Autumn brought a busy time with companies adding sales, marketing, operations and executive positions to their employee rosters.

Shepard Exposition Services added of two new national sales managers to help support its expanding business in the Orlando and Las Vegas markets. Alex Shelton will be based in Shepard’s Las Vegas branch and Tony Diehl in their Orlando branch.

Richard Maples, Shepard’s executive vice president of sales, said, “As we continue to grow our business, it’s critical that we maintain our focus on providing the best customer service, experience and success in the industry. We do this by attracting and hiring associates who embody the same values and commitment to service upon which Shepard is built. In short, we only hire the best."

Ricardo Ortiz also was promoted to vice president of sales for its western region. A long-time Shepard Associate, Ortiz has been tapped to lead the Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix sales teams.

DoubleDutch has named Annie Tsai, former chief customer officer at Intuit’s Demandforce, as head of customer experience. In this role, Tsai will help DoubleDutch ensure that their clients are better equipped to maximize their event ROI through the use of DoubleDutch’s data-driven technology, particularly as the company’s growth accelerates dramatically.

Convention Data Services (CDS), the authority in registration and lead management services, has named Christine Cullity as its new director of marketing. Cullity brings to CDS over 14 years of experience in strategic marketing, corporate branding and communications as well as tradeshow logistics. In her new role, Cullity will lead the company’s marketing initiatives and work closely with the leadership team to develop and execute the strategic mission and vision.

“We are delighted to welcome Christine to our CDS team. Her marketing experience and leadership skills will be a great asset to us as we continue to develop and provide innovative solutions for our clients. She is customer service-oriented which is a great fit for our company culture,” said John Kimball, president and CEO, Convention Data Services.

Team San Jose recently hired sales manager Paul Sprinkmann to drive sales efforts for the busy California corporate and association market segments. He will be responsible for booking California-based meeting groups of 200 room nights or less, with a special focus on the Bay Area and Northern California.

“With the robust local economy and significant renovations to area hotels, corporate and association meeting planners are seeing the benefits of bringing their meetings and events to San Jose,” said Diana Ponton, Team San Jose’s vice president of sales and marketing. “Paul Sprinkmann’s CVB background and versatile industry experience in sales, tourism and travel and leisure, make him an excellent addition to advance our sales goals and strategies.”

Display Group, a leading custom display and event rental and services company, has hired Michael Miner as chief sales officer.   The company has posted 15-20 percent growth for the past several years, and is expanding their presence in the vibrant metro-Detroit marketplace.   Miner brings 22 years of rental industry experience, and assisted in growing Classic Party Rentals from a regional operation to a 35-store national footprint. 

Founder and president of Display Group, Rick Portwood, said “We are pleased to be adding a proven industry leader to bring even greater customer service and growth focus to our company.”