Mar 08, 2023
The story of how Laura Purdy found a career in the exhibitions and meetings industry will be a familiar one for many event professionals: She fell into it – and never left. While in the process of building a marketing and retail management career at a prestigious commercial real estate firm in Toronto, Canada, Purdy had the chance to participate in new business development projects, including responding to RFPs for management contracts for global commercial real estate properties.
One of those projects was for The National Trade Centre (now Enercare Centre), which was under construction at… more
Mar 06, 2023
The steady influx of new hires and promotions continues as corporate events move full steam ahead in 2023. Take a look at who’s landing new career opportunities or moving up the ladder!
ASM Global
Global venue management and event strategy leader ASM Global has appointed 20-year San Francisco travel and convention veteran Leonie Patrick as the new general manager for the George R. Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco.
In her new role, Patrick will work closely with ASM Global to continue attracting business to San Francisco’s largest convention and exhibition complex, already… more
Mar 01, 2023
Pre-teen girls certainly have a lot of things on their minds but hatching a business—let alone brainstorming best marketing practices for its success—ordinarily aren’t some of them. Cathy Schlosberg, however, was an extraordinary girl, and those were the exact thoughts swirling through her 12-year-old brain when she and her brother came up with the idea to launch a catering business servicing events for their parents and parents’ friends.
“That’s where my career in marketing and hospitality began,” Schlosberg said of the catering operation in her hometown of Framingham, Mass. “We called… more
Feb 22, 2023
Oftentimes, the careers we imagine for ourselves as children aren’t necessarily what we end up pursuing as adults. Ask Phil Evans about his path into the culinary arts, and he’ll tell you a similar story.“My parents were the driving force for me to get into the culinary industry,” Evans explains. “I actually wanted to be a schoolteacher, but I grew up in the kitchen cooking with my grandmother and then my mother, so it came to me naturally. I inevitably fell in love with cooking.”Now, as executive chef at Sodexo Live!, Evans boasts an extensive background in fine dining, catering and… more
Feb 14, 2023
The meetings industry continues to demonstrate a rosy outlook for the year ahead as event-related organizations across the U.S. announce a bevy of new hires and an array of leadership promotions. Check them out!
Visit Orlando
Visit Orlando recently named 25-year hospitality industry veteran Mario J. Bass as its new COO, responsible for overseeing internal operations and leading and implementing the organization’s strategic initiatives, strategic plans and annual business plans.
Bass most recently served as the chief sales officer for Visit San Antonio. During his five-year tenure, he… more
Jan 24, 2023
The corporate meetings industry is moving full steam ahead into 2023, with organizations far and wide continuing to welcome new leaders and fill newly created positions with experienced professionals. Here’s the latest people news you need to know!
Radisson Blu Mall of America
Radisson Blu Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., has tapped 36-year hospitality industry veteran Alberto Abreu as its new general manager, charged with providing leadership and strategic direction to all areas of the hotel. He most recently served as general manager of the Ennismore–21c Museum Hotel Oklahoma City… more
Jan 16, 2023
Leading hospitality partner Sodexo Live! has tapped proven international business leader Belinda Oakley as its new CEO, North America. Bringing two decades of foodservice management experience to her new role, Oakley is responsible for leading more than 20,000 team members at more than 150 partner venues throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Oakley replaces outgoing CEO Steve Pangburn, who will stay on with the company to help with the transition in an advisory capacity through the end of March 2023. Pangburn is stepping down in order to spend more time with his family in France, where he will… more
Jan 09, 2023
As the corporate events industry kicks off 2023, event-related organizations across the country are welcoming new leaders and promoting hard-working staff as they prepare for a year of growth, increasing demand and continued post-pandemic recovery. Take a look!
Destination DC
Destination DC (DDC), the official destination marketing organization for Washington, D.C., recently appointed a new executive and senior staff to its leadership team.
Danielle Davis has been promoted to vice president of communications after joining the organization as director of communications in 2015. She… more
Dec 29, 2022
Straight out of college, Kelly Gleeson Smith knew she had fallen into her dream career after landing her first job in “meeting connection sales” at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, Texas. From the start, she reveled in what she described as the “power of meetings” that affect so many people.
“It was like a pebble falling into the water, and then the centrifugal rings just continue to expand,” Gleeson Smith said. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is an amazing industry.’”
She became very passionate about face-to-face interactions and where her career could go, traveling the world… more
Dec 15, 2022
Starting a new job in a difficult business climate can be challenging enough, but what about during the height of a global pandemic? That’s exactly where Claude Molinari found himself when he took the helm of Visit Detroit as its new president and CEO in January of 2021 as the global events industry was reeling from the impacts of COVID-19. A self-proclaimed extrovert by nature, Molinari’s outgoing and positive attitude certainly came in handy as he worked tirelessly to guide the CVB and its team through one of the biggest challenges travel and tourism has ever faced.
“It is important to… more
Partner Voices
Less than six months ago, Lisa Messina joined the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) as the first-ever chief sales officer after leading the sales team at Caesars Entertainment. A 12-year Las Vegas resident, Messina is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and serves on MPI International’s board of directors.
Corporate Event News had a chance to catch up with this dynamic leader and talk to her about her vision for the new role, current shifts in the trade show industry, creating more diversity and equity within the organization, and advice to more