Event Experience

Karl Vontz (VP of Brand Experience at Rubicon Project) discusses the quirky expertise of awards shows, speaking to the aspirations of your audience, and what it takes to push for diversity and representation in events.

Karl has a long history of working in events and festivals from the Shorty Awards to the Lions Festival and Clio Awards—among others. He’s worked with leading brands like The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, and Adweek. In 2012, he was named the Most Innovative Event Pro by BizBash Media.

Chardia Christophe-Garcia (Marketing Director, Forbes) shares how Forbes is leveraging in-person events to further their editorial brand, which promotional channels work best, why sometimes it pays to take it slow in your career, and the importance of knowing that not everyone is going to like you—and why that shouldn’t hold you back.

With over 10 years of experience in media marketing—at brands like Time, New Bay Media, and American Express—Chardia has achieved a comprehensive understanding of the industry. During her time at Forbes so far, Chardia has pioneered new promotional channels and assisted the brand in expanding their event portfolio.

Heather Henderson Thomas (Sr. Manager, Strategic Ops & Event Experience) discusses the benefits of consolidating an events strategy, the four pillars of the Cisco Live brand, and the value of technology in creating agency for attendees.

Heather has worked in events at Cisco for over 14 years. As the head of Cisco Live, she combines the skills of a COO and CFO with a keen focus on attendee and customer experience. Before working at Cisco, Heather worked in weddings, catering and incentive travel.

Allen Yesilevich (VP of Marketing + Growth, MC²) shares a behind-the-scenes look at how agencies work, the power of emotion in events, the history of MC2, and the most terrifying activation that I've ever heard of.

Allen has worked with brands ranging from Global Fortune 500 to VC-backed startups in a variety of industries. He has over 15 years of brand, marketing and advisory experience—and now heads marketing and growth efforts at MC², an award-winning globally-recognized brand experience agency.

Kendyl Wright (Founder of LOUDER Experiences) shares her perspectives on working in-house and at agencies, challenging institutional norms, battling anxiety, and her personal journey to founding her own experiential agency.

Before founding LOUDER, Kendyl worked with heavy-hitting PR and marketing firms like Fleishman-Hillard, Octagon, Inspira Marketing Group and Peppercom. She also has some in-house experience under her belt at Benjamin Moore.  

John Heiman (Director of Experiential at Sprint) shares how Sprint’s event strategy has become more focused over the years and how he and his team are making complex technologies more accessible with immersive activations. We also discussed event ROI, empathy, and Fortnite.

For over 32 years, John has worked in different roles at Sprint. Today, he oversees programs around executive briefing centers, corporate events, sports & entertainment sponsorships and consumer and B2B experiential initiatives.

Colleen Bisconti (Vice President of Global Conferences and Events at IBM) shares her perspectives on how the events team at IBM has become more data-driven and agile over the years, leading a team of 350 event marketers, and Space Jam.

Having been with the company for more than 25 years, Colleen is an eyewitness to how the company has evolved. She has worked with a number of different departments in different roles, ultimately leading to her current role as head of the company’s events program.

Dana Pake (Senior Director of Global Experiences at InVision) shares her UX-focused approach to events, what it’s like to work as part of a globally distributed team, how to hire for a rapidly growing events program, and what it means to lead with resiliency.

At InVision, Dana oversees over 150 events worldwide. She previously worked at Tableau where she grew the annual Tableau Conference from roughly 1,200 -12,000 total attendees in four years.

Carina Bauer (CEO at IMEX) shares a behind-the-scenes look at the world’s largest events industry trade show and her thoughts on sustainability, mental health, and finding a good cup of coffee in Las Vegas. 

Carina’s been named one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry and one of the Top 25 Women in the Meetings Industry. She has held numerous positions in MPI, is a winner of ICCA’s 2018 Inspirational Women Awards, and is a member of the board of directors at the SITE Foundation.

In this episode of IN-PERSON, Hugh Forrest (Chief Programming Officer, SXSW) shares his perspectives on curating great content, what it takes to maintain a strong sense of community at an event with hundreds of thousands of attendees, and how events can bring people together in an increasingly digital—and at times divisive—world.

In addition to his role in curating content, Hugh is the Director of SXSW Interactive Festival. He has been with SXSW since 1989 and was their first full-time employee. Hugh's seen first-hand how the event has scaled from a gathering of hundreds to a gathering of hundreds of thousands.