Dax Callner
Senior Strategic Consultant & Founder
EMMC

As a strategic leader across a number of agencies, Dax Callner has over 20 years of experience developing programs for some of the world’s leading brands, including P&G, American Express, Facebook, GE, eBay, MasterCard, Google, Intel, Microsoft and many others. His work has included multi-channel marketing campaigns, digital strategies, street-marketing initiatives, business and consumer events.

Formerly, the Strategy Director at UK-based agency Smyle, Dax is currently a senior level strategic consultant to agencies and clients throughout North America and the UK.  He founded the Experiential Marketing Measurement Coalition (EMMC) in 2018.

John Capano
Managing Director
The Ev&Ex Agency

John brings over 20 years of experience across multiple marketing disciplines including event, experiential and digital marketing. John is the Managing Director of The Ev&Ex Agency, one of EM’s Top 100 Agencies.  Before that he was Senior Vice President, Client Development at Impact XM and General Manager / Head of Global Strategy at the George P. Johnson Company.  John has served high-profile clients including AT&T, Disney, Intel, Invisalign, Samsung, Southwest Airlines, Toyota and others. John’s passion is in developing strategies that will help clients grow their businesses profitably and sustainably. He has deep experience across multiple verticals including B2B technology, automotive, healthcare/medical and professional/business services.

John has served on the EMMC Board of Directors since 2018.

Matt Sincaglia
VP, Strategy & Analytics
Red Peg

Matt is a 14-year marketing and communications veteran. He oversees consumer insights, brand strategy, trendspotting, measurement, data analytics, and new business development at RedPeg Marketing. He focuses on identifying how brands can best reach their target audience and how to optimize program performance by being data informed. Through his guidance and leadership, RedPeg has earned dozens of industry awards, including a Top 10 Most Innovative Companies award from Fast Company.

Matt has served on the EMMC Board of Directors since 2020.

Katie Streten
Head of Creative Strategy
WRG

Katie has worked in digital and physical experiences for more than 15 years. Before joining VMLYRCommerce, Katie was the Head of Strategy for Imagination's Ford account. She has worked in B2B and B2C across multiple sectors, delivering strategy for everything from stunts to brand homes, VR immersions to influencer campaigns. With the privilege of working on award-winning teams, she has won awards including BAFTA, the Ex Awards and The Drum and speaking at SXSW.

Katie has served on the EMMC Board of Directors since 2020.

Gina DeVito, CMP, CSEP, DES
Director, Partnerships & Brand Activation
Indeed

Gina DeVito is an event marketing leader with more than 20 years of experience scaling global event programs that drive measurable business impact. As Director of Strategy & Operations, Partnerships & Brand Activation at Indeed, she leads initiatives focused on impact measurement, event technology, integrated marketing, sustainability, and operational excellence across a global portfolio of B2B and B2C experiences.

Gina’s diverse career spans agency, brand, and vendor roles, providing a well-rounded perspective on the evolving events ecosystem. A big-picture thinker with a multifaceted skill set, she is passionate about advancing industry standards in event measurement and leveraging technology to deliver more effective in-person and virtual experiences.

Howard Givner
CEO
Heathcote Advisory Group

Howard has successfully built and sold three businesses in the events industry, and has advised over a dozen other industry CEOs on M&A and growth strategies. He was the founder and CEO of the Event Leadership Institute, a provider of training and resources for meeting planning, event marketing and hospitality professionals, which was acquired by PCMA in 2023.

He also led the US division of Grass Roots Meetings & Events, which was sold to BCD Meetings & Events in 2018, and was the founder and president of Paint the Town Red, an event agency which he subsequently sold to Global Events.

He advises corporate event teams, event agencies and other businesses on growth, innovation, measurement, strategy and M&A. Howard is a frequent industry speaker, writer and educator on a broad range of topics.

Matt Hintze
Experiential Discipline Lead / Managing Advisor
APR

In his 30-plus years in the event industry, Matt has managed over 600 events and overseen over a thousand more as a consultant, including consumer activations, trade shows, racing events, dealer training, and product testing/evaluation. He has held various positions, ranging from general event setup and logistics to executive account manager, and now advisor/consultant.

In his early years, Matt was a Certified ISO 9001:2000 IATCA QMS Lead Auditor, and part of the team that designed, developed, implemented, and managed the quality system, policies, and procedures for over 100 full-time and 300 part-time employees. He continues to use this experience in his current role, developing experiential production guidelines, processes and Ways of Working for many of his clients.

Christopher Kappes
Strategic Advisor
Kappes Enterprises

Christopher (Chris) Kappes is an event industry strategist with over three decades of experience at the intersection of live events, brand experience, and business growth. Kappes has served as a C-suite executive at leading experiential agencies, including George P. Johnson, Sparks, 3D Exhibits, and others. Over his career, he has led cross-functional teams of more than 50 professionals and forged landmark engagements with IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, Google, 3M, and Nike.

An entrepreneurial builder, Kappes has launched seven business ventures—including the industry's first "Airbnb of Exhibits"—and was part of a leadership team recognized as the "Most Innovative Company in North America" by the American Business Awards. He also authored two published books focused on tradeshow performance and is a frequent industry speaker and article contributor.

Kappes currently leads a contract-based advisory and fractional leadership service for new and established event organizations needing strategy support, business development, and marketing.

Richard Lloyd-Williams
Managing Director
Flavor Sampling

Richard Lloyd-Williams is a leading expert in measurement for experiential and sampling campaigns, with a track record of transforming how brands assess and optimize their consumer engagement strategies. As a founder and visionary in the field, he is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of innovation, helping businesses unlock the full potential of their marketing efforts through data-driven insights.

Richard’s forward-thinking approach has shaped industry standards, blending creativity with analytics to deliver impactful results. Passionate about fostering growth and adaptability, he champions a culture of trust, ambition, and flexibility, ensuring teams thrive in dynamic work environments.

Marco Lopez
Senior Event Sponsorship Manager
Onxite

Marco Lopez is a marketing strategist with over 20 years of experience transforming how brands connect with diverse audiences. As founder of Onxite, he's pioneering a standardized multidimensional methodology in event sponsorship analytics through innovative tech solutions that empower marketers to maximize impact and create meaningful connections with consumers.

Marco's passion for social impact shines through his extensive non-profit leadership.

Marco's unique blend of strategic vision, cultural fluency, and data-driven approach has established him as a thought leader in creating partnerships that advance both social progress and brand connection in an increasingly diverse marketplace.

Heidi Olson
Senior Director, Strategy & Operations,
Global Events & Experiences
Visa Inc.

Global Brand Experience Executive specializing in the development and delivery of cross-channel event and experiential marketing campaigns and brand activations for business and consumer audiences that create connection, generate conversation, drive brand engagement, and deliver measurable business impact.

Diverse background which spans marketing, advertising, and communications and with experience leading high performing teams in both global agency and corporate enterprise settings.  Prior to joining Visa, Heidi was Head of Global Event Marketing at LinkedIn.

Kalon Welch
Executive Vice President
FastSensor

Kalon Welch is the Co-Owner and acting Executive Vice President of Business Development for FastSensor where he drives the global business expansion through technology and strategic partnerships along with overseeing all go to market functions. 

Kalon started his post UCLA career as an IT strategy consultant with Accenture driving communications/high tech and retail thought leadership in the days of dot com.  He then worked within the Omnicom network for over 15 years driving retail and technology partnerships with Best Buy, Walmart and over 30 other major retailers along with driving business development globally for his agency and within the ~300 agency network at large. 

Kalon has invested in and led over 10 ventures to date including co-founding and successfully exiting a global, mobile handset manufacturing business before launching FastSensor in the US and beyond.  Kalon regularly speaks as an industry expert on location-based AI driven analytics and future spatial based technologies.