The U.S. trade show industry appears to be continuing its robust hiring momentum as summer turns to fall. Check out all the industry professionals getting hired and moving up at event-related organizations, companies and venues throughout the country. 

Visit Salt Lake 

Visit Salt Lake (VSL) recently welcomed two experienced industry professionals to its growing team: Stuart Webber as director of convention sales and Celina Sinclair as director of strategic alliances. 

In his new role, Webber will pursue citywide conventions with 1,700+ attendees from the health, medical, public administration, legal and governmental markets. Bringing more than 15 years of tourism industry and destination marketing organization experience to VSL, he served as Sioux Falls Convention Center’s director of sales since 2007 and worked with Global Spectrum in Sioux Falls as manager of corporate sales.  

In her new role, Sinclair is tasked with overseeing and executing strategy and implementation associated with the long-term stewardship of VSL’s strategic partners. Playing a leading role in managing the newly created Convention and Tourism Assessment Area (CTAA), she serves as the primary liaison with regional hotels and stakeholders and will work to enhance collaboration to drive tourism growth and development. She previously served as partner relations lead at the Utah Office of Tourism (UOT). 

Bluefin

Custom digital signage solutions company Bluefin International strengthened its commercial sales team with the addition of Susan Wilhite as senior director of business development. She will focus on cultivating key relationships with channel partners as well as establishing the company as the go-to digital signage resource in the commercial audio-visual space. 

Wilhite previously held business development and sales directorship roles at companies including Snap One, VIP Cinema Seating and Stewart Filmscreen, to name a few. She is also the founder and director of Women in AV/IT (WAVIT), a nonprofit created by and for women in the AV/IT industries. 

Meet Chicago Northwest 

Meet Chicago Northwest, the official DMO for the northwest suburbs of Chicago, recently hired Mario Farfan as its newest group sales account executive. A U.S. Army veteran, he brings more than 22 years of experience in community and business development across the Midwest, including Milwaukee, Chicago and surrounding suburbs. In 2015, Farfan founded the Northwest Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which focuses on business development in the Latino community across Chicago’s northwest suburbs. 

International Association of Venue Managers

The International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) announced the retirement of President and CEO Brad Mayne, effective next year. He will officially step down at the conclusion of IAVM’s VenueConnect conference and trade show, set for July 28-31, 2024, in Portland, Ore.

Mayne took the helm of IAVM in 2016 and under his leadership has led its membership to a historic high. He also led IAVM and the venue management industry successfully through the COVID-19 pandemic, tirelessly advocating for state and federal assistance to keep venues open.

Prior to being appointed president and CEO, Mayne was a member of IAVM for more than 30 years. He previously served as the president and CEO of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, and American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. 

Following a detailed plan of succession for leadership, a Board CEO Selection Committee will soon be established to begin the process of identifying IAVM’s new president and CEO. 

Impact XM  

Global full-service event and experiential marketing agency Impact XM recently welcomed Robynne Weaver as vice president of strategic accounts. She joins Impact XM’s client service team and some of the agency’s largest client accounts, continuing to expand its B2B and B2C client portfolios.

Weaver brings two decades of industry experience in large-scale events and strategic experiences to her new role, including citywide corporate events, user conferences, product launches, trade shows and brand activations, and has worked with clients in the finance, technology, consumer and nonprofit industries. 

Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority

The Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority (RSCVA) recently added two regional directors of convention sales: Christina Henshall and Misty Sparks representing Reno Tahoe’s group events business in the Northwest U.S. and the Midwest, respectively, responsible for soliciting and selling the Reno, Sparks and North Lake Tahoe area as a convention destination.

Henshall has worked in the hospitality industry for more than 25 years with some of the largest global and national brands, including Marriott, Hilton and Caesars Entertainment. Based in Northern California, she oversees the territory that includes Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon, Washington State and Western Canada. 

Bringing more than 20 years of experience working with Caesars Entertainment and Hyatt brands, Sparks operates the Midwest regional office from Ohio and is responsible for booking business throughout Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. 

Skyline Exhibits

Liza Farm joined trade show exhibit company Skyline Exhibits as its new vice president of human resources, responsible for developing and executing a human resource strategy supporting the company’s business plan and strategic direction, as well as enhancing the Skyline team experience.  

An experienced and certified leader in human resource strategy, Farm joins Skyline from Master Builders Solutions, where she served as senior human resources manager for more than four years. Her professional experience spans a variety of industries, including glass and food manufacturing, franchising, SaaS and most recently, commercial construction. 

Visit Spokane 

Visit Spokane recently appointed 20-year marketing professional Jeff Hawley as its new vice president of marketing, responsible for leading the destination marketing organization’s team of marketing professionals. A Spokane native, he most recently served as global marketing manager, small business empowerment at Amazon, where he focused on helping small businesses gain recognition in their communities and nationally through the retail giant.  

Hawley previously worked as senior director and manager at global marketing agency Seattle Wunderman Network, and prior to that, began his career as a senior marketing analyst at Coldwater Creek.

Have some trade show-related people news to share? Please send announcements and high-resolution headshots to lpsavas@tsnn.com.

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