New 2023 CEMA Advisory Board Will Focus on Creating Exceptional Value for Exceptional Professionals


CHICAGO, IL — The Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA) today announced its new 2023 Advisory Board of Directors. Under its direction, CEMA will continue to create industry-leading educational content and high-impact professional networking opportunities, while driving groundbreaking thinking to help advance the events industry.

The 2023 CEMA Advisory Board members comprise senior event marketing executives from marquee brands.

Chairwoman: Colleen Bisconti, VP Global Events & Experiences, IBM

Vice Chairwoman: Amy Walter, Head of Global Event Strategy, Atlassian

Secretary: Richard Steinau, Senior Vice President, Bellwether

Financial Advisor: Gary Murakami, Vice President of Sales and Industry Relations, Teneo Hospitality Group

Immediate Past Chairman: Paul Coulter, President, Priority Concepts Group

Newly elected Advisory Board Members at Large (two-year term):

Sara Straw, Director, Strategic Events, RingCentral

Leslie Hasvold, Senior Director, Global Event Management & Strategy, Illumio

Brian Mason, Senior Director of Strategic Events, Salesforce

Jodi Morrison, Vice President of Operations, Lenos Software

Advisory Board Members completing the second year of their two-year term:

Courtney Bales, Chief of Staff, Global Events & Oracle Studio, Oracle

Bridgette Birdie, Senior Director of Global Events, RMS

Kathleen Castaillac, Senior Director, Global Event Marketing, Splunk

Stefanie Maragna, Global Technology Marketing Executive

Dan Shuman, Senior Director, B2B Strategy, Global Sales Organization, Marriott International

“As we look forward to the new year, we will continue to adapt to a dynamic event landscape, and more than ever, we need to rely on each other to be fearless innovators,” said PCMA and CEMA President and CEO Sherrif Karamat. “Our Advisory Board exemplifies CEMA’s eminent community of experienced, visionary and inspirational leaders, and is uniquely positioned to guide us as we work to deliver new knowledge, new tools, and new avenues to succeed, grow, and have impact.”


For media queries from the Americas, APAC, EMEA, and requests for interviews with Sherrif Karamat, please contact: Meghan Risch, PCMA Chief of Staff, Vice President, Corporate Communications

About PCMA

PCMA, PCMA Foundation and CEMA educate, inspire, and listen, creating meaningful experiences where passion, purpose and commerce come together. We are the world’s largest community for Business Events Strategists, providing senior-level education, networking, and market intelligence for the global business events industry. Our mission is to drive social and economic progress through business events. Headquartered in Chicago, IL PCMA has 17 North American Chapters, regional communities in APAC, EMEA and LATAM, and members in 59 countries. The Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA), a PCMA subsidiary, advances strategic event marketing and marketing communications for senior-level event marketers and industry professionals. Visit us at pcma.org.

About PCMA Foundation

The role of the Foundation of PCMA is to support the mission of PCMA through fundraising and grant-giving focused on scholarships, education and research that will advance the business events industry. Annually the Foundation funds over $700K in impact, and since 1985 has funded over 2,500 scholarships, 100 research studies and education programs, and $2.7M in charitable giving.

About CEMA

The Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA) is the eminent community for senior event executives, association peers and industry partners and is an integral component of the Professional Convention Management Association’s (PCMA) brand collective. CEMA promotes professional networking opportunities, facilitates peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and drives industry standards. Through strong relationships with strategic partners, CEMA fosters both finding innovative solutions to business issues and continuous focus on members’ career growth. For more information, please visit http://www.cemaonline.com.

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