People News: The Expo Group, GES, Leftfield Media Make New Hires

May 28, 2015

The month of May has been an unusually busy one for new hires across a wide variety of companies in the trade show industry.

The Expo Group hired Lloyd van Meter its new general manager in its Las Vegas offices. Van Meter has extensive freight expertise, as well as 15 years in the trade show industry and strong leadership skills honed in the U.S. Marine Corps.

The Expo Group also named Mitchell Gross as the new leader of its growing custom exhibits department. Gross also will continue to lead the Finance department for the company. Prior to becoming operations manager for MC2 Events Exhibits Environments, he spent several years in the financial world and has an undergraduate degree in finance, as well as his MBA.

Peter Tatara has joined the Leftfield Media as its director of Content and Communities. He comes to LeftField Media with 10 years of event management experience, previously serving as a content director with ReedPOP at Reed Exhibitions, where he oversaw 400-plus hours of content at New York Comic Con and was key in growing ReedPOP from a single event to a portfolio of more than 25 pop culture conventions around the U.S. and internationally in markets, including Australia, China, France, Germany, India, and Singapore.

He most recently worked at Azix Inc, where he served as an event director producing events with Japanese governmental, tourism, cultural and culinary partners.

GES brought on Dan Hilbert as senior vice president of its U.S. Events team. Hilbert has more than 25 years of experience in the event, agency and entertainment business.

Most recently, Hilbert was senior vice president of client engagement & strategy at TBA Global. Prior to joining TBA Global, he held senior level positions at other agencies and on the client side with Live Nation Entertainment, Ryan Partnership, Unilever and Labatt, USA.

Skyline Exhibits announced the retirement of Michael Thimmesch, its director of Customer Engagement.

Thimmesch began his Skyline career in 1988 as a copywriter eight years after Skyline was founded. In 2005, after 17 years with Skyline, he earned a director-level position.

During his tenure Thimmesch had a hand in generating over half a million leads for Skyline which resulted in over $1 billion in retail sales and helped Skyline to grow into the largest exhibit company in North America.

Thimmesch is also credited with publishing 11 industry white papers and eight exhibit education books. He has presented over 100 informational webinar sessions, which were attended by over 23,000 exhibitors. He has also written more than 200 blog posts on a variety of exhibiting topics.

Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center, a full-service hotel and Central Oregon’s largest convention center that overlooks the Deschutes River, hired Erick Trachsel as Director of Sales and Moe Elwefati as Director of Food and Beverage.

Jarrett Dow joins NexxtShow as a graphics account executive. Dow has more than 10 years of graphic design, promotional design and web design experience.

Matthew Volpe joins NexxtShow as a system designer. Volpe has more than eight years of exhibit design and detailing experience.

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Overview: The award-winning Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) goes the extra mile to make every day extraordinary by offering customer service excellence and industry-leading partnerships. From their dedicated in-house Rigging team to their robust Exhibitor Services, The Center of Hospitality brings your imagination to life by helping you host unforgettable meetings and events. With more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, world-class services and a dream destination, we are committed to making even the most ambitious conventions a reality. In October 2023, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted to approve allocating Tourist Development Tax funding for the $560 million Phase 5A completion of the OCCC. The Convention Way Grand Concourse project will include enhancements to the North-South Building, featuring an additional 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 80,000- square-foot ballroom and new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way. “We are thrilled to begin work on completing our North-South Building which will allow us to meet the growing needs of our clients,” said OCCC Executive Director Mark Tester. “As an economic driver for the community, this project will provide the Center with connectivity and meeting space to host more events and continue to infuse the local economy with new money and expanding business opportunities.” Amenities: The Center of Hospitality goes above and beyond by offering world-class customer service and industry-leading partnerships. From the largest convention center Wi-Fi network to custom LAN/WAN design, the Center takes pride in enhancing exhibitor and customer experience.  The OCCC is the exclusive provider of electricity (24-hour power at no additional cost), aerial rigging and lighting, water, natural gas and propane, compressed air, and cable TV services. Convenience The Center is at the epicenter of the destination, with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, and attractions within walking distance. Pedestrian bridges connect both buildings to more than 5,200 rooms and is within a 15-minute drive from the Orlando International Airport. The convenience of the location goes hand-in-hand with top notch service to help meet an event’s every need. Gold Key Members The OCCC’s Gold Key Members represent the best of the best when it comes to exceptional service and exclusive benefits for clients, exhibitors and guests. The Center’s Gold Key memberships with Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World greatly enhance meeting planner and attendee experiences offering world-renowned venues, immersive experiences and creative resources for their events. OCCC Events: This fiscal year, the OCCC is projected to host 168 events, 1.7 million attendees, and $2.9 billion in economic impact.  The Center’s top five events during their 2022-2023 fiscal year included:  AAU Jr. National Volleyball Championships 2023 200,000 Attendees $257 Million in Economic Impact MEGACON 2023 160,000 Attendees $205 Million in Economic Impact Open Championship Series 2023 69,500 Attendees $89 Million in Economic Impact Sunshine Classic 2023 42,000 Attendees $54 Million in Economic Impact Premiere Orlando 2023 42,000 Attendees $108 Million in Economic Impact