Speakers

Bob Bejan

Corporate Vice President of Global Events, Studios and Marketing Community, Microsoft

Bob is responsible for the development, production and execution of global events and experiential marketing for Microsoft. For the last 7 months, Bob and the team have transformed from a global live events organization into an interactive television network broadcasting globally until at least the end of 2021. In addition, he is responsible for the Microsoft Production Studios delivering hundreds of hours of programming and training around the world on behalf of the company. Bejan is also leading our work to train and develop our marketing talent and capabilities as well as nurture and grow communities across the company.

Sherrell Dorsey

Founder and CEO, The Plug

Sherrell Dorsey is the founder and CEO of The Plug—a digital news and insights platform covering the Black innovation economy. Her work has been featured in VICE, The Washington Post, Seattle Times, The Information, and more. Sherrell has been a contributing writer for notable publications like Columbia Journalism, Fast Company, Black Enterprise, and others. In 2018, she was named an inspiring woman in tech by CNet. Prior to launching The Plug, Dorsey served as a marketing manager for companies like Uber and Google Fiber. She holds a Master's degree in data journalism from Columbia University.

Kevin Turpin, II

President, National Journal Group

Kevin Turpin II is the president of National Journal Group and assumed this role in 2016. Since taking over the helm, Turpin has transitioned National Journal from a traditional media company to an information services organization. In his 15 years at the company, Turpin has held a variety of leadership roles and most recently led the product development, strategy research, digital, and marketing teams. Under his watch, the company has launched a number of new products and services to support its members including Ballast Research, Network Science Initiative, and Vignette. Turpin has a deep passion for mentorship of young people and serves on the board of City Year DC and is also on the board of the Carlton Club. He is a member of the Economic Club of Washington and the Council on Foreign Relations. A proud Hoya, Turpin is a graduate of Georgetown University.

Rafat Ali

CEO & Founder, Skift

Rafat is the CEO/founder of Skift, a business intelligence startup that offers news, data, and and services to the travel & leisure industry and business travelers. Previously, he was the founder/CEO of paidContent and ContentNext, which he sold to UK Guardian News and Media in 2008, and left in 2010. Prior to that, he was managing editor of Silicon Alley Reporter. Rafat was the Knight Fellow at Indiana University, where he completed his Masters in Journalism, 1999-2000. Prior to that he completed his BSc in Computer Engineering, from AMU in Aligarh, India.

Joe Angel

President , PMMI Media Group

Matt Bailey

Lead Trainer & Founder, SiteLogic

Matt Bailey is a best-selling author, marketing expert, trainer, and speaker. Residing in the “Hall of Fame City” he aims to carry on the city’s legacy by developing marketing expertise and technical know-how in marketers and business owners around the world. From developing real-estate websites in the late 90’s to starting his own digital marketing agency in 2006, Matt has been at the forefront of digital marketing. In 2015, he sold the agency business so that he could focus full-time on training. From analytics to search engine marketing, Matt now travels around the world teaching digital marketing. He’s taught Google employees how to use Google Analytics, Experian how to present data, and digital marketing workshops for Microsoft, Disney, Nationwide, Hewlett Packard, Proctor & Gamble, and IBM. Matt’s current project is developing a digital marketing school for the United Arab Emirates Digital Initiative, The New Media Academy. Matt’s aim to fame doesn’t stop there. Matt is the digital marketing instructor for the Direct Marketing Association, the Association of National Advertisers, an instructor for LinkedIn Learning, and standards contributor for the OMCP, the international standards certification and licensing program for digital marketing education. He’s the author of Internet Marketing: An Hour a Day (2011 ), Wired to be Wowed (2015), and Teach New Dogs Old Tricks! (2017).

Stacey Bailey

Vice President, Chartwell, Inc.

Stacey is responsible for business development and marketing initiatives at Chartwell as well as new product development. She has an extensive background in research, data analytics and product management and spent the first 15 years of her career in the insurance industry. Stacey received her undergraduate degree from Furman University and an MBA from Georgia State University.

Maurice Bakley

Chief Revenue Officer, Education Week

Bakley leads Education Week’s strategy to serve clients across the K-12 ecosystem in the areas of marketing services, paid content, and recruitment services. Prior to joining Education Week, he was president of FierceMarkets, a DC-based digital media and marketing firm that grew from an angel-backed startup and was successfully sold (twice) to private equity acquirers. Bakley began his career with startup roles in media and financial services in Poland and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Christie Bardo

Chief Revenue Officer, Brief Media

John A. Bennett

Director, Digital Media, Lessiter Media, Inc.

John joined Lessiter Media as their Director, Digital Media in 2020 after spending the previous 13 years piloting digital transformation for National Business Media. As a leader in strategic integrated media, he utilizes marketing technologies to drive new business, enhance operational efficiencies, and increase market exposure and profitability. Past executive experience includes working at Gannett, Wiesner Media, Penton Media, and McClatchey where he developed strategic roadmaps to catalyze growth, innovation, and profitability. John graduated summa cum laude from Colorado Christian University with a degree in Business Administration.

Jessica Blue

Executive Vice President , Emerald Expositions

Jessica joined Emerald in August 2019 as Executive Vice President, Connect. She has over 20 years’ experience in the trade show and media industries including 15 years in the UK, with both UBM plc (now Informa plc) and Advanstar Communications. Jessica relocated to the United States with Advanstar in early 2013 to grow the Global Licensing Group, launching internationally and expanding the domestic portfolio. Jessica most recently held the position of Senior Vice President of the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets. She currently serves on the board of the SISO Women Special Interest Group and holds a BA from the University of Sussex.

Matthijs Braakman

CEO, SmartWork Media

For over 12 years, Matthijs has been successfully advising business and organizations on how to effectively interact and engage their target audiences through print, online media and event marketing campaigns.

Jason Brown

Chief Digital Officer, Informa

ason is the Chief Digital Officer of Informa Markets. He joined Informa in November 2015 and oversees the development and enhancement of digital products which complement, bolster and expand Informa Markets’ portfolio. Prior to joining Informa, Jason served as Chief Digital Officer with George Little Management and Vice President of Digital Media, UBM Canon and Active Interest Media.

David Burns

VP and Publisher, Magna Publications

David Burns has more than 30 years in the publishing field and is currently vice president and publisher at Magna Publications serving the education market. In addition to overseeing the marketing and content development at Magna, David is responsible for strategic planning, product innovation, new markets, and partnerships. David’s career in publishing also includes marketing roles at J.J. Keller, Renaissance Learning, and Knowledge Unlimited. David received his undergraduate degree from Northern Michigan University.

Tom Cintorino

CEO, The Next Chapter Consulting

Tom Cintorino has been a digital media strategist and leader for over thirteen years. Cintorino most recently served as EVP digital media for Northstar travel Media. Previously, he built PennWell Corporation's Digital Media organization and led their transformation efforts creating one of their largest, fastest growing profit centers. Prior to being in the media business, Cintorino held various senior-level positions in early-stage venture-backed high-tech firms. Specifically, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for iCOMS, Senior Vice President of Sales & Sales Operations for Dr. Solomon's, and Vice-President of Worldwide Sales for Logicraft, Inc. Cintorino holds a BS in Mathematics and an MBA in Technology Management. Cintorino was awarded “Top Digital Media Executive” in 2011 by Media Business’s Top Innovators in Business Publishing and chaired American Business Media's Digital Media Council in 2004, 2005, 2012, and 2013.

Ed Coburn

President, Cabot Wealth Network

Ed Coburn is President of investment advisory service publisher Cabot Wealth Network. Previously Ed ran multiplatform publishing businesses at School Family Media, Harvard Health Publications, and Circadian Information. He began his career in publishing at Cahners Business Information and spin-off Cutter Information Corp. He also served as Senior Vice President and lead consultant at publishing strategy and technology firm Mequoda Systems. Ed is on the boards of SIIA and SIPA and is a past President of SIPA

Helen Coetzee

Founder and CEO, MPG

Since 1998, Helen has been growing B2B brands and communities via multi-channel and data-led marketing of events, subscriptions and memberships. Working with a multitude of organizations and serving a wide range of sectors, Helen has always based her work on the belief that combining 'art and science' in strategic and systematic way is essential for marketing success. In 2014 Helen launched MPG - a team of marketers that has grown rapidly in size and reputation to deliver high performance marketing for a range of clients globally – with direct marketing always playing a key part in the mix. MPG's direct and digital marketing capabilities, combined with strong strategic and tactical output in all aspects of marketing has powered the rapid growth of b2b media and events brands, supported professional associations in growing their membership and events and has also helped corporates attract the right audiences for their events and content marketing.

Michael Cotoia

CEO, TechTarget

Mr. Cotoia has served as our Chief Executive Officer since May 2016. He has been employed by us since 2002, serving as our Chief Operating Officer from January 2012 to May 2016 and, prior to that, as Executive Vice President (from 2010 to 2012) and in various other positions including Senior Vice President, and Vice President and Publisher from 2002 to 2010. Prior to joining TechTarget, Mr. Cotoia was Director of Sales at SANZ, a national storage integrator, and he also held positions at EMC Corporation, a provider of enterprise information storage systems, and Deloitte, a provider of audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, tax, and related services.

Brian Cuthbert

Group Vice President, Diversified Communications

Brian Cuthbert is a Group Vice President at Diversified Communications U.S., a global media company with market-leading exhibitions, conferences, digital products and publications. Mr. Cuthbert is responsible for Diversified Communications’ Business Communities division, overseeing broad portfolio of conferences, tradeshows, and digital products. Brands under Mr. Cuthbert’s stewardship include the Institute of Finance & Management (IOFM), Intersolar North America, The Running Event, Running Insight, American Society of Administrative Professionals, the Administrative Professionals Conference and Vinexpo New York. Mr. Cuthbert is also part of the Diversified Communications’ leadership team. Mr. Cuthbert joined Diversified in April 2013 as the Director of Sales for IOFM and later became its Executive Director in 2015. There, he was responsible for the significant growth of its event portfolio and certification business. Previously, Mr. Cuthbert held sales and leadership roles at Greenhaven Partners and Kennedy Information – selling and leading sales teams across a wide variety of industries.

Robyn Duda

Co-Founder, Change the Stage

Robyn Duda is a future of experience expert, owner of RDC and co-founder of Change the Stage. Throughout her career, she has worked on event strategy with some of the most recognized brands in the world including Coca-Cola, Spotify and IBM. Robyn takes pride in creating growth strategies through data driven insights, innovative design and sustainable business practices. Robyn’s background in strategy, sales, marketing, operations and content development position her perfectly for creating a well-rounded, achievable vision for mid-sized and large companies. Before launching her business, Robyn spent 13 years in B2B media. Most recently she served as the VP of Event Strategy & Experience Design at global event giant UBM (now Informa) and spent time at IDG and Ziff Davis early in her career. She also teaches a self-designed course on experience design at Muhlenberg College in PA.

David Fortino

SVP Audience and Product, NetLine

David Fortino is SVP of Audience & Product at NetLine Corporation where he is responsible for the strategic direction and management of NetLine's audience, publisher, and client facing technologies, operations, platform and product development. He brings more than 15 years’ experience managing the development of content distribution, audience monetization, and digital marketing/targeting platforms. Prior to NetLine, Fortino served as Director of Strategic Alliances and Audience Development for VerticalNet. Fortino holds a B.A. in Media Studies with a Corporate Communications focus from Pennsylvania State University.

David Foster

CEO, Business Valuation Resources

David Foster is the CEO of Business Valuation Resources, the U.S.-based publisher of transaction, legal and other databases for the business valuation profession. Much of BVR’s growth results from responses to the revolution in information industry business processes during the last decade—changes that have forced BVR and other publishers to redefine sales, marketing, product development, technology, content creation, pricing, and every other part of their operations. In addition to BVR, Foster was the co-founder of IOMA, Inc., a management publisher he sold to the Bureau of National Affairs in 1998. He has served on the Boards and/or Executive Committees of 14 information industry companies, as well as a number of non-profits such as Copyright Clearance Center and Bates College. He was SIPA President in 1999, won SIPA’s Hall of Fame Award 2000, and is current co-chair of SIPA's annual CEO Roundtable, which meets again in February 2020 (please join us!).

Orson Francescone

Head of FT Live, Financial Times

Orson Francescone is the Managing Director of FT Live, based in London. In this position, Francescone is responsible for overseeing the FT’s global conferences and events division. Chaired by senior journalists, FT Live events gather the world's brightest minds and most influential decision-makers. Francescone joined the FT in 2019 from Haymarket Media, where he worked as director of events and oversaw content-led B2B conferences and exhibitions, including the award-winning Festival of Work. Prior to that, Orson developed some of the world’s largest and most profitable B2B conferences as vice president of DMG Events, a division of the Daily Mail Group. He also led the events business across Euromoney Institutional Investor’s market-leading brands, establishing a global portfolio of conferences in the banking, finance, capital markets, asset management and insurance sectors.

Craig Fuller

CEO and Managing Director, FreightWaves

Craig Fuller is CEO and Founder of FreightWaves, the only freight-focused organization that delivers a complete and comprehensive view of the freight and logistics market. FreightWaves’ news, content, market data, insights, analytics, innovative engagement and risk management tools are unprecedented and unmatched in the industry. Prior to founding FreightWaves, Fuller was the founder and CEO of TransCard, a fleet payment processor that was sold to US Bank. He also is a trucking industry veteran, having founded and managed the Xpress Direct division of US Xpress Enterprises, the largest provider of on-demand trucking services in North America.

Adam Goldstein

Publisher, Business Management Daily

Adam P. Goldstein is the publisher of Business Management Daily, a division of capitol Information Group, in Falls Church, VA. This is his second go-round with the company, having served as their marketing director in an earlier millennium. Business Management Daily produces newsletters, e-letters, books, reports, CDs, DVDs, membership websites, and over 200 webinars annually in the areas of human resources, leadership, office administration, office technology, and management. Adam has held marketing and publishing positions at Telecommunications Reports, Food Chemical News, Eli Research, and two stints at Business Publishers – his second as publisher and majority owner from 2005 to 2006. He also spent seven years as principal of MarketSmart (a marketing consultancy), and as the owner of a small company publishing energy and environmental newsletters. Adam is the former president of the D.C. chapter of SIPA. His articles have appeared in industry publications, and he has spoken at regional and national conferences. He’s really not as big a jerk as he seems once you get to know him.

Elizabeth Green

CEO , Brief Media

Elizabeth is the CEO/Founder of Brief Media LLC, the vertically aligned owner of top veterinary media brands Clinician’s Brief, Veterinary Team Brief, the industry’s top digital subscription product, Plumbs Veterinary Drugs and newly launched events New York Vet and Veterinary Team Brief Summit. Prior to founding Brief Media, she worked for MediMedia in New Jersey and in 2016 was named a Folio Top Women in Media for entrepreneurship. When not at work, you will likely find Elizabeth hiking, biking, playing the piano or mentoring aspiring female executives.

Meg Hargreaves

Chief Operating Officer, Industry Dive

After nearly 10 years at CQ Roll Call, including the sale and transition of CQ Roll Call from The Economist Group to FiscalNote in August 2018, Meg Hargreaves launched her own consultancy practice, Rush River Media. In March 2020, Meg joined the leadership team at fast-growing media company Industry Dive as their new Chief Operating Officer. A 30-year veteran of the publishing and media space, Meg has worked for some of the largest B2B information companies in the industry. Meg is also the current Chair of the SIIA Board of Directors and a past President of the SIPA Board of Directors. As Chief Operating Officer / SVP at CQ Roll Call, Washington’s most respected, non-partisan media company, Meg oversaw a wide range of business operations in support of the company’s news, legislative tracking and advocacy SaaS businesses. She also served on The Economist Group’s Charitable Trust, Global Real Estate and 401(k) Committees (Chair). Prior to CQ Roll Call, Meg was President & Publisher of Pike & Fischer and VP & Publisher of BNA Subsidiaries, LLC, both now part of the Bloomberg Information Group. Prior to her 6 years at BNA/Bloomberg, Meg was V.P. of Publishing & Content Development for global competitive intelligence aggregator MarketResearch.com, where she led editorial, product development, marketing and sales. Prior to MarketResearch.com, Meg developed political, legislative and regulatory products and services for LexisNexis (RELLX). She started her career on K Street in the Government Affairs office of McGraw-Hill. Meg is a graduate of the University of Scranton and lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her partner, Michael Keegan and their dog, Boo Radley.

Kristopher Heineman

Chief Digital Officer, AC Business Media

Kris Heineman is the Chief Digital Officer at AC Business Media. Kris joined ACBM in 2019 and is responsible for the digital strategy of the B2B media organization. He has over 15 years of experience leading digital strategies, envisioning product roadmaps and growing global audiences at large media organizations. Kris's prior experience includes key audience and digital growth roles at American Media Inc, TEN: The Enthusiast Network, Bonnier, TransWorld Media, Freedom Communications, and Boost Mobile. Kris led the audience, social, OTT, syndication, licensing, digital product and business development strategies for Men's Journal, SLAM Magazine, Surfer Magazine, Dewtour, Shutterbug, Snowboarder, TransWorld Skateboarding, Baseball America among other high profile brands. Kris earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA from Chapman University

Charity Huff

CEO, January Spring

Charity Huff is CEO of January Spring, a digital marketing & advertising agency that partners with niche media companies to make the most of digital. January Spring helps publishers grow their digital audience and subscribers through social media, e-newsletters and website redesigns. As a natural extension of that work, the agency also provides the very best digital and social solutions these publishers can bring to their advertisers. Prior to starting January Spring with her partner, Shannon McBride, Charity built the advertising analytics platform, Tru Measure, widely used by the US newspaper publishing industry. That business was acquired by McClatchy in 2013.

Jeson Jackson

Marketing & Customer Experience Manager, Education Week

Jeson Jackson is an award-winning, customer-focused marketer who’s spent the last 10 years finding innovative ways to successfully engage audiences, create highly relevant customer experiences, and build brand loyalty. Jeson currently leads a variety of B2C and B2B marketing and brand strategy efforts that drive revenue across multiple business lines for Education Week, an expert source of news, opinion, research, analysis, and events. Jeson holds an MBA from Colorado Tech, a B.A. from Hampton University, and resides in Montgomery County, MD with his wife and two young sons.

Donna Jefferson

CEO, Chesapeake Family Life

Donna Jefferson is the founder and CEO of Chesapeake Family Life, a media company focused health, education and the parenting of children birth through age 18. Celebrating 30 years in 2020.

Chris Keating

EVP - Conferences, Winsight

Chris Keating joined Winsight in August 2015, as Chief Brand Office of a group with 4 print and digital brands serving the restaurant and convenience retailing industry. He came from Penton, where he VP-Market Leader of the Food & Restaurant Group. Before that, he spent 19 years in technology media, 17 at UBM. He served in a variety of management roles in the database, computer security and telecom markets. He launched two database magazines, a call center trade show, and a computer security conference in Singapore. In 2003, he was selected by min magazine as Editor’s Choice for the Most Intriguing Person in B2B. He’s still not sure what that means. And in 2008 he was a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, where he was stymied by a food question. Chris graduated from Fairfield University, and lives in Rockland County, N.Y.

Rob Keenan

President, Keenan Media

Robert Keenan is the president of Keenan Media, LLC, a consultancy firm providing digital, content and marketing services to brands and agencies. He previously served as Vice President of Media Integration at Edgell Communications, a BtoB media company based in Randolph, NJ. Rob is also the head of Edgell Mobile Services, which develops mobile applications for conferences/events, hotels, restaurants, and corporations.

Angela Kornegor

Executive Director, MedLearn Media, Inc.

Angela Kornegor is the Executive Director for MedLearn Media, Inc, a nationally recognized healthcare publishing and media firm specializing in all aspects of coding, compliance, reimbursement and revenue cycle. For the past 17 years, Angela has served in numerous leadership positions within operational management, product development, marketing and sales. She currently leads the strategic direction of the organization by taking vision and making it a reality through sound strategic development. She led a successful spin-off and transitioned the organization to a subscription-based revenue model that has benefited customers with the convenience of auto-renewals while providing unlimited access to high-value content for a low ongoing investment. The shift in the revenue model has allowed the organization to scale with confidence, with predicable revenue and deeper relationships with their customer base.

Leslie Laredo

President, Laredo Group and Academy of Digital Media

Leslie Laredo has been a pioneer and innovator with more than 30 years in the digital media industry. Leslie founded The Laredo Group in 1996 and its Academy of Digital Media training division in 2015. Leslie has been instrumental in changing the foundation of the advertising business and dramatically improving the knowledge and skills of media and marketing professionals. She advises publishers on how to monetize all their publishing assets, and develop and sell high-value sponsorship programs for virtual events and webinars. Leslie has consulted with start-ups, Fortune 500 companies, small to large advertising agencies, and multi-brand media publishers. Leslie has a Bachelor’s Degree from Cornell, and was on the board of Breastcancer.org for 6 years, helping them raise over $2 million.

David Leach

Group Publisher , Aviation International News

Dan McCarthy

CEO, Dodge Data and Analytics

Daniel R. McCarthy is President & CEO of Dodge Data & Analytics, North America’s leading provider of commercial construction project data, market forecasting, analytics services and workflow integration solutions for the construction industry. Dan is an experienced CEO, having led growth transformations at multiple business-to-business and business-to-consumer firms that operated in the data, information, paid content and marketing services sectors. He believes that intense customer focus leads to growth, and that strong leadership teams and clear strategies drive highly-engaged and creatively-motivated workforces. Prior to Dodge, Dan led the transformation of Taunton Press, a leading provider of content to the home building, green building, woodworking and crafts markets, to a digitally-driven membership and product company. Taunton created unique opportunities for demand generation and market access to leading companies in the building industry. Dan is also the Principal of Gallarus Ventures, LLC, a business development firm focused on sustainable and ethical business concepts. Gallarus currently operates TAMBRA: sea + botanicals (www.tambraskincare) and KAHLO Collective (www.kahlocollective.com)

Shawn McCarthy

VP of Operations and General Manager , Endeavor Business Media

Amanda McMaster

Managing Director, SIPA, SIIA

Amanda Whipkey McMaster joined SIIA as SIPA's managing director in the fall of 2019, where she strives to advance the interests of specialized publishers and information providers. She most recently led the strategic planning and content curation for CES® and CES Asia conference programs at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,200 consumer technology companies. Amanda brings over two decades of programming, events and media experience, consulting for major brands like NPR, and serving in leadership roles at Atlantic Media and Harvard University. Amanda is a recipient of Dealerscope Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 award and holds a BA in English and Art History from The College of William and Mary.

Paul Miller

CEO, Questex

As Chief Executive Officer of Questex, Paul is responsible for shaping the Company’s growth strategy and enhancing its offerings to better serve its customers as a next-generation Information Services Company. Paul will drive Questex’s franchises in its core markets – Beauty and Wellness, Travel, Hospitality, Pharma and Technology. He will also invest in activities including acquisitions to advance Questex’s leadership positions in its core markets and will explore expansion into new market segments that have attractive growth characteristics. A visionary leader with a keen ability and track record of growing businesses, Paul has a passion for creating winning cultures and high performing teams. Paul has led and grown businesses with revenues ranging from $30 to $250 million in both privately and publicly held companies.

Stephen Morgan

Managing Director, Vogue Business

Stephen Morgan oversees all commercial, editorial and data and insights activities across Vogue Business at Condé Nast. Prior to Condé Nast, Stephen held senior leadership positions at WGSN (trend forecasting), CEB now Gartner (management consulting), Stylus (consumer insights) and Econsultancy (digital marketing research).

Jonathan Murray

EVP & CTO, Digital Prism Advisors

Jonathan Murray, EVP/ CTO. Jonathan has a demonstrated track record of successfully helping clients understand and address the complex factors at play in an accelerating global digital transformation. Jonathan was most recently engaged as interim CTO and Head of Technology at The New York Times. Prior to this he was Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at Warner Music Group. He is a published author and associate researcher with the University of California Berkeley’s Roundtable on the International Economy where he focuses on the impact of emerging technologies on social and economic development.

Janice Oliva

President, ISE Magazine and ISE EXPO

Oliva purchased her family’s publishing company, Practical Communications, Inc. (PCI) in 2016. Since joining them in 2002 she’s had multiple rolls within PCI as SPV including new business development, assistant editor, corporate divestures and product management. Oliva began her publishing career in sales with a city and regional magazine, Mpls./St. Paul Magazine, sales management at The Aberdeen Group and launched a publication at Faulkner & Gray, later bought by Thompson Financial. Oliva holds a B.A. in Communications and Media Studies from the University of Iowa.

Tim O'Malley

CEO, Ateema Media & Marketing

Tim is a 25-year veteran of the media and marketing industries, who has had an award winning career in sales and marketing at Tribune Company, Times Mirror and Where Magazine. Additionally, before embarking on his own business endeavors, Mr. O’Malley was a Senior Vice President at online travel marketing company, TravelCLICK. While there, he created a new division of the company dedicated to building a digital marketing network for travel. In 2002, alongside his business partner Mike Magnusson, he started a Chicago based visitor-marketing company called Concierge Preferred. In 2011, Tim founded Social Media Beast, a Chicago based digital marketing agency which he sold in 2017. In early 2019, Tim changed the name of Concierge Preferred to Ateema Media & Marketing as a better umbrella to house meeting and event planner oriented products including the Hospitality & Tourism Summit, The Planner Master Class Series and PlannerPalooza! Mr. O’Malley has served on a number of civic boards, including the Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago, Chicago 2016, Choose Chicago and the Magnificent Mile Association. He also served on the board of St. Laurence High School where he co-founded the school’s Leadership Program. He is founder and President of “One for the Kids” charities.

Gemma Postlethwaite

CEO, arizent

Gemma Postlethwaite became CEO of arizent (formerly SourceMedia) in April of 2018. Prior to joining arizent, Gemma was CEO of PIRA Energy Group where she led a major transformation of the company and established PIRA as the leading integrated, research and data provider to the global energy markets. In 2016 Gemma led the sale of PIRA Energy Group to S&P Global. Postlethwaite has spent several years in leadership roles in the business information sector. Prior to joining PIRA Energy Group, she was SVP, Strategy and Operations at Altegrity, a global provider of risk and compliance solutions; and Chief Product Officer and President of Infogroup’s SMB business unit. She also spent eight years at Thomson Reuters in leadership positions spanning product and commercial management and led the channel partnership business for the Investment and Advisory Division.

Frank Salatto

Vice President and General Manager, Marketing and Communications, Government Executive Media Group

Frank joined Government Executive Media Group (GEMG) in 2017 and today serves as Vice President and General Manager, Marketing and Communications. In his role, he oversees brand, messaging, channel marketing, and GEMG’s custom content agency, Studio 2G. He started at GEMG as Director of Audience Marketing, running the company’s lead generation business and audience acquisition and retention efforts. Prior to joining the company, Frank spent the bulk of his career in the sports industry, most recently with the Washington Redskins, where he oversaw consumer marketing.

Angela Scalpello

Strategy Activator, Angela Scalpello

Angela Scalpello is an accomplished global Executive Coach to C-Suite executives, helping them unlock their leadership power to deliver on their strategic and personal objectives. She has helped CEOs transform their companies; provided insight to C-Suite execs in finance, marketing, HR, technology and security to align their individual goals with the company’s strategy; and also worked with teams to transform them into “high-performing” teams. Angela’s skill in working with leaders to drive significant business transformation, is delivered from her experiences across multi-million dollar service companies. She is seen as a trusted advisor and sounding board. Most recently Angela was Senior Vice President of Organizational and Learning Development for UBM, one of the largest global b2b event organizers in the world and now part of Informa. She has held other senior Human Resources positions for companies such as PR Newswire and UBM Tech (UBM plc companies), Ogilvy Public Relations and Ogilvy Advertising. Angela is passionate about helping individuals and teams develop the capabilities they and their organizations need to enhance their success. She has developed and facilitated leadership training sessions around the world and is a sought-after speaker on topics such as leading with emotional intelligence in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (“VUCA”) environment, employee engagement, career development and women in leadership.

Eric Shanfelt

Founding Partner , Nearview Media

Eric Shanfelt is the founding partner of Nearview Media, a consulting firm that helps publishers develop their digital revenue, audience and platform development. Eric is a 25-year digital media veteran and has been the Chief Digital Officer for several large media organizations.

Jim Sinkinson

Partner, Fired Up! Marketing

Jim Sinkinson founded Infocom Group in 1980 and sold it in 2015. The company produced online information services, newsletters, webinars, books, special reports and live professional development conferences for the corporate communications market. Sinkinson has won numerous awards for his work with publishers, including two Gold Awards from Newsletter on Newsletters, editorial awards from SIPA, and an Axel award for a personalized marketing package he created for Tom Peters’ On Achieving Excellence. In 2015, Sinkinson received a Gold Award from SIPA for his launch of a conference series. Sinkinson served as president of the Northern California chapter of the Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA) for 25 years, served on the SIPA board of directors for 12 years, and served as SIPA president in 1993-94. In June, 2001, Jim Sinkinson was named to the SIPA Hall of Fame. He has spoken on specialized information marketing and content at dozens of SIPA events and today, as a publishing consultant, continues to assist publishers worldwide. He offers expertise in copywriting, online marketing, editorial content, memberships, renewals and website development.

Matthew Skibinski

Author, General Manager, Lenfest Institute for Journalism, NewsGuard

I'm focused on the future of digital journalism. After working as a journalist in college, I was the first employee at Press+ (now Piano Media) where I helped launch digital subscription initiatives at 500+ news organizations, gathered data & best practices to help the industry generate reader revenue, and helped operate a successful startup through multiple investments and a $40MM acquisition. I've consulted with dozens of publishers for Empirical Media and The Lenfest Institute on digital strategy and digital subscription best practices and was coach and co-designer of Facebook Local Media Subscription Accelerator in 2018. I've served on the board of directors and in various operational roles for The Future Project, an amazing nonprofit. And last year I helped launch NewsGuard, a new initiative to fight misinformation and disinformation online by creating rating of news websites based on journalistic criteria by trained journalists. I lead operations for NewsGuard, managing resources, workflows, and cross-functional teams to offer thorough, rigorous, practical ratings to our users and clients in the form of easy-to-use products (like our free browser extension).

Lauren St. Clair

Group Marketing Director, Diversified Communications

Lauren is a passionate marketer with almost two decades of experience marketing everything from pizza, to energy drinks, to trade shows and many things in between. Starting out in traditional advertising she then pivoted into the world of Sports Marketing where she worked with brands such as Jeep, Red Bull and GoPro, creating and producing content marketing programs for 10+ years before moving into the B2B space. At Diversified, she heads up marketing for the Commercial Marine and Grocery Portfolios. If experience has taught her anything it is that good marketing is good marketing, no matter what the product and a passion for the end customer should lead every decision made along the journey.

Dorian Sullivan

Vice President Audience Development , National Association of Broadcasters

Catlin Sweeney

Group Marketing Director, Money-Media

Catlin is the Group Marketing Director at Money-Media. In this role, she oversees the team responsible for driving marketing efforts across Money-Media’s suite of products. Catlin joined Money-Media in June 2013 as the Research Team Captain and managed the off-site marketing research team. Catlin worked as a Marketing Associate from 2014–2016, executing marketing campaigns for numerous Money-Media publications, including Ignites, Ignites Asia, Ignites Europe, and Ignites Research.

Mary Tangen

Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, Agriculture , DTN

Mary Tangen is the vice president of agriculture strategic initiatives at DTN. In this role, she oversees the strategy development for DTN to ensure that the company’s digital and precision agriculture solutions support producer, agribusiness and media customers. She works closely with other strategic leaders within DTN to connect insights and solutions to the company’s more than two million global customers who operate across agriculture, energy, financial and weather-sensitive industries. Mary has been with DTN for more than 15 years and has a wealth of knowledge and first-hand experience in agriculture. She also is well-known for her ability to leverage data and insights with customers to help them make decisions that minimize risk and protect their bottom line.

Tony Ulwick

Founder & CEO, Strategyn

Tony is the pioneer of Jobs-to-be-Done Theory, the inventor of the Outcome-Driven Innovation® (ODI) process, and the founder of Strategyn — a leading strategy and innovation consulting firm. Tony has applied his ODI process at many of the world’s leading companies and across nearly all industries to inform breakthrough innovations—achieving a success rate that is 5 times better than the industry average. Philip Kotler calls Tony “the Deming of innovation” and credits him with bringing predictability to innovation. Published in Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review, Tony is also the author of 2 best sellers: What Customers Want and JOBS TO BE DONE: Theory to Practice.

Tony Uphoff

President and CEO, Thomas

Tony Uphoff is President and CEO of Thomas. He previously was CEO of Business.com; the leading online destination that over 30 million, small-to-medium business executives rely on to acquire the knowledge, products and services they need to run and grow their businesses. He is a uniquely accomplished operating executive with an unparalleled track record of building, growing and transforming media and marketing businesses. He has been a leader in media innovation and transformation for the last 20 years. Before joining Business.com in 2013, he was CEO of UBM TechWeb, where he led the transformation of a declining $125M print-centric business into a fast-growing $225M digital media, live event and marketing services powerhouse. Prior to that, Uphoff was founding CEO of Beliefnet, an Internet startup that was sold to News Corporation in 2007. He served as President of VNU Media’s Entertainment Group and Publisher of The Hollywood Reporter, growing the business to $100M in revenue and delivering the 3 largest years in The Hollywood Reporter’s 75 year history. Uphoff was Publisher of InformationWeek in the mid-90′s, growing revenues from $15M to over $150M and into the largest brand in the history of B2B media. Uphoff also served in several key management positions at Ziff-Davis during the company’s rapid growth in the early 1990′s. Uphoff was named “Folio Forty C-Level Visionary” by Folio Magazine in 2011 and is regularly named in the Top 100 business media execs by B2B Magazine. He was named “Top Media Innovator” by Mins B2B in 2009. Uphoff is acknowledged as an industry expert on media, marketing and technology and serves as a regular speaker at industry conferences and leading business schools. Uphoff serves on the boards of NTN Buzztime, the HIMSS Media Group and as a Trustee of Linfield College. He also serves as a Business Mentor at Mucker Labs Accelerator and on the advisory boards of the data company Connotate and the Internet radio company Jelli.

Alix Vance

CEO, AIP Publishing

AnnMarie Willis

CEO, Leverage Lab