Urban Expositions, a Georgia-based show management company, created new roles and gave additional responsibilities to many of its executive and management gift show team members.
“As we continue to grow, expand and diversify our tradeshow portfolio, we want to ensure that we continue to uphold the customer service levels and attention to detail that both exhibitors and attendees have come to expect from being part of our events,” said Doug Miller, president, Urban Expositions. “By expanding the roles and responsibilities of our talented, experienced team members, we have no doubt we will meet and exceed this goal.”
Effective immediately, new positions, roles and responsibilities include:
Donna Guess has been appointed to the newly created position of vice president of operations. Guess will oversee event operations for all of Urban Expositions tradeshows. She adds this new role and title to her current responsibilities as vice president/sales management of Urban’s souvenir & resort shows and events. Guess has served as vice president/sales management since 2006. She joined Urban Expositions in 1996 as a sales associate for the Philadelphia Gift Show. In addition, she provided sales and operations support for a number of other Urban Expositions’ shows before being named show director of the Miami Gift Show in 1998. In 2002, she was promoted to executive director of Urban Expositions’ Florida division, in which she coordinated sales and operations for the Miami Gift Show, Orlando Gift Show and Panama City Gift & Resort Merchandise Show.
Dirk von Gal has been promoted to the new position of industry vice president of gift. He will work closely with the respective gift show directors, sales and marketing teams to further strengthen these exhibitions from a sales management and strategic planning perspective. Most recently, von Gal was show director for the California Gift Show, successfully leading efforts to revitalize and expand the semi-annual event that Urban acquired in 2012. He joined Urban Expositions in 2011, bringing a solid background of strategic planning and analysis acquired from years in the financial services industry.
Leanna John has been promoted to the new position of group show director of Urban Expositions California-based trade events. Events under John’s direction will include the semi-annual editions of the California Gift Show and San Francisco International Gift Fair. She will oversee the strategic development, sales, vendor relations, operational aspects and the day-to-day management of the two sales teams. John joined Urban Expositions in 2009 as a sales manager for the San Francisco International Gift Fair and was promoted to show director in 2011. John came to Urban Expositions from Atlanta-based ecommerce company Speartek, where she served as the company’s tradeshow manager.
Matt Miller will take on the position of sales manager for the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Gift Show, the national souvenir show for the souvenir and resort gift industry in Las Vegas. Miller will report to Lisa Glosson, show director of the Las Vegas Souvenir & Resort Show. Miller joined Urban Expositions in 2010 where he provided sales support on several Urban Expositions shows. He will also continue to serve as the show director for the semi-annual Orlando Gift Show and Orlando Cash & Carry Show as well as the annual Gulf Coast Gift Show in Panama City Beach, Fla.
Evan Shoda has been appointed to the West Coast sales team as sales manager for the semi-annual editions of the California Gift Show and San Francisco International Gift Fair. He will report to Group Show Director Leanna John and will be responsible for strengthening and growing the show’s exhibitor base in the general gift, world style handcrafted and vintage sections. Shoda joined Urban Expositions in 2011 and worked alongside Matt Miller as a show manager for the Orlando Gift Show and Gulf Coast Gift Show in Panama City Beach. Shoda will continue to serve as the ad sales manager for 15 of Urban Expositions trade events.
