This summer, trade show and event organizers, media companies, and suppliers were blazing hot with team acquisitions and promotions, attracting experienced industry professionals and young talent alike as they gear up for a full-steam-ahead fall season. 

TSNN’s take on the biggest move in July: Joining Questex as vice president and market leader of its Wellness portfolio, Jess Tyler is responsible for overseeing eight trade shows, conferences and hosted buyer events, content and community development for the beauty, spa, and fitness industries. 

The big picture: Bringing an entrepreneurial mindset along with rapid growth expertise to the Questex team, Tyler previously served as senior vice president of Emerald and chief revenue and experience officer of MJBiz, a B2B media publication and trade show for the legal cannabis industry. Prior to that, she managed media and event teams at Access Intelligence.

Need to know: Trade shows and properties under her leadership include International Beauty Show New York ; International Beauty Show Las Vegas ; International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference New York ; International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference Las Vegas ; International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference Florida ; Spatec North America ; Sibec Americas ; Sibec EMEA; Spa Industry Association; American Spa; and American Salon. 

What she’s saying: “In the last five years, the world has shifted to a more holistic perspective of health and personal care. We have a unique opportunity to bring our world-renowned beauty, spa, and fitness brands closer together as we increase our focus on total wellness [and] Questex is well-positioned to continue to provide valuable networking, education, and curated experiences to these dynamic communities. I look forward to supporting the team and the wellness industry to drive growth.” 

Questex 

Integrated B2B media and information services company Questex also announced two other key hires.

As Questex’s new senior event director, Allison Cohen is focused on establishing an “intelligent meetings” strategy for its events and growing the company’s dedicated portfolio of one-on-one meetings and hosted buyer events. She joins Questex after running Sprout, a women-owned global IT service provider, and she also spent time as channel executive in the IT\channel at The Channel Company, where she focused on a modern hosted buyer model. 

Steve Johnston has been tapped as vice president, technology, tasked with enhancing Questex’s business technology strategy, including sales enablement, and overseeing AI initiatives and new opportunities. He joins Questex from Icon Parking, where he served as senior vice president of technology, and brings strategy, acquisition, and global expertise from his time at UBM plc. 

Visit Orlando

Hospitality and meetings industry veteran Lisa Messina is joining Visit Orlando as its new chief sales officer on Aug. 19. At the destination management organization (DMO), she will oversee several departments, including the meeting and convention sales and experience team, travel industry sales, membership, and supporting services. 

With a career spanning three decades in leadership roles at several leading meetings and events industry leading organizations, Messina most recently served as chief sales officer for the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA). Prior to that, she served as senior vice president of sales for Caesars Entertainment, where she led revenue strategy for the meetings and conventions segment. She previously held numerous sales leadership roles during her 16-year tenure with Hilton Worldwide and served as CMO for ConferenceDirect.  

Montgomery Group

Alexander Angus was recently appointed to the newly created role of COO for Montgomery Group, one of the UK’s largest independent event organizers. Along with focusing on the day-to-day operations of the group’s global divisions and departments, Angus will continue to oversee the company’s data and digital strategy. 

An employee of Montgomery Group for more than a decade, Angus recently served as the company’s managing director of Montgomery Africa, in which he was responsible for driving organic growth and establishing the company as the largest organizer of trade exhibitions in Africa, with events in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana. Besides spearheading the expansion of the Group’s trade exhibition portfolio in East and West Africa, Angus launched manufacturing event Propak West Africa in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2012, and established the Montgomery East Africa business in Kenya the same year. He will remain a board member for the Group’s African regions. 

Visit San Antonio  

Visit San Antonio recently announced updates to its core leadership and sales team. 

Twenty-five-year hospitality, travel and tourism veteran Mario Bass was appointed to the newly formed position of executive vice president and chief strategy officer, responsible for leading the DMO’s sales, experience, events, membership, and River Walk operations departments. Bass returns to Visit San Antonio after previously serving for more than five years, most recently as chief sales officer, after serving as COO of Visit Orlando since January 2023. In this role, he was responsible for oversight of internal operations, leading and implementing Visit Orlando’s strategic initiatives and annual business plans. 

Strategic sales leader and 25-year hospitality industry professional Tyler Orwig was promoted to senior vice president of group sales. He will continue overseeing a large part of the Visit San Antonio sales team, including the association, for-profit trade show, and sports markets, as well as help manage the entirety of the destination sales department, including the corporate market. An integral member of the Visit San Antonio team for more than 10 years, Orwig spent 15 years working with Hyatt Hotels in various properties across the U.S. 

World Pet Association

The World Pet Association (WPA), organizers of SUPERZOO and GROOM’D, hired conference education and management professional Christen Tye as its new content manager. Bringing more than a decade of expertise in trade show educational programming, she will oversee the shows’ educational programs, including recruiting and managing speakers, reviewing and selecting topic proposals, and curating a comprehensive educational content strategy. She will coordinate all aspects of the onsite event experience and work with WPA staff and key stakeholders to identify and address emerging industry trends. 

Tye comes to WPA from Informa Markets, where she worked for more than 10 years, most recently serving as education/conference manager for World of Concrete. 

Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau 

The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) recently welcomed a new team member and made two employee promotions.

Maddie DaMario has joined as director, Chicago area sales office, responsible for selling and marketing Atlanta as a trade show and group meetings destination with a specialized focus on the Midwest market. She comes to ACVB with more than 10 years of professional convention management experience, including destination marketing and sales, medical meeting planning, trade association planning, and hotel group sales. 

David McAuley was promoted to senior director, Washington, D.C. and Chicago area sales offices. In this expanded role, he will oversee sales initiatives in the CVB’s association markets. With a primary focus in Washington, D.C., he will collaborate with DaMario to further promote Atlanta with Chicago and Midwest customers. McAuley began his tenure with ACVB in 1997 as national sales manager based in Atlanta, and in 1999, relocated to Washington, D.C., where he was promoted to director and began representing Atlanta while overseeing the sales operations.

Clinton Coleman was promoted to national sales manager, responsible for selling and marketing Atlanta for group meetings utilizing 51-250 rooms on peak. He will also represent ACVB at trade shows and coordinate the participation of the organization’s partners. Coleman joined ACVB in 2023 as a sales coordinator.

Have some trade show industry people news to share? Please send announcements and high-resolution headshots to lisa.savas@informa.com.

Don’t miss any event-related news: Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter HERE, listen to our latest podcast HERE and engage with us on LinkedIn!