Events: demystified Podcast

On the seventh anniversary episode of Events Demystified Podcast, Anca Platon Trifan explains how AI bias and stereotyping are amplified through generative and predictive systems, starting with her experience using NotebookLM to generate an image from her memoir: it repeatedly depicted AV expertise as male, then portrayed a woman as overly aggressive. She argues AI bias didn’t start with AI but wi...

Host Anca Platon Trifan kicks off the Events Demystified Podcast seven-year anniversary month, reflecting on how the show has evolved since July 2019 from AV and production into broader conversations on events, technology, leadership, wellness, and AI, especially after COVID accelerated virtual and hybrid work. She notes passing 200 episodes, completing Season 10, entering Season 11’s CEO edition,...

In this CEO edition of the Events Demystified Podcast, host interviews Stacy Kehren Idema, founder and CEO of Equati, about how life ruptures shaped her leadership. Stacy shares growing up in a third-generation family business, spending 27 years in corporate technology, and later redefining leadership as self-integrity and emotional awareness through emotional intelligence work. She describes a ma...

Host Anca Platon Trifan opens the CEO edition of the Events Demystified Podcast with a conversation about leadership discernment and reinvention, then interviews Julia Danmeri, founder and CEO of TranslateAble. Julia reflects on how event operations shaped her leadership through organization and valuing people, and describes moving from a traditional “one path” career mindset to questioning her di...

In this CEO Edition of the Events Demystified Podcast, the host interviews Johan Wadenholt, CEO of Voxo, about transforming live events from fleeting moments into measurable, reusable systems by turning stage conversations into structured, real-time outputs attendees and speakers can use immediately. Johan shares Voxo’s origins in 2016 financial-services note-taking and compliance, early struggles...

On the Events Demystified Podcast (CEO Edition), host Anca interviews Heather Reid, CEO and founder of Planner Protect Inc., about bringing fairness, clarity, and education to event contracting. Reid shares how she became an “accidental planner,” developed a passion for reading and negotiating contracts, and launched Planner Protect in 2013, with demand surging during COVID as organizations revisi...

In this solo “Build From Within” episode of Events Demystified, host Anca Platon Trifan shares six pillars about building fundamentals (“the floor”) before chasing bigger outputs, using AI, Ironman training, Fit4Events, and parenting habits as parallel examples. 👉 Episode Notes: https://eventsdemystified.com/ She argues AI often shifts people from creators to reviewers and can erode judgment unle...

Host Anca Platon Trifan interviews Mohammed Younas, founder and CEO of vFairs, on the Events Demystified Podcast (CEO Edition) about building reliable event technology under pressure. Younas explains vFairs as an end-to-end platform for in-person, hybrid, and virtual events, created after he built software to run his own events when a vendor charged $25,000 per event with poor support. He shares h...

In this CEO edition of the Events Demystified Podcast, host interviews Debbie Garcia, CEO of Virsitour, about how the pandemic wiped out her commission-based planning income and pushed her to build the tool she needed for virtual sourcing. Debbie shares her winding path from media production in New York and Nashville into events, the lack of systems and “tribal knowledge” in planning, and how Virs...

At the Northwest Event Show, podcast hosts Anca Platon Trifan (Events Demystified) and David T. Stevens (Return on Wellness) discuss AI, cognitive load, and performance in events with Wendy Turner-Williams (AI/data/tech executive with experience at Tableau, Salesforce, and Microsoft) and Lisa Schulteis (Electrify Marketing founder and neuroscience-based event strategist). They argue events are oft...

Host Anca Platon Trifan interviews Joe DiDonato, President of ESource AI University, about the real weight of leadership and how AI changes decision-making, judgment, and responsibility. Joe shares his background growing education businesses at Oracle and PeopleSoft, then explains how prompt engineering, personas, and “entourage”/agentic workflows can extend individual and organizational capabilit...

Host Anca Platon Trifan interviews Wendy Porter, founder and chief event strategist at Wendy Porter Events, about designing live events that deliver measurable business outcomes. Porter shares her path from marketing at UnitedHealthcare, starting with an unexpected trade show assignment that grew into major sponsorships and leadership conferences, to launching her firm after a corporate downsizing...

On her 44th birthday, host Anca Platon Trifan reflects on what she’s truly celebrating after a quarter where AV production, speaking, podcasting, and AI consulting all went according to plan, shifting the challenge from creating momentum to holding it without breaking. 👉 Episode Notes: https://eventsdemystified.com/ In this Built From Within episode of Events Demystified, she highlights the “invi...

In this episode of 'Events: Demystified,' host Anca Trifan sits down with Lisa Gregory, CEO and founder of Gregory Event Service. 👉 Episode Notes: https://eventsdemystified.com/ Lisa shares her journey of building a successful event design and production company from the ground up, balancing creativity with operational challenges. Learn how Lisa navigated pivotal moments, including overco...

Host Anca Platon Trifan records a live Events Demystified panel with Niesa Silzer (Details Convention & Event Management), Epiphany Bourque (TK Events), and Dustin Westling (OneWest Event Design & Production) on human-first systems and leadership in event work. 👉 Episode Notes: https://eventsdemystified.com/ They discuss where teams feel most stretched—especially decision fatigue, fast pa...

In this CEO Edition of Events: Demystified , Anca Platon Trifan sits down with Dennis Meador, CEO and Founder of the Legal Podcast Network, to explore what leadership looks like in an era defined by AI acceleration and operational complexity. 👉 Episode Notes: ⁠https://eventsdemystified.com/ Drawing from his early entrepreneurship, digital marketing career, and experience as a teenage pastor, Denn...

In this episode of the Events Demystified Podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan speaks with Huong Nguyen, former CEO of Shiloh Events and now founder/CEO of Aletheia, an AI platform for event operations built from agency-side delivery pain. 👉 Episode Notes: ⁠⁠https://eventsdemystified.com/⁠ They discuss building in public on LinkedIn, balancing vulnerability with credibility, and the challenges of sta...

In this episode of the Events Demystified Podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan speaks with Cindy Lo, the CEO and owner of Red Velvet Events and Strong Events. Cindy shares her journey of building two successful event companies, discussing the challenges and victories she has faced along the way. Topics include the inception of Red Velvet following the events of 9/11, the growth strategies she employed...

Live from Go West Live in Edmonton, this episode of Events: Demystified unpacks what happens when an industry event is designed with intention instead of habit. Joined by Arthur Kerekes and Evan Babins, we break down: Why this 600-person conference felt more alive than many large-scale industry shows • The RFP compensation problem and the creative labor conversation no one wants to have • How thou...

This episode of the Events Demystified podcast features Chris Carver, CEO of Sessionboard, and explores the significant shift in the event industry from AI or hybrid focuses towards trusted, author-based content and its role in bridging events, marketing, and revenue. Chris Carver shares his journey through various facets of the industry, his experiences with hypergrowth, and his immense contribut...

This is Built From Within. In this episode of Events Demystified Podcast, Anca Platon Trifan recounts her recent experience at the Rainfocus conference in Salt Lake City. // Please Follow & Subscribe for more episodes exploring performance, leadership, resilience, AI, and the inner work behind sustainable success. Initially recounting a panic moment of losing her DJI video recorder at the Hyat...

This episode features Robin Raskin, CEO of Virtual Events Group, a pioneering woman in technology recounts her transformative journey from writing a compelling piece on the future of technology to receiving calls from tech giants like Bill Gates and Bill Ziff. She highlights her transition from being a novice in technology to becoming the editor of PC Magazine during the early days of the internet...

This is Built From Within . Today’s episode breaks down the four pillars and ten habits that keep me fit year-round. Physical fitness is the outcome. The real work lives in the systems underneath. If your life is demanding and your standards are high, this episode is for you. Let’s get into it. 👉 Like and share this video to spread the knowledge. --------------------------------------------------...

This episode of the Events Demystified podcast features Pedro Goes, co-founder and CEO of inEvent. Anca Platon Trifan delves into Pedro's journey of growing inEvent into a global event technology powerhouse, merging in-person, virtual, and hybrid experiences into one seamless platform. Pedro discusses the evolution of the event tech industry, the importance of managing talent, the challenges a...

Anca Platon Trifan recaps the diverse and content-rich Season 10 of the Events Demystified Podcast, featuring a wide range of guests and topics from budget-friendly marketing strategies to AI innovations and sustainable event planning. Each episode is highlighted, detailing the contributions of notable guests such as Nicole Jacobson, Carina Bauer, Noah Riley, and many more. Anca also reflects on h...