Trade Show Veteran Cindy Sample Named New Head of NAMM's Events

May 27, 2013

The National Association of Music Merchants recently named Cindy Sample director of Trade Show Operations, overseeing the association’s events.

Sample previously held the position as operations director for Nielsen Expositions, where she worked on shows such as Outdoor Retailer and ASD Las Vegas.

"It is critically important to us that our members have an amazing experience at NAMM's trade events," said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM.

He added, "Cindy's reputation as a creative, innovative and visionary professional, as well as her 18 years of trade show operations experience will bring real value to our global membership and the industry."

Sample replaces Kevin Johnstone, who worked at NAMM for 18 years and now runs his own consulting firm, KJ Event Support.

In her new position, Sample will oversee the production and implementation of the annual NAMM shows, including daily operations, along with negotiating operational contracts and liaising with host cities and venues.

"I am very excited to join NAMM. The NAMM Show is such a well-established event of incredibly charismatic music professionals and I'm so grateful to be a part of it," Sample said.

She added, "I look forward to this opportunity to help support the future of the industry through NAMM trade shows and events with continued innovation, process improvements, and exciting new events like the TEC Awards. My focus will be to help bring the industry a show that they absolutely cannot miss."

The NAMM Show was ranked No. 33 on the 2012 TSNN Top 250 Trade Show list and is held annually in Anaheim.

A resident of Southern California, Sample will be based out of NAMM's Carlsbad, Calif., headquarters. She also will oversee the Summer NAMM Show, held annually in Nashville, Tenn.

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