Annette Gregg, CMM, MBA is CEO of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), leading its 2500 global members. She has an extensive background in the meeting and hospitality industry, serving in executive level positions for corporations, associations and non-profits. She regularly delivers keynotes on topics including diversity and unconscious bias, promoting women in the workplace, and a variety of professional development topics. Annette has taught at several universities including leading San Diego State University’s Meeting and Event Certificate Program, and is currently instructor in Leadership for their Masters in Meeting and Events Program. She was elected Instructor of the Year at SDSU, and inducted into the Center for Business Intelligence’s Circle of Excellence for her training and speaking. She is an honoree for Women in Tourism and Hospitality, and has won the Coach Award for the Association of Women in Events, Smart Women Industry Leader Award, and Planner of the Year for MPI San Diego. Annette served on MPI’s Board of Directors, the board for the Kim Center for Gender Equity, and San Diego Commission for Women and Girls. She was named to the MeetingsNet Changemakers list for her work in women’s empowerment. Annette received her undergraduate degree in International Relations at the University of California, Berkeley and later received her MBA from California Miramar University in San Diego. She lives an active life with her husband and son in San Diego.

With 25 years of experience in the MICE industry, including a decade in the all-inclusive market, John Iannini brings a wealth of expertise and leadership to Hilton All-Inclusive. His extensive career includes roles as Senior Director of Global Sales at Melia Hotels International and Global Sales Director for Incentive Travel at Wyndham Hotel Group. As a Past President of the SITE Foundation, John has been a key figure in shaping the future of incentive travel. 

Now at Hilton, John leverages his experience to drive growth and ensure seamless coordination between Hilton Worldwide Sales (HWS) and on-site sales teams, delivering exceptional service to clients. 

A passionate traveler, John has visited 94 countries, exploring the world with an intrepid spirit. He's also a devoted dog lover, sharing his life with his two beloved English Bulldogs, Matilda and Sirloin. 

John is based in Atlanta and is always excited to collaborate with clients to create extraordinary experiences in the incentive and meetings space 

As the Director of Purchasing and Design, I lead a dedicated team that is the frontline for all our in-person events, ensuring each project begins with strategic insight and flawless execution. With over 30 years in the travel and hospitality industry, I bring a depth of expertise across every facet of meetings, incentives, and event planning. My team and I are responsible for contracting and procuring over 300 meetings and events annually, aligning every step with client goals to achieve memorable, seamless experiences. 

Throughout my career, I've built a reputation for strategic thinking, precision, creativity, and commitment to results. My approach is proactive and client-focused, driving outcomes that are both efficient and impactful. With a robust background in team leadership and vendor relations, I prioritize effective communication, cost efficiency, and risk management, fostering trusted partnerships and delivering outstanding results every time. 

Ava Setzer is a Director of Sales, Worldwide Accounts for Hilton Worldwide with a rich tapestry of experience spanning 24 years with the company.  She’s had extensive experience in hotel operations and was a valuable hotel sales contributor across vibrant cities including San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Portland.  A seasoned expert in the hospitality industry, Ava joined Hilton’s enterprise sales in 2017 - enhancing sales strategies and steering global account management. Her passion is ignited by the magic of human connections sparked at live events. There is nothing better! 

The launch and growth of Hilton’s all-inclusive hotel collection piqued Ava’s interest, leading her to delve deep into the offerings tailored for meeting planners. She has since blossomed into an expert at showcasing the distinctive allure and advantages of All-Inclusive for gatherings of any scale—from intimate assemblies of 10 to grand exclusives of 1,000 in the idyllic settings of Mexico, Europe, and the Caribbean.  In our fast moving environment, All-Inclusive makes deliver a premium on all components of meetings and events. 

As Director of Product Marketing at Cvent, Alex leads the company’s Hospitality Clouds product marketing team. Today, Cvent’s platform of supplier and venue solutions connects more than 302,000 hotels and venues with an active global network of more than 112,000 event planners. With nearly 15 years of experience at Cvent, Alex has a deep understanding of the meetings and events industry and how technology can help hospitality and destination professionals achieve their goals. In his current role as Director of Product Marketing, Alex is responsible for leading the go-to-market strategy for Cvent's platform of supplier and venue solutions. He is passionate about helping hoteliers leverage technology to win more business.

Kelli Kopec joined Cvent in 2019 as a Product Marketer dedicated to marketing solutions that connect Event Professionals and Travel Managers to hotels and venues. Kelli most recently spent 8+ years working for a hotel management company, managing both group and leisure business for several international hotel brands. She has vast experience in B2C and B2B marketing, launching new brands and products, and planning large-scale in-person events...and certainly understands the value technology can bring to you and your event programs!

Anesa Martin is seasoned sales leader with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, known for her exceptional track record in driving revenue and business growth for both domestic and international brands. As the Director of Intermediary Group Sales at Hilton, she leverages strategic account management and innovative solutions to enhance market share, particularly in the incentive segment.

Anesa is passionate about identifying growth opportunities by aggregating client account data and analyzing industry trends, all while ensuring that clients’ daily needs are met to boost operational and financial performance. When she’s not at work, Anesa loves spending quality time with her husband and two children, volunteering at hospice and connecting with her community through her church.

Jennifer Attersall joined Destination Canada (DC) in January 2020 as the Director of Incentive Travel. Jennifer joined the Business Events Team with credibility and a proven track record of building relationships and driving revenue. Recently, Jennifer led the developed and implementation of a global incentive strategy, and assisted in integrating the incentive segment under the Successful Economic Sector Strategy.

Prior to joining DC, Jennifer held a number of high performing roles in Calgary including her work with Meetings & Conventions Calgary and the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre.

Justin Myers serves as Vice President of Client Development and Marketing at Bishop-McCann, a renowned full-service agency specializing in meetings, incentives, and event management. With over 15 years in the MICE industry, Justin has collaborated with a wide range of FORTUNE 500 brands, bringing expertise from both agency and client slides of the business. An entrepreneurial leader, he is dedicated to fostering meaningful connections that enhance business outcomes through impactful events and incentives. When he’s not at work, Justin loves spending quality time with his wife and three boys, exploring new destinations, scuba diving, snow skiing, and sneaking in rounds of golf whenever possible.

Rudy Garza joined Brightspot Incentives & Events in 2011 as Vice-President of Operations. Rudy’s primary objective at Brightspot is to drive a high level of service excellence for all client programs and internal processes. In his role, Rudy oversees all program operations, which include meetings, incentive travel, and channel/sales incentives (merchandise, cards, experiences), as well as web development, human resources, and controller functions.

Prior to joining Brightspot, Rudy held various positions of increasing level at PepsiCo/Frito[1]Lay, supporting the Sales & Marketing functions.

Rudy is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) and currently Chairs their Research Committee. He is a Certified Incentive Travel Professional (CITP/SITE) and Incentive Professional (IP/IMA).

Rudy is a proud graduate of The University of Texas (MBA) and The University of Texas at San Antonio (BBA). Outside of work, Rudy enjoys being active with his family and his local church, traveling to mountain destinations, and rooting for the Texas Longhorns.

Tim Altbaum is CEO of Vario, a premiere Event Production and Technology company servicing clients who are looking for a trusted and reliable resource to provide all pre-production planning, A/V, and event technology needs for both in-person and virtual events. He is currently the President-Elect for the DFW Chapter of MPI, and is a former board member of NACE .He was awarded Community Leader of the Year by MPI, and recently received a Catalyst Award for his contributions to the industry by Smart Meetings Magazine. He actively contributes to other professional organizations and holds CSEP, CMP, HMCC, and CMM designations. As a special event producer and technology junkie, he is constantly striving to bring new and innovative experiences to the meetings and events he manages. This includes staying ahead of the trends by utilizing state-of-the-art equipment, partnering with tech-forward companies, and taking proven techniques and applying them in new ways. His diverse knowledge set includes expertise in AI, Experiential Marketing, Projection Mapping, Holograms, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, and Audio/Visual Design.

As the General Manager of Environmental Strategy at Maritz, Rachael Riggs, CMP, DES, SEPC, leverages nearly 25 years of dedicated leadership experience to pioneer and implement the Maritz Environmental Strategy. At the core of Rachael's role is the oversight of carbon accounting, reporting, and compliance across all business units.  Her forward-thinking approach includes the development of a bespoke carbon footprint measurement tool tailored for the events sector, fostering close collaboration with clients to implement design strategies aimed at minimizing environmental impact.  

Beyond her impactful work at Maritz, Rachael is an active contributor to industry publications and a respected presence in professional associations and committees. Her notable achievements, such as being recognized as one of MeetingsNet’s esteemed Trendsetters and her induction into the Smart Woman Hall of Fame, underscore her significant influence in shaping the events industry.

Embodying a holistic approach to wellbeing, Rachael's dedication to personal fitness and balance serves as a testament to her leadership philosophy of leading by example. Based in Chicago, Illinois, Rachael continues to carve pathways in sustainability, driven by her unwavering passion, expertise, and dedication to environmental stewardship.

Marc H. Matthews, President and CEO of Corporate Sport Incentives DBA Pulse Experiential Travel, has over forty five years experience in the incentive travel, special events and secondary ticket markets.  Primarily a strategic B-to-B service fulfillment partner, Pulse Experiential Travel specializes in providing sales incentive and customer relationship development programs based around group and individual sports and experiential vacation travel packages as well as premium ticket and ticket packages to all concerts, theatre and sports events worldwide. Marc graduated in 1987 from the University of Maryland College of Business with a Degree in Marketing and a Degree in Finance and also earned two Associate Degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering. Mr. Matthews currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Lisa Grimaldi is the editor, Incentives, for the Northstar Meetings Group. In addition to her editorial role at Northstar, she develops educational content for live and digital events, webcasts and podcasts, and organizes Incentive’s annual Motivation Masters Awards. She is a board member of the Incentive Federation, is a member of the Women in Incentives Network (WiiN) and serves on the meetings and incentive advisory board for Atout France. 

Mike Wallace is an internationally recognized expert with nearly 30 years of experience in sustainability, ESG reporting/compliance, and managing social and human capital issues. He currently serves as the Chief Decarbonization Officer at Persefoni, a carbon accounting technology company, where he oversees strategic partnerships to help with the integration and application of Persefoni’s climate accounting and management platform (CMAP). Prior to joining Persefoni, Wallace was a partner at the global sustainability consultancy, ERM where he counseled clients on corporate responsibility and sustainability solutions and helped shape several strategic partnerships for ERM. In that role, Wallace also served as the Interim Executive Director for the Social & Human Capital Coalition, a multi-stakeholder project of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). His work included overseeing the establishment of the overall governance structure, technical council and global network that drove the creation of the Social & Human Capital Protocol, which was officially launched at GreenBiz 2019 by the founders WBCSD, Nasdaq, and Microsoft. Prior to ERM, Wallace was a director for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), where he worked on foundational initiatives such as the International Integrated Reporting Council (IRRC), the European Commission proposal on corporate ESG reporting, and the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative (SSEi) on ESG listing guidance.

As CEO of the Enterprise Engagement Alliance at TheEEA.org, Bruce Bolger is one of the founders of the field of Enterprise Engagement, an implementation process for what is increasingly known as stakeholder capitalism. Since 1988, he has combined a career in business publishing and content marketing with stakeholder management across the enterprise, human capital reporting, and investor relationships in all people aspects of ESG (environmental, social, governance) and corporate sustainability reporting.

Based on nine years of research conducted by the Forum for People Performance Management at the Medill School of School of Media, Journal, and Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University starting in 2000, he founded the Enterprise Engagement Alliance (EEA) in 2009. There, he assembled academic and business experts in all aspects of engagement to create a formal framework for the practical implementation of stakeholder engagement practices across the enterprise. 

In his capacity as principal of the EEA, an agency specializing in stakeholder engagement implementation and reporting, he and his colleagues provide high-level and tactical advisory services for organizations seeking to develop, manage, measure and report on all aspects of the “S” or “social” of environmental, social, governance, increasingly known as stakeholder capitalism. He has unparalleled experience in the practical implementation of the people aspects of ESG, human capital, and diversity, equity, and inclusion; experience working in the investment community and universities, and is an early leader in content marketing, having founded one of the first agencies specializing in the field in 1996.

Bolger works with boards, CEOs, CHROs, CMOs, and investor relations at organizations seeking to profit from formal human capital management plans, metrics, and reporting strategies that enhance performance as well as stakeholder engagement, and with investors seeking to make sense of human capital management strategies and reporting.

Tim Altbaum is CEO of Vario, a premiere Event Production and Technology company servicing clients who are looking for a trusted and reliable resource to provide all pre-production planning, A/V, and event technology needs for both in-person and virtual events. He is currently the President-Elect for the DFW Chapter of MPI, and is a former board member of NACE .He was awarded Community Leader of the Year by MPI, and recently received a Catalyst Award for his contributions to the industry by Smart Meetings Magazine. He actively contributes to other professional organizations and holds CSEP, CMP, HMCC, and CMM designations. As a special event producer and technology junkie, he is constantly striving to bring new and innovative experiences to the meetings and events he manages. This includes staying ahead of the trends by utilizing state-of-the-art equipment, partnering with tech-forward companies, and taking proven techniques and applying them in new ways. His diverse knowledge set includes expertise in AI, Experiential Marketing, Projection Mapping, Holograms, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, and Audio/Visual Design.