Peter J. Censky
Executive Director, Water Quality Association In 1987, Peter was appointed Executive Director of this international trade association of 2,300 member companies that manufacture and sell point-of-use and point-of-entry water treatment equipment. These companies serve residential and commercial markets. Peter brought an extensive background in policy and legal strategies. He previously served as vice president of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, an association of over 100 hospitals in Chicago, where he was in charge of Government Relations. Prior to that, he was Director of the Division of Business Services in the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. His division was responsible for attracting businesses to Illinois and assisting existing businesses in dealing with government agencies, finding financing and developing new markets. Earlier he had been Special Assistant to Governor James Thompson for Small Business Affairs. He has also worked as a lobbyist for the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. Peter is a member of the Board of Directors of Aqua Europa, a European Trade Association headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, and the Board of the Council of Manufacturing Associations (part of NAM). He is a member of Technical Committee 164 of Center for European Normalization dealing with water standards in Europe.
 Roger J. Dow
President and CEO, U.S. Travel Association
U.S. Travel is the national umbrella organization representing all segments of the $770 billion U.S. travel and tourism industry. Roger has served in his present position since 2005. Prior to joining U.S. Travel, Dow rose through the ranks at Marriott International in a career that began as a summer lifeguard at the sixth Marriott hotel and spanned 34 years to become Senior Vice President, Global and Field Sales, leading Marriott's 10,000-person worldwide sales organization. His many accomplishments for the company included development of Marriott Rewards, the world's leading frequent traveler program. In May 2009, Roger was presented an honorary degree from Johnson & Wales University (Doctor of Business Administration in Hospitality Management) and named the William R. Tiefel Professorial Chair in the university's Hospitality College. He was recognized by his peers as the 2008 Association Executive of the Year. He has been named to the Convention Industry Council's prestigious Hall of Leaders, and was recognized by Meeting Professionals International (MPI) as one of the industry's top leaders. Roger is a frequent speaker and author on leadership, sales, marketing and management. He serves, or has served, on the Board of Directors of ASAE, PCMA, ASAE Foundation, MPI Foundation (Chairman), GWSAE, the Travel Institute, RE/MAX International and on the Advisory Boards of Arizona State University's Center for Services Leadership and the University of Richmond Robins School of Business.
 David Etzler
CEO and Managing Partner, OutsourceWorld, LLC OutsourceWorld is the largest outsourcing company for conferences and exhibitions in the world. David brings more than 15 years of business development and international experience to the effort. In addition to being responsible for the overall strategy and execution of the OutsourceWorld business, he takes an active role in building relationships with companies and government agencies around the world. He has worked with the governments of Mauritius, India, China, Romania, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Malta, Hungary, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Australia, and Canada to name a few. In addition, through his role as CEO, David has established relationships with thousands of CIO’s and buyers of sourced services all over the world.
David’s work history includes founding BDI, an event-based business development agency where he was responsible for the overall operation of the business. In addition, he was an executive at Vitts Networks, Inc., a regional telecommunications company, where he was responsible for staffing and managing the entire sales team. Before Vitts, David worked for Qwest Communications where he was responsible for a $600M sales and business development division. Prior to Qwest, he worked at IDT where he helped this niche telecommunications firm grow and ultimately go public. David is a frequent speaker at events and government conferences.
 Wayne H. Jacobs
CEO & Director of Research, Jacobs Jenner & Kent Wayne leads an international marketing and marketing research company in the exhibition industry. He is a much-published author of research and international marketing studies with more than 25 years of experience in the design, data collection, analysis and presentation of qualitative and quantitative market research. He has conducted "state-of-the-industry" studies for clients such as Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum (ECEF) and the Consumer Electronics, Business Products, Manufacturing Technology, and Residential/Commercial Building Industries. Wayne is the author of the internationally-recognized annual "State of the Trade Show Industry Report - AttendTrend®." He also moderates approximately 200 focus groups per year and teaches classes on the use and practice of qualitative research. He is a market research advisor to the American Red Cross, and a member of the American Marketing Association, International Association of Exhibition and Events, and Marketing Research Association. Click here to learn more about Wayne Jacobs from |  |
 Sam Lippman
President and Founder, Integrated Show Management & Marketing Sam provides executive level consulting in strategic planning, marketing and management to the convention and exhibition industry. He is also a skilled facilitator for customer advisory groups and boards of director. Before launching his company, he was Vice President of the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC), producing megashows such as PRINT and GRAPH EXPO, as well as regional shows. Before GASC, he was Group Vice President of the Consumer Electronics Shows, managing CES winter and summer, and creating new shows such as High End Audio and CES Mexico. His first show management job was with the National Computer Conference from 1980 to 1984. He started his career with United Exposition Service Company (now GES), producing shows in Chicago, Detroit and New York City. Sam was presented an IAEE merit award for his contributions to education for the convention and exhibition industry. He is an international speaker, author and teacher, and is often quoted by the media. He earned his facilitator certificate from the A.C.Nielsen Burke Institute and is an adjunct lecturer on marketing and producing exhibitions at George Washington University. He is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara. Click here to learn more about Sam Lippman from | |
 Helen Marano
Director, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries Department of Commerce Helen heads the National Tourism Office for the U.S. on behalf of the Department of Commerce. Her organization is part of the International Trade Administration of the department. She oversees the International Tourism Promotion program for Commerce, policy and advocacy issues affecting tourism industries in the U.S., and the statistical center on international travel and tourism for the country, incorporating the economic impact and forecasting of international travel and trends. With more than 25 years experience in product and market development and research, Helen is also responsible for technical assistance to the industry in helping companies enter the international marketplace to increase exports and to encourage product and economic development in the United States. Prior to joining the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, Helen was the Director of Research and Policy and Planning for the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration (USTTA) where she performed similar duties. She was responsible for establishing the research department for the Orlando Convention and Visitors Bureau in Orlando, Florida, using her expertise and previous experience at the Gallup Organization.
 Roch Parayre, Ph.D.
Senior Partner, Decision Strategies International, Inc.
Roch is a consultant and educator in decision analysis, the psychology of decision making, scenario planning, creativity and strategy. He heads DSI's Blue Ocean Strategy engagements, having completed the qualification process administered by the Blue Ocean Strategy - Initiative Centre. His client list spans global industries including health care (Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca, Baxter Healthcare, Bristol Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, J&J, Medtronic, Mayo Clinic, Pfizer, Wyeth); information technology and telecommunications (3Com, Alcatel, EDS, Lucent Technologies, MCI, Microsoft, Progress Software, Texas Instruments); financial services (American Re-Insurance, Chubb, Investors Group, Liberty Mutual, Merrill Lynch, New York Life, PNC Bank, Selective Insurance, and numerous credit unions); aviation (American Airlines, Cessna), defense (Litton Industries, Lockheed Martin), retail and consumer goods & services and food (Aramark, Cargill, Coca Cola, CVS, Givaudan, SC Johnson), and energy (Citgo, Conoco Philips, Entergy, Marathon Oil).
As a Fellow at the Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, he teaches executives Management Studies. He was previously on the faculty at the Cox School of Business at SMU, where he won numerous MBA teaching awards. He holds a Ph.D. in business strategy from the University of British Columbia, a Master's degree in engineering-economic systems from Stanford University, and an undergraduate degree in operations research and mathematics magna cum laude from the University of Ottawa. His papers have been published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, the Journal of Banking and Finance, and Managerial and Decision Economics. He recently co-authored a chapter on Technology Assessment in Wharton on Managing Emerging Technologies.
 Kathleen Schmatz
President and CEO, Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA)
Kathleen was promoted to her current position on January 1, 2004, after serving as AAIA’s executive vice president. She is a nationally-recognized authority on the automotive aftermarket and is frequently interviewed by the media, appearing on the NBC "Today" Show, MSNBC and in The New York Times. As a result of her advocacy, Kathleen received the 2009 Women Who Advance Excellence in Associations Award by ASAE. In 2007, she received an honorary doctor of laws, honoris causa, from Northwood University. In 2006 she was named to the prestigious Committee of 100 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Also in 2006, she received the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network Woman of the Year. Kathleen is a Trustee of the Industry Fund and board members of the Aftermarket Foundation and the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality. She has served as an officer of the Auto International Association, the Automotive Communications Council and was founding president of the Car Care Council Women’s Board. She joined AAIA after 30 years with Babcox, a leader in aftermarket communication services
 Peter Weedfald
President, Gen One Ventures This company is a joint venture Peter helped initiate, develop and mature between GE (General Electric – 49% equity) and Tatung Corporation (51% equity). It architects, sells, markets and supports GE HDTV’s, set top boxes, projectors and displays across the globe under the GE logo. Peter heads functional sales and operational business areas of the company globally as well as all marketing, advertising creative and communications. Peter joined Circuit City in July 2006 as Senior Vice President, General Merchandise Manager for entertainment and content. In September 2006, he was promoted to CMO, overseeing all in-store and on-line marketing including CircuitCity.com as well as all forms of media advertising, creative, communications, store environments, research, philanthropy and various partnership programs. He led a team of 230 marketing professionals with an advertising budget exceeding $300 million dollars per year. Peter also created Circuit City’s “Firedog across America” philanthropy program raising and delivering hundreds of thousands of dollars for firefighters, police officers and their families across America. Before joining Circuit City, he served as SVP, Sales and Marketing, U.S. Consumer Electronics Division and North America CMO for Samsung Electronics America. During his tenure (2001 to 2006), Samsung Electronics became the fastest growing brand in North America five years in a row as measured by InterBrand and published in Business Weeks annual report. Peter also founded Samsung’s charitable efforts entitled “The Four Seasons of Hope”; www.FourSeasonsOfHope.com raised over $10 million to help children in North America. Peter has also held executive positions with ViewSonic Corporation and Ziff-Davis Publishing.
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