Featuring a fantastic lineup of speakers, including guests from across Canada, world renowned business experts and leaders in tourism and hospitality. Look who's coming to Convention Centres of Canada's Annual Conference in 2019:
Convention Centres of Canada
Keynote Speakers & Guests
Carrie Cussons, Events East Group
President and CEO
Carrie is President & CEO of Events East Group managing the Halifax Convention Centre, a 120,000 sq. ft. Convention Centre in the heart of downtown Halifax, Scotiabank Centre, the largest multipurpose facility in Atlantic Canada with a seating capacity in excess of 10,000 and Ticket Atlantic, the region’s primary ticket provider. Since joining the organization in 2009, Carrie has been a strategic lead in all areas of the business with a core responsibility for ensuring the efficient delivery of corporate and operational initiatives to support business growth and success.
Cathy Pugh, Convention Centres Canada
Chair
An industry and community leader, Cathy is Chair of the Convention Centres of Canada, President of Skal New Brunswick, a Board Member with the Fredericton International Airport Authority, while also being an active member of Meeting Professionals International, International Venue Managers Association, Fredericton Chamber of Commerce and Rendez-Vous Fredericton.
Charlotte Bell, Tourism Industry Association of Canada
President and CEO
Charlotte is President and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. TIAC is Canada’s only national voice representing the interests of all sectors of the tourism industry, including accommodations, transportation, attractions, Meetings and conventions as well as destinations. Charlotte has been successful at developing the vision, direction and strategies required to take TIAC to the next level and making it Canada’s premier tourism voice in Ottawa.
Steven Bury, Freeman Audiovisual
Senior Vice President of Sales
With nearly 40 years of industry experience, including more than 25 with Freeman, Steven serves as a trusted advisor to clients. His goal is simple: Achieve clients’ goals while providing measurable value. He does this by staying current with modern technology and applying Freeman’s innovative technical and creative solutions. Experience has taught Steve that top-notch results can best be achieved by someone with his depth and breadth of expertise.
Glen Hodgson, Keynote Speaker
International Economist and Author
International economist and author Glen Hodgson has over 36 years of experience in global and Canadian macro-economics, international trade and finance, fiscal and tax policy, and other “big picture” topics. He recently joined the respected C.D. Howe Institute as a Senior Fellow, where he undertakes selective consulting work. He is currently part of a team of experts reviewing the mandate and operations of Canada’s export credit agency, Export Development Canada.
Matt Klas, HLT Advisory Incorporated
Managing Director
Matthew is a partner at HLT Advisory and leads HLT’s convention centre practice area. Over the past ten years he has annually completed the Convention Centres of Canada benchmarking report and he has completed an international benchmarking assignment for AIPC in each of the last three years. He frequently speaks at industry events and individual centre board/executive meetings.
Matthew has completed numerous convention centre assignments for Canadian and international convention centres including involvement in development planning, expansion planning, operational reviews, and market assessments. HLT also maintains a comprehensive database of venue supply and design characteristics, market trends, space utilization factors, operating benchmarks and industry practices.
Mike Savage, Mayor
City of Halifax
Mike Savage was first elected Mayor of Halifax Regional Municipality on October 20, 2012, with a mandate to make Halifax the most liveable, entrepreneurial and inclusive city in Canada, principles that continue to shape his work at City Hall and in the community. Now in his second term, Mayor Savage continues his work to make the Halifax region a place where residents can live, belong and thrive.
Chantal Sturk-Nadeau, Business Events Canada
Executive Director
Chantal Sturk-Nadeau proudly leads Business Events Canada (BEC), a division of Destination Canada responsible for building Canada’s reputation as the preeminent destination for meetings, conventions and incentive business from coast to coast to coast. As Executive Director, Chantal joined the team in January 2017 where she leads the development of the marketing & sales strategy, overseas execution of the plan and leads a dynamic international team based in Canada, the United States and in the United Kingdom.
Brian Tennyson, LMN Architects
Principal
Brian has over 28 years of experience with complex public assembly projects; he has spent the last 24 years working on many of LMN’s convention centre projects as a project architect, project manager and program coordinator. Brian’s skills on the design team ensure that the owner’s program and functional layout are delivered in an effective and operationally efficient manner. Brian has worked on convention centres in cities across North America including Seattle, Honolulu, Cincinnati, Fort Lauderdale, New Orleans, Vancouver, BC and London, ON. Brian’s convention centre project experience includes a variety of delivery methods and ranges from complex renovation projects, new buildings and master planning projects throughout North Amercia.
Heidi Welker, BEcon
Senior Vice President, Business Development and Industry Partnerships, Freeman AV
Heidi Welker is Senior Vice President Business Relationships & Industry Partnerships for Freeman Audio Visual Canada, a presentation solutions service provider that supports the power of face-to-face marketing by providing full-service AV rental resources for corporate events, exhibit programs, and conventions of all sizes. In addition to keeping customers informed about new product and service brand offerings, she is responsible for driving future growth through various integrated business development activities and lead generation.