As summer turns to fall, event-related companies, CVBs and venues are continuing to build their teams, appoint new leaders and reward hard-working staff to elevated roles. Check them out!

Spiro

Spiro, the brand experience agency within the GES Collective, appointed David Kuznick as its global chief financial officer, effective immediately. As an integral part of Spiro’s executive leadership and finance teams, Kuznick will aid the company’s rapid disruption response and strong future growth trajectory. 

Before joining Spiro, Kuznick held executive roles at MC2 as COO and at FoodPrep Solutions, where he served as COO and board director. With his extensive executive leadership experience, integrating and running global agencies within the industry, combined with his time spent as a partner at Deloitte, Kuznick brings a diverse set of skills and expertise to the Spiro team. 

Orange County Convention Center  

The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) promoted Eric Blanc, Sr. to deputy director, responsible for overseeing the venue’s sales, marketing, event management and exhibitor services divisions. 

Blanc joined the Orlando, Fla.-based convention center in 2019, when he was hired as the assistant director of sales, and in February 2020, he was promoted to senior director of sales. 

Prior to joining the OCCC’s sales division, Blanc served as director of sales, marketing and convention services for the Tampa Convention Center, where he spent 15 years of his career. His professional background spans various top organizations in the meetings and convention industry, including Freeman and GES, where he was a national sales manager for both companies. 

Freeman

Cameron Geiger has joined Freeman as executive vice president of business operations and digital transformation to lead the company’s supply chain, digital transformation and sales enablement teams. According to Freeman officials, the newly-created executive leadership role is designed to drive the organization’s global supply chain and sourcing as well as architect the systems and processes required for digital transformation.  

A former U.S. Marine Corps captain and helicopter pilot, Geiger brings more than 30 years of experience in operations, supply chain and technology roles in global organizations to his new role, including at TriMark and Walmart. In his nearly 20 years at Walmart, Geiger held leadership roles in sourcing, inventory management, operations and IT before being named senior vice president of supply chain services. Most recently, he served as COO for Soli Organic. 

Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau  

Following a nationwide search, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) recently appointed DEI advocacy expert Sheila Alexander-Reid as executive director of PHL Diversity, a key business development division of the PHLCVB. A champion for marginalized communities who brings decades of leadership experience in diversity, equity and inclusion, she will oversee PHL Diversity’s efforts to promote the city as an inclusive, welcoming destination for meetings and conventions. 

In her new role, Alexander-Reid is responsible for leading implementation and strategy to develop and synergize relationships with industry and government stakeholders across the city’s diverse community. She will lead PHL Diversity with the goal of increasing the net convention, meetings and tourism brand value of Philadelphia while also advancing opportunities for growth of local businesses as a result of increased event and visitation to the city.

Most recently, Alexander-Reid served as senior vice president, business development at BiasSync, a firm that helps organizations more effectively assess and manage unconscious bias in the work environment. She also founded two agencies with which she remains active: Branding4Change, a boutique branding and training agency focused on DEI, and Women in the Life, a social justice non-profit organization that creates safe spaces and social gatherings for lesbians of color. 

In 2015, Alexander-Reid was appointed by Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser as executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Affairs, a role in which she advised the mayor on the implementation of discrimination protections and diversity and inclusion policies that supported D.C.’s LGBTQ residents. Along with being instrumental in the city’s successful fight for marriage equality, she also served on a policy committee advising the Biden-Harris campaign and often collaborated with Destination DC to help attract diverse conventions. 

Cobb Galleria Centre and Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre 

Northwest Atlanta’s Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority has appointed Shawn Stinson as director of food and beverage at the Cobb Galleria Centre and Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Bringing 25 years of experience in venue and food and beverage management to her new role, she is responsible for providing strategic leadership and execution of the company’s food and beverage concepts. 

A Michigan native, Stinson began her career in country club management and spent 12 years with the Academy of Medicine at Georgia Tech. She most recently served as general manager of the Proof of the Pudding catering company at Savanna Hall at Zoo Atlanta. 

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