Experient News Archives: May 2008

June 26, 2008

Experient Fills Multiple Meeting Management Positions

Tammy Port	Tim LaFleur	Brenda Houlihan

Twinsburg, OH – Experient, the source for integrated meeting and event solutions, announces the addition of three new members to the Experient meeting management teams.Tammy Port has been named account manager in the Experient Express department, Tim LaFleur recently accepted the role of Experient meeting and event coordinator and Brenda Houlihan has been named senior meeting and event manager. 

Port joins the Experient Express team after spending more than a year in the Experient research department. She has a background in customer service and event management, including positions with Kent State University, MBNA America and Aramark. Port is a graduate of Kent State University and is based in Experient’s Twinsburg, OH office. 

LaFleur comes to the Experient meeting planning department after more than 2 years in the Experient Online (EOL) department. Included in his background is special event planning at Six Flags, Ohio. He has a degree from Malone College in Ohio and a strong knowledge of web design, registration and housing management. LaFleur is based in Experient’s Twinsburg, OH office. 

Houlihan is a certified meeting planner (CMP), based in Experient’s Boston office. She has been with the company more than 10 years and has more than 20 years working in the event industry, overall, holding previous meeting planning and operations positions at Interleaf Software and COMDEX. Houlihan has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Worcester State College in Worcester, MA and a master’s degree, with a concentration in marketing, from Anna Maria College in Paxton, MA. She is active in Meeting Professionals International (MPI), American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the International Special Events Society (ISIS). 

Experient is the source for integrated meeting and event solutions including full-service, customized registration, housing, event management and lead retrieval services. With a vision to perfect the event experience and a mission to help bring people together to drive business, this year Experient will create memorable event experiences at more than 3,300 events attended by more than 2.8 million people who will occupy more than 5.5 million room nights.

Visit us at www.experient-inc.com. For media kit information and available staff portraits, visit www.experient-inc.com/press. 

June 19, 2008

Experient Grows Strategic Account Management Team

Twinsburg, OH – Experient, the source for integrated meeting and event solutions, announces the addition of three members to the Experient sales and account management team. Lyra Hankins, Yurii Land and Chris Jensen are the newest Experient strategic account managers.

Hankins comes to Experient with more than a decade of corporate marketing and event experience. Her previous positions include communications and marketing roles at Ventyx, Convera and Systar. Hankins has a master’s degree in business administration with a focus on marketing and management information systems from Babson College. She is based in Experient’s Atlanta office.

Land has been with Experient since 2003, beginning as a meeting and event manager before moving to account manager and now to his strategic account manager role. He is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) with almost a decade of experience in the event industry, including operations and sales positions. After earning a degree in business administration and international business at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, he began his professional career in operations at American Tours International then moved into sales and event coordination at Access Destination Services. He is based in Experient’s Denver office and is active with the local chapter of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

Jensen has been with Experient since 1997. He began as an onsite specialist and was promoted to manager of onsite operations. In 2005 Jensen became vice president of national accounts, managing a team responsible for 30 events. Jensen has a degree from Shepard College in Sheperdstown, WV and is a member of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE). He is based in the company’s Frederick, Maryland office.

Experient is the source for integrated meeting and event solutions including full-service, customized registration, housing, event management and lead retrieval services. With a vision to perfect the event experience and a mission to help bring people together to drive business, this year Experient will create memorable event experiences at more than 3,300 events attended by more than 2.8 million people who will occupy more than 5.5 million room nights. Visit us at www.experient-inc.com. For additional media kit information and available pictures, visit www.experient-inc.com/press.

June 10, 2008

Experient White Paper Reveals Attendance Marketing Insights

Twinsburg, OH – Experient, the source for integrated meeting and event solutions, has written and published an in-depth analysis of year-round attendance marketing using customer relationship management principles and data mining and management technologies.

“Using Relationship Management to Optimize Attendee Marketing and Grow Event Revenue,” a new white paper from Experient, gives show organizers a unique insight into the strategies for developing a successful, quantifiable year-round event attendance marketing program.

This white paper investigates the challenges of attendee acquisition and details strategies that will allow any show organizer to increase qualified attendance with targeted marketing to prospects and exhibitors.

The key is using the available database and marketing tools to track actual buying behaviors and truly understand attendees and the prospect universe.

According to Experient’s white paper:
“By mining data, organizers can find:

• Which  exhibitors received the most visitors and who they were
• What  percentage of attendees and which individuals are annual or regular  attendees,  or are periodic  participants
• What  speakers or topics drew the biggest audience
• What  most interested past attendees

• Which  exhibiting companies attract the highest number of attendees  
• What  topics or products, if given special promotion, could help attract returning  or even new attendees
• Which  individuals should see specifically targeted promotional information as a  major incentive to register this year
• How  this information can be used in marketing to get similar individuals to  register”
  

June 3, 2008

Experient CEO Ed Shartar Steps Down

Twinsburg, OH – Ed Shartar, President and CEO of Experient since 2004, will be stepping down as President and Chief Executive Officer as of June 6, 2008. 

Under Shartar’s leadership, Experient became a truly unified organization bound by a common strategy and vision. During his four-year tenure, Experient undertook a successful re-branding effort, extended its geographic footprint, aligned its internal structure to support an integrated approach to service, grew revenues, enhanced its presence in the corporate market space and successfully entered the government market. 

“As a result of Ed’s commitment and passion, we are well on the way to making our vision a reality,” said Andrew W. Strauss, Chairman of the Board for Experient and partner with The Riverside Company, Experient’s majority shareholder.

“Ed was initially signed to a four year contract, which was up for renewal, and with the strategy work behind us, Ed and the Board mutually agreed that the future focus of the CEO role needs to shift toward execution and operational excellence,” said Strauss.  “And, we also agreed that the CEO should reside in one of our major operating offices.  Because of Ed’s strong ties to the Atlanta community, he did not want to relocate his family.  For these reasons, the mutual decision was made not to extend Ed’s contract.”

Riverside is firmly committed to the vision and employees of Experient.  Presently, the Board is looking outside the company for a CEO whose primary charge will be to aggressively drive the continued execution of Experient’s strategy – a plan the Board continues to support.  Strauss affirms that no radical adjustment to defined tactics or initiatives will occur in 2008.

The Experient board has appointed George S. Benson to serve as Interim President and CEO while the search is conducted.  George is an operating partner at Riverside and has held a number of CEO positions in a variety of business situations including transitional and growth. As interim CEO, Benson’s focus will be on accelerating the pace of full and successful execution of the company’s strategy. 

Experient is the source for integrated meeting and event solutions including full-service, customized registration, housing, event management and lead retrieval services. With a vision to perfect the event experience and a mission to help bring people together to drive business, this year Experient will create memorable event experiences for its clients at more than 3,300 events attended by more than 2.8 million people who will occupy more than 5.5 million room nights. Visit us at www.experient-inc.com.

Downloadable portraits of Shartar, Strauss and Benson may be found at www.experient-inc.com/press