by Successful Meetings Magazine, was the co-chair of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Groups & Meetings Committee, a GBTA Foundation Board Member, named a “Mover and Shaker” of the industry by Corporate & Incentive Travel Magazine, was named a Top 20 Changemaker by Corporate Meetings & Incentives Magazine, and a “Best Meeting Practitioner” by Business Travel News.

Debi has achieved 9 designations, including Global Leadership Professional from Wharton, Certificate in Meetings Management, Certified Meeting Professional, Global Travel Professional, and Digital Event Strategist.

Michael Shannon, CMP, is Director, Business Development, Northeast for Business Events Canada, a division of Destination Canada. His responsibilities include promoting Canada as Meetings and Events Destination from the Mid-Atlantic to the Northeastern US.

A thirty+ year veteran of the hospitality industry and graduate of the University of Denver, School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Michael has spent his career in a variety of hotel operational and sales & marketing positions. Michael has worked for MGM Resorts International, Westin Hotels & Resorts and the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau. In addition, Michael spent over eight years on the intermediary side of the business in a meeting & event planning company.

Active in Meeting Professionals International since 1994, he served on the board of directors and is a Past-President of the New Jersey Chapter. Michael has also Chaired several MPI International Committees and served a three-year term on the International Board of Directors. Honors from the New Jersey Chapter include Chapter Supplier of the Year as well as the recipient of the Meeting Professional of the Year.

Michael has been published in The Meeting Professional, and has presented programs on topics such as: Starting your own Business; Negotiation Skills; Everyday Ethics for the Meeting & Sales Professional and How to Achieve Work Life Balance. Michael has been a Platinum Series Speaker at various MPI Chapters as well as a speaker at MPI International Conferences and served on faculty for MPI’s Institutes program. Michael resides in New Jersey with his wife Michelle and two children, Ashley and Matthew and their beloved dogs, Bella and Scout.

Cheryl Smith is the Specialty Markets Manager for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). Through a variety of global business sales strategies, industry relations activities and strategic opportunities, Smith is responsible for marketing and promoting Las Vegas as a premier international health and wellness travel, cultural tourism and wedding and romance travel destination. She also oversees World Trade Center Las Vegas sales for the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Prior to joining the LVCVA in 2012, Smith was the president and managing partner of Banyan Communications Group, LLC, a Las Vegas-based niche consulting firm specializing in health care, physician practice marketing, and strategic business development. Her 20-year background in the health care industry includes roles as the director of marketing and the system-wide media spokeswoman for HCA Sunrise Health System and the director of public relations and marketing for Good Shepherd Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital and Advocate Health Care, near Chicago.
Cheryl has marketed numerous medical specialties including neuroscience, neurosurgery, neurology, orthopedic, cardiovascular, oncology, emergency and trauma, diagnostic imaging, ambulatory surgery, ophthalmology, rehabilitation, behavioral health, bariatric, obstetric, pediatric, outpatient and preventative health and wellness services.
Cheryl holds a Masters in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor’s in Mass Communications/Print Journalism from Western Illinois University. She is certified in Generational Communication, Healthcare Medical Meeting Compliance and is a published author and speaker. She serves on the boards of the Las Vegas Hospitality Association, Las Vegas HEALS and Family to Family Nevada, and is a member of the Las Vegas Spa Association and the past-chair of the Healthcare Special Interest Group of the Las Vegas Chapter of the American Marketing Association. She is currently a member of the MPI Medical Meeting Advisory Panel and sits on the Wellness Advisory Board of the Global Wellness Institute. Smith also has served on the boards of several local philanthropic organizations. In 2014, she was named one of Las Vegas’ “Women to Watch” by Vegas Inc.

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Kelly is currently an Academy Senior Program Manager at Aesculap, Inc. where she manages Surgeon Training Education Courses and Corporate Meetings. Starting her career in the meeting industry over 25 years ago, she began working for the Merrill Lynch Conference and Training Center Hotel before moving into the healthcare industry where she worked for Merck & Company, Aventis Pharmaceuticals and as an Independent Meeting Planner freelancing for a number of medical education agencies and pharmaceutical companies.

After attending Widener University for Hospitality Administration, Kelly became a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) in 1999 and received her Certificate in Meeting Management (CMM) and Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate (HMCC) in 2013.

An active member of the Philadelphia Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Kelly recently served as the Committee Chair for the chapter’s Education Institute Day and was the recipient of the Shining Star Award and the 2015 Volunteer of the Year Award.

Outside of work, Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughter’s and during the Summer and Fall months, serves as the Assistant Director and Visual Instructor for the Council Rock High School North Marching Band.

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Jonathan Spero, M.D., ER physician and CEO of InHouse Physicians brings 27 years of experience in both the medical and hospitality industries to planners.

Dr. Spero received his undergraduate degree in applied math and physics from University of California San Diego and his medical degree from UC Davis. Dr. Spero completed a residency in internal medicine and practiced both internal medicine and emergency medicine for 20 years.

Dr. Spero founded InHouse Physicians in 1992 to meet the healthcare needs of corporate attendees around the world at meetings and events. InHouse Physicians supports many Fortune 100 companies at their sales meetings, incentive programs and executive events around the world. In addition, IHP regularly supports many of the Olympic and World Cup sponsors.

Dr. Spero is an expert on medical risk management for meeting professionals and has extensive speaking experience in this area.

Dan joined AstraZeneca in April 2016 as a Category Partner for Meetings & Events and Market Research. Dan is leading the evolution of these categories through several initiatives such as innovative contracting, strategic 3rd party partnerships, demand management, and process standardization. In 2017, he was awarded the Global Procurement Award for Insight & Innovation for his work in the Meetings & Events category. Prior to AstraZeneca, Dan spent 7 years in consulting with Accenture and Alvarez & Marsal where he developed a broad range of experience across several industries including: Logistics, Manufacturing, Professional Services, and Utilities. Dan currently lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. While not at work, he enjoys staying active through triathlon training, golf, and traveling with his wife

Cerstin leads the dedicated global Healthcare Practice across MCI. A highly skilled meetings and events professional, Cerstin’s career has spanned 30+ years in the meeting industry. With 19 years specializing in the Healthcare sector, she has assisted many leading global pharmaceutical companies in their quest to find the right solution to maximise the impact of their face-to-face engagements.

Originating from a Hotel Management background, Cerstin’s finely honed skills include a broad mix of HR, Sales & Marketing, Accommodation and Food & Beverage Management. Joining MCI in 1995, Cerstin began in the Destination Management field where she managed accounts for corporate clients across a wide range of industry sectors. In 1999, Cerstin established the inaugural Healthcare Practice in MCI, serving global, regional and local companies in the healthcare and life sciences industries. Cerstin’s comprehensive knowledge of these industries led to her nomination as Subject Matter Expert for the MCI Institute (MCI’s in-house training facility). Cerstin regularly shares her knowledge on issues affecting the Healthcare industry, such as compliance, through training sessions and thought leadership engagements.

Cerstin is Global Account Director for several Pharmaceutical Clients where she also heads up the implementation process for SMM programmes.

Denise Torcivia is the Corporate Vice President – Professional Services and the Corporate Compliance Officer for Aesculap Inc. a German owned company which is a member of the B. Braun Group of Companies. Denise grew up in Wayne, Pennsylvania on the Main Line right outside of Philadelphia, PA... She graduated from Bloomsburg University with a degree in Psychology and minor in Business. She holds a CCEP (Corporate Compliance and Ethics Professional) Certificate as well as a LPEC (Leading Professional in Ethics and Compliance) Certificate.

After graduation, Denise spent time working in management in various retail oriented fields. In 1988, Denise began her career with B. Braun Medical; where her focus was in management as a HR generalist in both manufacturing and corporate departments. In 2001, Denise started working for an affiliate of B. Braun, Aesculap Inc. as they moved their corporate offices from San Francisco to Center Valley, PA; where she continued to head up the HR department as well as assumed addition responsibilities of Compliance Officer for the North American Aesculap division. In 2014, Denise was promoted to her current role of Corporate VP – Professional Services / Corporate Compliance Officer / Deputy Risk Officer. Her areas of responsibility are: Sales & Corporate Training / Compliance and Ethics / Academy-Convention-Meetings/ Corporate & Marketing Communication / Inside Sales.

Denise is a member of the Executive Board for Aesculap and reports directly to the President of the North American Division.

She currently lives in Center Valley, PA. She is married with three children. In her spare time she enjoys reading, walking and spending time with her family

Maarten Vanneste, started his company ABBIT in 1982. It grew from an AV company over production to a full-service meeting design company. With more than 30 years’ experience he is seen as a Meeting Industry leader and visionary. His CMM's business-plan project became reality as the Meeting Design Institute (2006). In 2007 Maarten wrote the ground-breaking book ‘Meeting Architecture, a manifesto’. This became an industry bestseller that lead to an international movement and educational projects. With a focus on the objective based meeting design the Meeting Design Institute organises events like the FRESH Conference.

In 2016 The FRESH Conference became a world first Multi-Hub conference; participants could join a hub in one of 5 countries. As the founder of the award-winning Multi-Hub Meetings, Maarten is an influential innovator, author, trainer and speaker when it comes to hybrid and digital events. For his relentless work and influence in the meetings industry, he received the IMEX Academy Award in 2005 and the MPI RISE Award for Industry Leadership in 2011.

Michael’s career in Bio Pharm spans for over 20 years in Bio Pharm and the last 10 in Medical education as part of Medical Affairs and Marketing. Currently, Michael position oversees all Peer to Peer interaction. His efforts are now focused on Speaker Programs, KOL Development and Ad Boards. In this role, he harmonized policies and procedures for the pharma and has also developed a streamline process and state of the art system for, advisory boards and speaker bureaus while increasing both internal and external customer satisfaction with the process. Prior to his role in medical education he was in marketing and sales as well as worked clinically as a registered vascular technologist. Michael has also presented at numerous industry meetings as an expert on medical education.

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As the Director, Global Pharmaceutical Sales, Americas, Bonnie Weiss is responsible for Hyatt’s sales and marketing efforts with key global Pharmaceutical accounts, and is based in Chicago.

Bonnie has been with Hyatt Hotels for 30+ years. Previous positions include Director of Sales of Hyatt’s New York National Sales Office, Associate Director of Sales, and Travel Industry Sales Manager. In 1999 Bonnie won the prestigious Donald N. Pritzker Award. She has worked with the Pharmaceutical/Life Sciences Industry for 24 years, and created and developed Hyatt’s Healthcare Business Exchange, which operated for 15 years. Bonnie is also on MPI’s Healthcare Advisory Board.

Bonnie received a Bachelor of Science-Communications degree from Southern Illinois University, and is a member of MPI.

Adam Winski is a growth and innovation leader focusing on changing the way the world works. He currently leads innovation and design strategy at Convene, a company focused on infusing hotel-like amenities and services into commercial office buildings.

He is fueled by a deep curiosity in people and human behavior along with technology, markets, business models and organizations, and has helped companies from the Fortune 500 to award-winning startups design and commercialize new offerings that drive profit and social impact. From simplifying how people cook dinner, to re-imagining what's possible in over the counter medicine, to developing digital products that make life better for seniors, he’s passionate about working with agile, multi-disciplinary teams to bring meaningful ideas to life.

Maggie was born in Shreveport, LA and currently lives in Chicago. She graduated from Christian Brothers University in Memphis, TN with a BS in Marketing. In 2005 Maggie started her meeting planning career with Medtronic as an Associate Meeting Planner. Over the last 12 years, Maggie has climbed the corporate ladder and now manages a team of meeting planners within Medtronic’s CardioVascular Group. Outside of work, Maggie enjoys attending sporting events with her family and friends. She is a big fan of the New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers; however, she will support Chicago teams when they aren’t playing a Louisiana team! Maggie is engaged to be married and has a 14 year old son.

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