Susan Brauer
CME, president

Brauer Consulting Group LLC
Minneapolis
Susan Brauer, CME, is the founder and president of Brauer Consulting Group LLC. With more than 20 years of experience in the event and trade show industry, she provides expertise in event management and strategic planning, skills that have been instrumental in helping her clients obtain measureable results with regard to their face-to-face marketing programs.
Brauer is also a regular speaker at numerous industry events and conferences around the country and is a member of Meeting Planners International (MPI), Team Women MN, and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

Bill Bissmeyer
vice president operations and business development

Performance Marketing Group
Noblesville, IN
As the vice president of operations and business development for Performance Marketing Group, Bill Bissmeyer has been an event-marketing executive for more than 15 years. Under Bissmeyer's leadership, Performance Marketing Group has been an Event Marketer top-100 agency for the past seven years. The firm is the recipient of numerous industry awards and was named to the 2016 Promo Top Shops List. A graduate of John Carroll University, Bissmeyer manages new program-launch activations and business development for PMG while administering the day-to-day operations of a diverse portfolio of accounts that includes Chevrolet Racing, Medtronic Spinal and Biologics, Roche Diagnostics, and Corvette Racing.

Jeff Haynes
CEO

Merch Revolution
Austin, TX
As a founder of and executive in several product, online, and marketing organizations, Jeff Haynes has proven to be adept at providing organizations with the vision and leadership needed to excel. He spent the majority of his career running companies, managing teams, and creating technology and custom products, and he dedicated his career to understanding and perfecting the customer journey. From learning experiential while managing NASCAR Team Marketing, to running customer programs for tech-focused Fortune 100 companies such as Dell Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Intel Corp., Haynes understands the importance of the customer experience. He currently is CEO of Merch Revolution, a marketing firm that specializes in marketing technology and merchandise, and he lives and breathes the term ?Close the Loop.? Close the Loop is a crucial thought process needed to be profitable and successful in any business. Experiential, digital, merchandise, video, and entertainment all play an important part in controlling the customer experience, and Haynes is an expert in these categories.

Katharine Chestnut, Diamond Level CTSM
co-founder and chief community officer

Alkaloid Networks,
Atlanta, GA
With more than 30 years of marketing experience, Katharine Chestnut, CTSM, began work in the industry as an ad agency art director before transitioning to client-side marketing communications. Strategic planning and measurement of her own programs became her passion. Involved in every level of the creative and marketing process, she brings a practical working knowledge to every project. Experience in a variety of industries, such as electronics, natural foods, software, and engineering, allows her to bring inventiveness to her solutions. She is a contributing writer for marketing publications and has been a presenter at EXHIBITORLIVE for more than 15 years, covering topics such as strategic planning, measurement, integrated-marketing communications, and more. She now parlays all that experience into creating the friendliest co-working community on the Atlanta Beltline.

Katharine Lentini-Judah
producer

LeadDog Marketing Group
Orlando, FL
Katharine Lentini-Judah is a storyteller who has helped to craft, curate, and deliver some of the world?s most recognizable events, including @NBA Entertainment, @VancouverOlympics, and @CES for Intel. Her experience in live-event programming and entertainment spans more than 20 years and 12 countries and includes such honors as receiving an EXHIBITOR magazine Sizzle Award for Intel?s live presentation at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

Steven Marchese, Diamond Level CTSM
manager, corporate events

Fujifilm Medial Systems USA Inc.
Stamford, CT
At Fujifilm Medical Systems USA Inc., Steven Marchese solely manages more than 40 trade shows and corporate events annually. He currently serves on the exhibitor advisory councils of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), American Thoracic Society (ATS), and Digestive Disease Week (DDW). Marchese has been on the faculty of EXHIBITORLIVE and EXHIBITORFastTrak and is a CTSM portfolio advisor. He has also served on the editorial advisory board of EXHIBITOR magazine.

Kismet Mikos, CTSM Gold
trade show manager

Nordson Corp.,
Duluth, GA
As the trade show manager for Nordson Corp., a global manufacturer of equipment that dispenses adhesives, sealants, and coatings, Kismet Mikos has more than 30 years of experience managing trade shows and events in the industrial and gift-show markets. Recently earning her certified trade show marketer certification in 2015, she upgraded to the silver level in 2016 and gold in 2017. She also serves on the trade show committee for the Association for Packaging and Processing Technology and the Conference Advisory Board for EXHIBITORLIVE; plus, she mentors other exhibit professionals through the CTSM Mentor Program.

Greg Schneider
chief customer office marketing director

Dell Inc.,
Austin, TX
Greg Schneider serves as chief customer office marketing director at Dell Inc., where he also manages the Team Member Engagement Strategy. Schneider joined Dell in 1999 as part of Dell?s Consumer Services organization, leading the development and implementation of the firm?s international service model and the scaling of its E-Support organization, and spearheading the creation of its first Value Added Services portfolio. He then transitioned to a leadership role within the Consumer Small Business Merchandising team, leading various change efforts, including the shift from a build-to-order model to a build-to-stock program.

Vanessa Schultz, CTSM Gold Level
senior manager, events

Illumina Inc.,
San Diego
Vanessa Schultz leads the Global Marketing Events team at Illumina Inc., a global leader in genomics – an industry at the intersection of biology and technology. With more than 15 years of event-marketing experience, Schultz is responsible for the strategic planning, integrated marketing, and experiential execution of more than 30 major life science and biotech-industry trade shows for Illumina. She received her CTSM Gold Level Certification in 2014 and holds a BA in International Business Marketing from San Diego State University.

Jason Vickers, CTSM
trade show manager

Verizon Enterprise Solutions,
Madison, AL
As a trade show manager within Verizon Enterprise Solutions, Jason Vickers is responsible for overall logistics and project management of multiple high-visibility tier-one trade shows, including the National Retail Federation show, Enterprise Connect, the National Association of Broadcasters show, and Gartner Symposium ITxpo. He has experienced firsthand and understands best practices to overcome the unique challenges corporate exhibitors face when planning and executing exhibits. Vickers oversees the multimillion-dollar enterprise trade show budget. Previously, he supervised teams in Verizon's finance operations department.

Patrick West
founder

Be The Machine, New York
Patrick West is the founder of Be The Machine, an experiential-marketing shop that specializes in producing custom consumer experiences with an integration of cutting-edge technology. West is known for his creativity and heavy doses of honesty, characteristics that have helped him and his firm score projects for brands such as Jeep, Comcast, Clif, and Old Bay. West has taken home myriad accolades of his own, including Reggie Awards, Pro Awards, Obies, and Creative Media Awards.