The State of M&A for DMCs & Event Agencies

Howard Givner is a serial entrepreneur, innovator and business strategist, specializing in the events and ed-tech industries. He advises corporate event teams, event agencies and other businesses on growth, innovation, measurement, strategy and M&A. He is a Senior Advisor at Oaklins | DeSilva + Phillips, a global mid-market investment bank, and CEO of the Heathcote Advisory Group, a consulting practice for business leaders. 

He has successfully built and sold three businesses in the events industry and has advised over a dozen other industry CEOs on M&A and growth strategies. He was the founder and CEO of the Event Leadership Institute, a provider of training and resources for meeting planning, event marketing and hospitality professionals, which was acquired by PCMA in 2023. He also led the U.S. division of Grass Roots Meetings & Events during its sale to BCD Meetings & Events in 2018, and he was the founder and President of Paint the Town Red, an event agency which he subsequently sold to Global Events.

Howard is a frequent industry speaker, writer and educator on a broad range of topics. He is an avid hiker, crossword solver, podcast junkie, fiction writer and cancer survivor.

Born into the business as son of the founders of an award-winning DMC, TMM (The Meeting Manager), Trevor grew up packing coolers and delivering props. After working as a trip director for several years, he returned in 1996 to run and expand TMM leading to the merger of TMM and Destination PROS in 2012 into 360 Destination Group. An avid surfer, turbo father of five girls, and stickler when it comes to how an old-fashioned is made, he loves to be active in several industry organizations, including FICP, SITE, and ADMEI, as well as several hospitality industry Advisory Boards.

Andrey is a Managing Director based in H.I.G. Capital’s Boston office where he is responsible for all aspects of the investment process including deal origination, structuring, execution, financing and post-close operational improvements and growth strategies.

Andrey has over ten years of public and private market investing experience across a variety of sectors including healthcare, IT services and business services. Prior to joining H.I.G., Andrey worked at Charlesbank Capital Partners and the Boston Consulting Group.

Andrey earned a B.A. in Economics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Kim Kopetz is President and CEO of The Opus Group, a global network of event agencies that creates experiences that drive action for the world’s most influential brands, including Google, Diageo, Microsoft, and Salesforce.

Kim started her career in events at the NBA and Nike, and joined Opus Agency in 1998 as a Senior Event Manager. She held several roles at Opus Agency, eventually as EVP Global Accounts. In 2012, Kim went brand-side, and held global leadership positions at Intel in sales and marketing, including Chief of Staff to the head of global sales and Senior Director of B2B Event Strategy.  She returned to Opus in 2017, becoming Chief Growth Officer and supporting the acquisition and integration of seven agencies in two years. Kim was promoted to President of The Opus Group in 2020, and in 2024 assumed the role of President and CEO.

Throughout a career spanning more than 25 years, Kim has been a leader in global experience and event marketing for both brands and agencies. She currently serves as a strategic partner to the Event Leaders Exchange (ELX) and as a member of the Exceptional Women Alliance (EWA). Her expertise has earned her many accolades over the years, including a spot on the list of the top 100 most influential people in the event industry.

Sunny was born and raised in Mexico and has called Los Cabos home since 1989. Growing up in the hospitality industry with a heavy emphasis on tour operations, Sunny has grown the family business to cover 10+ cities in 3 countries and is now responsible for over 500,000 people transitioning through one of the family companies. Graduating from the University of San Diego and having had the privilege of traveling to many corners of the world by motorcycle, plane and ship has given him a unique perspective on not only what clients are looking for but also of showing clients what they haven’t even thought to look for. Along with an amazing management team, as Managing Partner, Sunny has been able to solidify the brand of Terramar and grow it into now six destinations in three countries. 

Terramar is presently one of two accredited DMC’s in Mexico and the only one in Panama. Our highly seasoned sales and operations team now includes 7 DMCP’s that help maintain the highest level of service that Terramar has become known for. In his free time you will most likely find Sunny with his family. An avid athlete, Sunny has competed in long distance motorcycle off road rally races, competed in triathlons and other races. In college Sunny was a 4 year rower and at one point was the Pacific Coast Rowing Champion as well as the California State Champion.