No More Bad Events

Title: IMEX Wonder Walks and Tough Talks (ft. Tahira Endean | Head of Program | IMEX) Bio: Currently head of programming for IMEX, Tahira is an event designer and curator of education for the MICE industry. She is passionate about global travel, intentional event design, and the integration of technology into our lives and events to enhance the human experience. Deeply committed to the industry, T...

Title: Gutsy and Groundbreaking by Design (ft. Kathryn Frankson | Global Director of Marketing | Money20/20) Bio: Kathryn Frankson is the Global Director of Marketing at Money20/20, the disruptive leader in fintech events. After many years of selling exhibition space and sponsorships, Kathryn held a 15-year tenure with event juggernauts UBM and Informa as Director of Event Marketing. Kathryn now l...

Title: JT & AI: It’s All About the Prompts (ft. JT Long | Vice President and Content Director | Smart Meetings) Bio: JT Long is vice president and content director at the leading events industry publication Smart Meetings. She leads a team that supports an engaged community of event organizers with multimedia content that shares innovative ideas, enables authentic connections and elevates events....

Title: Mental Health, Cope Notes and Calm-Down Playlists (ft. Johnny Crowder | Keynote Speaker | Founder & CEO, Cope Notes) Guest Bio: A self-proclaimed brain changer and keynote, Johnny is a suicide/abuse survivor, TEDx speaker, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, and the Founder & CEO of Cope Notes, a text-based mental health platform that provides daily support. Since his first keynote in 2011,...

Title: Chase Scenes and Conversation Machines  (ft. Russell Reich | Chief Creative Officer | ADM Creative Group Guest Bio: An award-winning leader in experiential and event marketing, Russell has an extensive background in both digital and theatrical development and has directed major events and experiences for many of the world’s best-known brands. Russell has served as a Chief Strategy Officer,...

Title Superheroes. Sledgehammers. And Sharks, Oh My!  (ft., Dietmar Dahmen | Global Keynote Speaker and Founder | Brainkicks GmbH Bio Founder of Brainkicks GmbH, Dietmar started his career in advertising, working for some of the biggest agencies in the world. Today, he’s a global speaker, author, coach, and motivator and a top business expert on innovation, disruption, and future trends. He helps...

TITLE No Clients. Just Partners.  (ft. Rob Bezdjian | President, Zaven Global) BIO Founder & President of Zaven Global, a third-party planner focusing on corporate meetings and incentives, Rob prides himself on his company's mantra of 'No Clients – Just Partners' and believes that providing win-wins is essential for success. Rob was recognized as a 2018 Connect Corporate 40 Under 40 recipient, and...

Title: Question. Rethink. And Redefine Greatness. (ft. Anna Mader & Matt Schrader | Heads of Creative and Client Experiences, XD Agency) Bio: XDA is an award-winning creative agency that takes brand stories and produces personal, insights-fueled experiences that deeply resonate with audiences.  Anna Mader and Matt Schrader, Heads of Creative and Client Experiences, respectively, create brand-defin...

Title Level Up with Gamification (ft. Rob Ferre, CSP | Speaker, Game Show Host, Master of Ceremonies) Bio Rob Ferre has spent most of his career getting people engaged in an experience as a speaker, host, and entertainer. He founded his company, Life of the Party Entertainment, after spending 3 years in the family entertainment capital of the world, Orlando, FL. Today, Rob emcees for organizations...

Title Shake It Off with a Self-Proclaimed Swiftie (ft. Kate Patay | VP of Engagement | Terramar DMC) Bio Kate Patay, CPCE, vice president of engagement at Terramar, a DMC Network Company, is a prominent industry professional known globally for unique events, strategic partnerships, and impactful experiences. She speaks internationally on an array of topics, serves as the chair of the SEARCH Founda...

Title From the Firehouse to the Hot List (ft. Michael Cerbelli, CEO & President | Cerbelli Creative) Guest Bio Michael Cerbelli | CEO and President | Cerbelli Creative Founder of Cerbelli Creative, an industry-leading, NYC-based events & entertainment company, Michael is known for producing wildly imaginative and successful events for over four decades. He’s also known for generously sharing his k...

Title Pulling the Red Thread (ft. Gail Davis | President and Founder | GDA Speakers) Bio Gail Davis is the president and founder of GDA Speakers, one of the top speaker bureaus in the world, representing more than 3,500 speakers in business, politics, government, entertainment, and media.  With more than 25 years in the speaker space and with Gail at the helm, GDA is known to exceed expectations b...

Title Who is Bowie Badger? (ft. Kristina McCoobery and Paul Blurton | CEO & Chief Creative Officer, INVNT) Bio Kristina McCoobery (CEO) and Paul Blurton (Chief Creative Officer) of INVNT, an NYC-based live brand storytelling agency, stand on the belief that “live is where we live.”  They believe that Live events are the most potent form of marketing today.  They use the art and science of live bra...

Title: There’s No Business Like Show Business (ft. Mark Felix | Director of Entertainment Services, Drury Design Dynamics) Opening Quote:  “Anybody can book, as I said, a talent, but we pride ourselves on getting so much more out of the talent. We pride ourselves on delivering more than just a general session. We're not just going to bring in a stage with some lighting and some sound. It's got to...

Title: The Voice of Meetings and Events (ft. Glenn Thayer | Conference Moderator & Master of Ceremonies) Opening Quote: Why do people go to conferences? Why do people go to award shows? They're there to meet people and build relationships, and solidify relationships. Well, how is that done? That's done over breaking bread. So you're having a meal with them, or it's at the bar, or it's a hallway co...

OPENING QUOTE: “One of the most innovative things that we have embraced is diversity. Diversity in background and diversity in culture and diversity in thought really is what creates this most incredible product, like this blend of thinking and people and ultimately ways of engaging audiences that we've never really thought about before, and that truly is exciting to me.” SUMMARY A content-focused...

OPENING QUOTE: “That last mile is about standing there with the CEO, with the Chief Marketing Officer, with the product people that are on stage, and saying how can we take this script that we have right now, these pieces of content, and just create a bigger bond with the audience over those things.” SUMMARY: Chris Janese is the CEO and head of client strategy at The Green Room, an extraordinary e...

TITLE: Picking the Perfect Speaker | (ft. Rich Gibbons | President, SpeakInc) OPENING QUOTE: “There are so many. I don't want to say horror stories, but there have been lots of selections over the years where corporate leaders and middle-level managers have seen what a train wreck it can be if you don't pick the right talent. And it's misaligned for whatever reason, and getting it right is a lot e...

TITLE: Scoring Big in the Event World | (ft. Ross Bernstein | Author and Keynote Speaker) OPENING QUOTE: “And I guess the trend now that we're fully back in person, I mean, there's obviously some hybrid, and there's some virtual, and that serves a purpose for some events, but for the bigger stuff, people realize that to really have a great conference, it's about the camaraderie. It's about having...

TITLE: Laughter and the Lightness of Being | (ft. Melinda Buckley | Executive Coach and Creative Director) OPENING QUOTE: “Humor is a tool, just like anything else. So it's not something that's dominant. We're not going to necessarily lead with it unless it's appropriate. But first you want to land your message. You want to focus on your audience, you want to be able to articulate your objectives,...

TITLE: Where Theatre Meets Corporate Events | (ft. Jeremy Dobrish | Senior Creative Director, Proscenium) OPENING QUOTE: “What playwriting really taught me was structure. And how do you structure a story? There's a great quote. You may have heard this, which is a story is the way to tell it. Right? A story is the way to tell it. There's no such thing as the story. There's the telling of the story....

TITLE: Producing Moments That Matter | (ft. J.B. Miller | President & CEO, Empire Entertainment) OPENING QUOTE: “And to create big moments requires creativity, but it requires engineering, requires these two different sides of the brain. And I think with Empire, what we've been able to do is to deploy these abundant skill sets and resources. to consistently, on behalf of clients, elevate moments....

TITLE: Flying High on Success with a Dynamic Event Production Duo | (ft. Nicole Beukers and Jennifer Winegardner | Co-founders of Heron Production Group) OPENING QUOTE: “We are in the business of selling something that is intangible, meaning you don’t go into a showroom and say, that’s the model of car that I want, that’s what I want my show to look like. So they have to believe in us , and they h...

TITLE: Behind the Scenes with a Mega Influencer (ft. Eric Rutherford | Executive Producer, 15|40 Productions) OPENING QUOTE: “Time is bleeding, and every minute should count. So how I approach an event is someone has made a choice to come and spend time with you. So make sure we, as event producers or people in this industry, are always thinking of that.” - Eric Rutherford SUMMARY: Executive Produ...

TITLE: Luxury Brand Events with a French Twist. Ooh la la! (ft. Thomas Serrano | Founder and CEO, Exclamation Group) OPENING QUOTE: “It's just those different levels of emotion that we lay down on the timeline of the event. So, it's not only about planning, you know, the menu, the cocktail, the entertainment; it’s planning those emotions that will create an emotional connection and will make guest...