While the trade show industry tends to slow down during the dog days of summer, that hasn’t stopped event-related organizations from welcoming established industry professionals to their teams while rewarding hard-working staff with elevated titles and responsibilities. Check them out!

MAD Event Management 

Full-service event planning and management company MAD Event Management LLC (MAD) recently partnered with award-winning journalist Danica Tormohlen to drive content creation for UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry and the wider business events industry. Tormohlen is taking on the role as part of the strategic partnership with UFI that MAD announced in June.

Tormohlen will assist MAD and UFI in further developing and enhancing UFI member services to North American members in an effort to create stronger links between the North American exhibition industry and the global industry, and to grow UFI’s North American membership base. In her role, she will manage content development, analyze research for the region and connect with the industry community on-site at events.  

Tormohlen most recently served as content director, publisher and editor-in-chief for the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO) and prior to that, as editor-at-large for Trade Show Executive for 10 years. Before TSE, she worked as editor-in-chief and publisher of EXPO magazine.

The Toy Association 

The Toy Association has welcomed global toy safety expert and 28-year industry veteran Jos Huxley as senior vice president of technical affairs. In his new role, Huxley will lead the continuing development of technical policies and strategies relating to toy safety, environmental sustainability, supply chain issues, factory processes and other related matters, as well as acting as a guide for member companies navigating these and other issues.

Huxley joins The Toy Association after more than 28 years at Hasbro, acting most recently as its principal QA engineer and regulatory specialist. He began his career at Hasbro in 1994 as a reliability engineer in the U.K. office, moving over to the corporate headquarters based in Rhode Island in 1998 and eventually assuming the role of principal QA engineer. 

Over the next six to nine months, Huxley will work alongside Alan Kaufman, who recently transitioned to the role of senior advisor of technical affairs and who will then retire after more than 11 years with The Toy Association and more than 40 years in the toy industry. 

ConvExx

Independent trade show and event management company, ConvExx, has promoted Regina Clark from sales administrator to director, exhibitor services, responsible for all exhibitor services, including sales administration, monitoring and validating booth assignments and closing of accounts receivables. 

Clark began her career with ConvExx in 2003 as a sales department assistant. She works closely with the sales teams for the SHOT Show and Sweets & Snacks Expo, as well as the ConvExx internal teams for Mobile Tech Expo and the Southern Detailers Conference, and has interacted with thousands of exhibitors, helping them succeed and ensuring they have a positive show experience. Prior to ConvExx, Clark worked in human resources. 

Visit Albuquerque 

Visit Albuquerque has welcomed 20-year association leadership veteran Scott Craighead as its new vice president of sales, services and sports, effective Aug. 22. Craighead comes to Albuquerque most recently from the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), where he served as vice president of exhibitions and events as well as the vice president for the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR). He brings extensive experience working with destination marketing organizations and has implemented many event- and marketplace-related initiatives.  

In his new role at Visit Albuquerque, Craighead will oversee the sales, services and sports Division, responsible for generating qualified meeting, convention, sports and group tour leads that are distributed to Albuquerque’s hotels, the Albuquerque Convention Center and area event and sports facilities. 

As part of his 14-year career with IAEE, Craighead was responsible for budgeting, show development and design, technology solutions, personnel, contracts and overall logistics for IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition Expo! Expo! and other IAEE-produced events. He previously handled logistics and exhibit sales for Global Semiconductor Alliance events and exhibitions held in the U.S., Europe and Asia. 

American Pet Products Association 

The American Pet Products Association (APPA), co-producer of Global Pet Expo, has made five staff promotions across its trade show operations and booth and membership sales departments. The announcement comes as Peter Scott prepares to take the helm as the organization’s new CEO Aug. 15.  

• Kate Stewart has been promoted to vice president, trade show management, responsible for overseeing the Global Pet Expo trade show team, leading day-to-day operations and working closely with the show’s general service contractor. Since joining APPA in 2011, Stewart has received a Certification in Exhibition Management and recognition from IAEE, for which she serves on the NY IAEE Local Chapter Board and IAEE National Young Professionals Committee.
• Chris Bonifati has been named senior director, trade show development. Bonifati joined APPA in 2015 and is now responsible for overseeing trade show operations, including facilitating attendee registration, expanding programming and maintaining the Global Pet Expo brand. An expert in data analytics using a data-driven approach to drive APPA forward, Bonifati has completed a Certification in Exhibition Management and is a member of the IAEE Young Professionals Committee. 
• Tracey Wilson has been promoted to senior director, trade show planning and operations, responsible for Global Pet Expo’s vendor and on-site staffing management, as well as coordinating meeting rooms for the Global Learning Series and exhibitors and overseeing the New Products Showcase. An employee of APPA since 2000, Wilson is certified in Exhibition Management and is a member of IAEE, ASAE and PCMA.
• Karyn Bennitt is now director, booth and membership sales, responsible for spearheading APPA’s membership growth through acquisition, engagement and retention efforts. Since joining APPA in 2008, Bennitt has developed its robust education program and other key membership benefits. 
• Elizabeth Valencia has been appointed manager, exhibitor and attendee services. A member of the APPA team since 2019, she has contributed to advancing the organization’s trade show team and is working towards earning a certification in Google Analytics. In her new role, Valencia will assist with Global Pet Expo’s recruitment and retention of buyers and exhibitors, booth sales and assignments, and buyer and exhibitor services.

Visit KC 

Visit KC, the chief hospitality sales and marketing organization for the Kansas City region, has welcomed 13-year hospitality and sales professional Kathryn “Kat” Taylor as national account manager. Working within the organization’s convention sales team, she will be based in and responsible for the Washington, D.C., market.

Taylor comes to Visit KC after more than eight years with Visit Baltimore, most recently serving as a senior national sales manager for the Midwest territory, a role in which she worked collaboratively with the Baltimore Convention Center and the hotel community to secure meetings with significant impact for her community. Prior to Visit Baltimore, Taylor spent five years with Hyatt Hotels.

American Rental Association 

The American Rental Association (ARA), producers of the ARA Show, has named Erika Singleton its new workforce development manager. With a background in human resources management, employee training and program marketing, she will work to enhance the association’s current workplace initiatives as well as address the industry labor shortage by promoting careers in the equipment and event rental industry.   

Singleton will also serve as a resource on additional topics, including rental industry public speaking, attending career and job fairs, workforce solutions and alternative funding programs.

Impact XM 

Global experiential marketing agency Impact XM has appointed Marty Park vice president of international business development. With 27 years of experience in developing and managing international exhibits and events, he will play an instrumental role in continuing to expand the agency’s reach, continuing to form deep connections with the company’s present clients and driving forward new opportunities, particularly in the Korean market.

Park brings a vast portfolio of international work and deep expertise in supporting some of the world’s most well-known brands in developing custom-made events, exhibits and experiences. Prior to Impact XM, he drove Korean business for a Boston-based brand experience agency as vice president, Korean customer services, working with clients such as LG, Kia and Hyundai for 11 years. Park also spent 11 years at an exhibition stand builder and interior finisher in Germany, developing his repertoire of international business and communications efforts. 

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