Oscar Acosta

CEO/owner, Dek-O Solutions S.A.S.
Bogota, Colombia
As CEO and owner of Dek-O Solutions S.A.S., Oscar Acosta has developed projects in different areas of design from high-end interior design and architecture to commercial spaces and exhibition environments. His work has extended to 23 countries, bringing Colombian design and manufacture to international cutting-edge scenarios. For the last 15 years, he and his team at Dek-O have developed more than 700 projects for 70 global brands. In addition, his consulting services for the retail industry have been honored with multiple awards for interior design and retail architecture.

Alejandro Blitstein

architect/director, Dodecaedro Group
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Alejandro Blitstein (architect) is the director of Dodecaedro Group. Blitstein founded Dodecaedro, an architectural- and event-design firm, in 1994, and later he extended his business to Sao Paulo and Barcelona, Spain, via the company Dylunio, which also specializes in exhibit design and production. With representation in 45 countries and more than 120 cities, the firm’s designs and constructions have received international acclaim in markets such as tourism, automotive, food, culture, oil, and gas.

His work includes contributions to Argentina's exhibit in Expo 2000 in Hannover, Germany, and Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan. He also directed a project to celebrate the Argentinean Bicentenary on the main avenue of 9 De Julio, where 6 million people experienced the event. His companies are members of the International Federation of Exhibition and Event Services (IFES) and the Exhibit Designers and Producers Association (EDPA).

Dana Esposito

creative director, Elevation Exhibits and Events
Shrewsbury, MA
Dana Esposito is an award-winning exhibit designer with more than 18 years of experience. Her first role in the industry was building 3-D scale models for other exhibit designers. Since then she has traveled extensively to design and preview exhibits and large-scale events for accounts in many different industries, including pharmaceutical, health care, and technology, and her work has been featured in industry trade publications over the years. She is a dynamic communicator specializing in large-scale domestic rental programs, custom designs, eco-conscious solutions, communication skills, and education. At Elevation Exhibits and Events, Esposito manages the exhibit design team, executes design solutions, and acts as the conduit between Elevation’s external audiences and industry-related events.

Esposito is involved in the Exhibit Designers and Producers Association (EDPA) and has been mentoring college students who are pursuing the field of exhibit design for several years. She was awarded the EDPA Designer of the Year for 2014. When time permits, Esposito is also a fine artist creating original works with acrylic paint and photography.

Alp Gumus

managing partner, Terminal Design
Istanbul
The managing partner of Terminal Design in Istanbul, Alp Gumus has been with the company for more than 10 years. Gumus studied industrial engineering in Turkey and graduated from the University of Georgia with an MBA with an emphasis in international brand management. He started his professional career at The Procter & Gamble Co. Turkey, where he worked in marketing brand management. In addition, he worked in the global marketing and sales departments for Eli Lilly & Co. in Indianapolis and New York, respectively.

Justin Hawes

managing director, Scan Display Solutions Pty Ltd.
Johannesburg, South Africa
Justin Hawes has been the managing director of Scan Display Solutions Pty. Ltd., an exhibition, events, and retail-display company in Johannesburg, South Africa, since its formation in 1996. He has served on the executive committee of the Exhibition and Event Association of Southern Africa (EXSA) for six years and was the association’s Chairman in 2005 and vice chairman from 2002 to 2004. In 2009, Hawes established the Event Greening Forum (EGF), a nonprofit initiative aimed at promoting sustainability in the South African events industry. He is currently the Forum’s Chairperson. Plus, in 2011, he served on the International Federation of Exhibition and Event Services’ (IFES) marketing committee and has been the organizations treasurer since 2012.

Peter Jung

executive director, Milton Exhibits Group
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Peter Jung is the co-founder and executive director of Milton Exhibits Group, where he heads up the Greater China region. He also led the development of a holistic strategy for the corporate professional unit, which includes marketing, corporate communications, finance, information technology, administration, and talent development.

Jung plays a vital role in driving changes and innovation at Milton Exhibits Group. The Group has expanded from being a technical specialist to an integrated-solutions service provider for events and exhibitions, employing more than 380 staff among 10 offices in Greater China and South Asia. The firm serves a broad spectrum of customers including some of the Top 100 Global Brands, Brand Z Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands, seven of the largest exhibition organizers in the world, and public-sector clients.

Prior to his current role, Jung was the executive director of an event company where he helped the company expand its business scope from merely exhibitions to events and special projects. In that time, he managed a broad spectrum of corporate and consumer brands in industries ranging from thematic venues to utilities as well as mega events. He also obtained his Executive Master of Business Administration from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2015. In October 2016, he was accredited as an MRICS (Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) due to his many years of impressive project management experience.

Jorge Reis Alves

founder and partner, Mindtrooper
Lisbon, Portugal
Jorge Reis Alves is a founding partner of Mindtrooper, a Lisbon, Portugal, provider of custom exhibition stands, events, showrooms, commercial spaces, and integrated projects. With more than 20 years of design experience, Alves has completed projects for well-known brands such as Jeronimo Martins SGPA SA and Mercedes-Benz. In addition, his work has won international accolades, including Best Integrated Campaign for the Vodafone brand’s exhibit at Rock in Rio Lisbon and first prize for best stand from Meios e Publicidade.

Andrew Sexton

creative director and agency partner, 2LK Design Ltd.
Farnham, United Kingdom
In addition to being a guest lecturer and speaker, Andrew Sexton is the creative director and an agency partner at 2LK Design Ltd., an award-winning experiential design agency based in Farnham, United Kingdom. Sexton has managed high-level experience design for the likes of Honda Motor Co., Mozilla Corp., HSBC Bank International, and Fabergé (UK) Ltd. He has overseen 2LK’s wider creative output and pioneered its approach to intelligent, insight-led creativity for more than 10 years. Driven by an absolute passion and commitment for design effectiveness, Sexton offers a vision that is key to the firm’s ongoing success and that shapes the work it produces.

Victor Torregroza

brand experiences program manager, global event marketing, Intel Corp.
Santa Clara, CA
Victor Torregroza is the brand experiences program manager for global event marketing at Intel Corp. He is responsible for the strategic definition and implementation of Intel’s most dynamic tier-one events and trade show experiences. Torregroza is a passionate pioneer of experiential marketing at Intel and the architect of Intel’s enhanced face-to-face experiential-marketing programs. He believes in keeping these experiences simple, authentic, shareable, and delightful. His mantra, “We eat with our eyes,” informs his passion for bold, simple, breathtaking experience design.

Nico Ueberholz

principal, Ueberholz GmbH
Wuppertal, Germany
Principal of the Wuppertal, Germany-based exhibit house that shares his name, i.e., Ueberholz GmbH, Nico Ueberholz is a preeminent German exhibit designer. He has received multiple honors in EXHIBITOR Magazine's Exhibit Design Awards among countless others. After studying design and architecture, he served as a freelance 3-D designer from 1983 to 1985. Shortly thereafter he founded an advertising agency, Art Light, in 1985, and in 1986 founded Ueberholz GmbH. (The two companies merged in 1987.) His work has also won critical acclaim through the FAMAB awards.

Tom Yurkin

creative director, Freeman
Dallas
Tom Yurkin is a creative leader within the experience industry and well beyond. With a finely honed aesthetic sense, a fresh perspective, and a true passion for design, he approaches each project as a new opportunity to see what’s possible. Yurkin is constantly challenged to create dynamic, deeply experiential environments for B2B and B2C engagements. He fuses well-established design principles with cutting-edge techniques, progressive style, and the very latest in material offerings. A true visionary, Yurkin delivers novel, trend-setting solutions for brands such as Oracle, Oprah, Dwell, 3M, GE, Polo Ralph Lauren, Southern Methodist University, Wired magazine, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

An alumnus of the School of Industrial Design and Visual Communication Design at Ohio State University, Yurkin has also studied design and architecture at the Paris Louvre as a student of Parsons School of Design. In 1984, he was chosen by Yale University to study design principles taught by various design icons including Armin Hofmann, Paul Rand, and Wolfgang Weingart in Brissago, Switzerland. Yurkin is also a creative director for the Exhibit Designers and Producers Association’s student design competition, an active member and section chair for the Industrial Designers Society of America, and a seminar leader at various industry conferences.