This summer, event planning companies, hotels, and suppliers blazed hot with talent acquisitions and promotions, attracting experienced industry professionals and young talent alike as they prepare for a robust fall season.

CEN’s take on the biggest move in July: Optica, Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide welcomed Lauren Parr as its chief meeting and exhibits officer, responsible for overseeing Optica meetings and events. Bringing a robust background in scientific program development, instructional design, and event strategy to her new role, Parr boasts more than 20 years of experience in advancing association missions via events and learning.  

The big picture: Most recently, Parr served as senior vice president, meetings and learning at the American Geophysical Union (AGU), where she worked to create compelling scientific conferences and event experiences focused on driving impactful change within the scientific community. She joined AGU in 2015 as director of meetings before being promoted to vice president, meeting and learning in 2017, then to SVP in 2022. Prior to joining AGU, Parr served for more than six years as vice president, education and professional development at the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society, and before that, was manager, ICAAC, CME and professional development for the American Society for Microbiology. She currently serves on the PCMA Board of Directors and Trustees. 

Need to know: Optica convenes more than 30 annual meetings throughout the world that are designed to disseminate ground-breaking research and connect a global community of researchers—high-quality and high-impact events that require dedicated executive management by an experienced meetings professional like Parr. The organization’s extensive meetings portfolio include the Optica Laser Congress and Exhibition; OFC Conference and Exhibition; Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science; Optica Sensing Conference; and CLEO Pac Rim, to name a few.

What she’s saying: “I'm very grateful for the time I’ve had with the AGU, and I’m excited to join the team at Optica,” Parr said. “The breadth and depth of scientific research and application represented in optics and photonics makes this a community and portfolio of events I am eager to serve.”

Visit Orlando

Hospitality and meetings industry veteran Lisa Messina is joining Visit Orlando as its new chief sales officer on Aug. 19. She will oversee several departments at the CVB, including the meeting and convention sales and experience team, travel industry sales, membership, and supporting services.

With a career spanning three decades in leadership roles at several leading meetings and events industry leading organizations, Messina most recently served as chief sales officer for the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA). Prior to that, she served as senior vice president of sales for Caesars Entertainment, where she led revenue strategy for the meetings and conventions segment. She previously held numerous sales leadership roles during her 16-year tenure with Hilton Worldwide and served as CMO for ConferenceDirect. 

CenterPoint Marketing

Brand experiences company CenterPoint Marketing appointed Mary Ellen Nixon vice president of client experience, responsible for refining and enhancing its client service and engagement strategies. Bringing a wealth of expertise in building high-performance teams and implementing innovative service models, Nixon previously spent a more than 13-year tenure at RES Exhibit Services, where she climbed the ladder from management to director, to executive positions, most recently serving as executive vice president.

ETHOS Event Collective

Event planning and management company ETHOS Event Collective has promoted Anne Laxson to general manager for its Amelia Island operations. In her new leadership role, she will work to foster and elevate connections and engagement with local community partners to help craft events that showcase the destination’s culture and history.

Since coming to ETHOS almost two years ago, Laxson has served in several roles, including general manager and business development director, North Florida. She previously worked at Compass Group USA, most recently as regional sales director, hospitality.

Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront

Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront in Jacksonville, Fla., welcomed Janice Middlestadt as senior sales manager. In her new position, Middlestadt will work with the hotel’s meeting and events team and will be responsible for developing new business opportunities, maintaining relationships with existing clients, and executing strategic sales plans.

A more than 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry, she has held a variety of senior and managerial sales roles at leading hotel properties in Washington, DC and in the Orlando area, including most recently serving as regional sales manager at AD1 Global, a hospitality investment and development company in Kissimmee, Fla.

Visit San Antonio

Visit San Antonio announced updates to its core leadership and sales team.

Twenty-five-year hospitality, travel and tourism veteran Mario Bass was recently appointed to the newly formed position of executive vice president and chief strategy officer, responsible for leading the CVB’s destination sales, destination experience, events, membership, and River Walk operations departments. Bass returns to Visit San Antonio after previously serving for more than five years, most recently as chief sales officer, after serving as COO of Visit Orlando since January 2023. In this role, he was responsible for oversight of internal operations, leading and implementing Visit Orlando’s strategic initiatives and annual business plans.

Strategic sales leader and 25-year hospitality industry professional Tyler Orwig was promoted to senior vice president of group sales. He will continue overseeing a large part of the Visit San Antonio sales team, including the association, for-profit trade show, and sports markets, as well as help manage the entirety of the destination sales department, including the corporate market. An integral member of the Visit San Antonio team for more than 10 years, Orwig spent 15 years working with Hyatt Hotels in various properties across the U.S.

Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) welcomed a new team member and made two employee promotions.

Maddie DaMario has joined as director, Chicago area sales office, responsible for selling and marketing Atlanta as a trade show and group meetings destination with a specialized focus on the Midwest market. She comes to ACVB with more than 10 years of professional convention management experience, including destination marketing and sales, medical meeting planning, trade association planning, and hotel group sales. 

David McAuley was promoted to senior director, Washington, D.C. and Chicago area sales offices. In this expanded role, he will oversee sales initiatives in the CVB’s leading association markets. With a primary focus in Washington, D.C., he will collaborate with DaMario to further promote Atlanta with Chicago and Midwest customers. McAuley began his tenure with ACVB in 1997 as national sales manager based in Atlanta, and in 1999, relocated to Washington, D.C., where he was promoted to director and began representing Atlanta while overseeing the sales operations.

Clinton Coleman was promoted to national sales manager, responsible for selling and marketing Atlanta as a premier destination for group meetings utilizing 51-250 rooms on peak. He will also represent ACVB at trade shows and coordinate the participation of the organization’s partners. Coleman joined ACVB in 2023 as a sales coordinator.

Have some corporate event industry people news to share? Please send announcements and high-resolution headshots to lisa.savas@informa.com.

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