Meet the 2026 Predict Speakers
Predict speakers provide big picture information through forward-thinking content to help position your organization to be future focused.
Marsha Flanagan, M.Ed., CEM, President & CEO, IAEE
Marsha Flanagan, M.Ed., CEM is the President and CEO of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events® (IAEE). As IAEE’s president, she is responsible for the management of its full-time professional staff, producing the annual business operating plan and budget, overseeing the support of all meetings of governance units, leading business development, directing fund raising efforts, advocating for the industry and the organization’s members, and providing organizational leadership and strategic counsel to the board of directors.
Flanagan also serves as the association’s representative with industry coalitions, partner organizations and strategic alliances. Visit www.iaee.com for more information.
Kara Dickerson, Founder & Principal, Content With Impact LLC (Former head of CES Keynote Stage & Conference)
Kara Dickerson is a content and event executive with 20+ years of experience leading high impact content programs, global keynote stages and event strategy. In her last corporate role, Dickerson was the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Conferences at the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), producer of CES, the world’s most influential tech event. At CTA/CES, Dickerson led content and event strategy and curated the CES keynote stage, where she engaged many of the world’s most visible and influential brands in prominent speaking placements.
Dickerson is a technology and content subject matter expert. She is adept at capturing big ideas and translating them into stories that convey the personal, global and business impact of human innovation across industries.
In 2023, Dickerson founded Content With Impact LLC, a consultancy helping event organizers and global brands amplify their storytelling and stages, launch new markets, and create revenue and brand impact through their content and thought leadership planning.
Dickerson’s consulting work is grounded in her years of global trade show leadership, executive management, revenue generation, strategic planning, event management, content development, and brand building experience.
Prior to her tenure at CTA, Dickerson held a variety of communications roles for industry trade associations, global technology companies, strategic communications agencies and federal service, where she directed media strategy, oversaw editorial content, and served as a national spokesperson.
She and her husband are the parents of two amazing young adults (ages 17 and 21) and one adorable and scrappy rescue dog. She is a native of the Washington, D.C. region.
Nancy Drapeau, IPC, Vice President of CEIR Research, IAEE
Nancy Drapeau, IPC, brings over 30 years of market research expertise to the B2B exhibitions industry. As a key voice at CEIR, A division of IAEE, she leads influential, industry-wide studies that track trends and deliver insights to help event professionals stay ahead of the curve. A frequent speaker at conferences and forums, Nancy was named BizBash’s 1,000 Most Influential People in Events in 2019.
She holds a BA in Government from Georgetown University, a Graduate Diploma in International Studies from l’IEHEI, and is a trained focus group moderator through the AC Nielsen Burke Institute. Nancy is a member of the Industry Insights Association and has contributed her expertise to the Event Industry Council’s Research & Advocacy Task Force.
Based in Maine, she enjoys life by the coast with her husband and their energetic border collie, Moxie.
Carrie Ferenac, Co-Founder & President, Convention News Television (CNTV)
Carrie Ferenac co-founded Convention News Television (CNTV) in 2007 with her business partner, Marcelo Zolessi, after identifying a growing need for high-quality digital storytelling and live production in the exhibitions and events industry. Today, CNTV is widely regarded as the gold standard for event videos. The company produces onsite studios, remote content, daily coverage, and brand storytelling for associations and for-profit organizers around the country. The video content engages audiences while generating new revenue streams through advertisements and sponsorships.
CNTV partners with the industry’s most influential organizations—including IAEE, PCMA, SISO, TSNN, ASAE, ECA, ECEF, and Trade Show Executive—to deliver live coverage and video content throughout the year. CNTV’s Capitol Hill Highlights has also become a trusted format for organizations looking to elevate their advocacy efforts.
Before launching CNTV, Carrie spent eleven years at WESH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Orlando, building a deep foundation in broadcast journalism, storytelling, and newsroom management. She brings this approach to the meetings industry, helping event leaders communicate with clarity, impact, and authenticity.
Carrie is not only a respected business owner but also a dedicated industry leader and passionate advocate. She recently served as Chair of both the IAEE and CEIR Boards of Directors, helping shepherd IAEE through its CEO search and supporting research initiatives that shape the future of exhibitions. She has been a driving force behind advocacy efforts such as Exhibitions Day and the Exhibitions Mean Business campaign and remains a prominent voice for workforce development, innovation, and the continued importance of face-to-face events—even as AI transforms the business events landscape.
A sought-after speaker and longtime host of major industry broadcasts, Carrie combines her broadcast expertise with her commitment to lifting the industry through storytelling. She has been a finalist for PCMA’s Supplier of the Year (2017, 2019 & 2025), a mentor to rising leaders, and a champion for collaboration and community across the business events ecosystem.
Howard Givner, Managing Director, Oaklins | DeSilva+Phillips
Industry consultant and thought leader, Howard Givner, considers himself a serial entrepreneur, innovator and business strategist in events, experiential marketing and ed-tech. Currently he serves as Managing Director at investment bank Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips, and runs his own consulting company, Heathcote Advisory Group. He has successfully sold three companies; advised numerous C-suite executives, owners and investors on growing their businesses; and helped position them for successful exits.
Michele Iversen, Principal, Geopolitical & Regulatory Risk
Michele Iversen is a Principal at The Chertoff Group, where she leads the Geopolitical & Regulatory Risk practice. She advises defense, technology and critical infrastructure customers on the national security dimensions of regulatory compliance, cross-border investment and supply chain risk.
Her work spans CFIUS National Security Agreement compliance, Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) risk advisory, Federal Acquisition Security Council (FASC) exclusion analysis, and ICT supply chain risk management strategy. Customers rely on her to translate complex statutory and regulatory requirements into actionable compliance frameworks and board-level risk decisions.
Ms. Iversen brings more than 25 years of government service spanning the National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Cyber Command and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Chief Information Office, where she developed the DoW ICT Supply Chain Risk Management strategy and represented DoW on the Federal Acquisition Security Council.
She is a retired U.S. Army Signal Corps officer who helped establish the Joint Task Force for Computer Network Defense, the forerunner of U.S. Cyber Command.
Bennie F. Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, American Marketing Association
Bennie F. Johnson is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Marketing Association. AMA is the largest community-based marketing association in the world, trusted by marketing and sales professionals to help them discover industry trends. AMA’s community of local chapters spans more than 70 cities and 320 college campuses throughout North America. AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM®️ professional certification, five premiere academic journals, and industry-leading live and virtual training events.
He most recently served as the Executive Director of AIGA, the largest professional association for design. AIGA grows the power of design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, business driver and catalyst for positive impact. While at AIGA, Bennie hosted the acclaimed Design Adjacent podcast and the design leadership fireside chat series from 2020 to 2022.
Currently, he serves on the Board of Overseers for Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies and is a former Board Chair of the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. Bennie is also a special advisor to the People’s Graphic Design Archive. He was recently named to the Board of the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.
Tariq Khan, Senior Economist, Tourism Economics - an Oxford Economics Company
Tariq Khan is a Senior Economist at Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics Company, with a decade of professional experience in the economics industry, having previously held roles at the International Monetary Fund and the Institute of International Finance in Washington, DC. He currently conducts macroeconomic and economic impact analysis for numerous destinations throughout the US and Canada and oversees the use and development of Destination International’s Event Impact Calculator in the Western Hemisphere.
He is a lead contributor to numerous event industry studies and a frequent speaker at conferences across North America, providing expert insights into the latest trends and outlooks for the travel and events industries.
Jack Macleod, President, 360 Live Media
Jack Macleod serves as President of 360 Live Media, a full-service events agency and a Smithbucklin company. 360 Live Media supports event organizers with strategy, planning, marketing, and sales services to help them modernize their approach, optimize their impact, and grow the show. Jack leverages over twenty-five years of experience in the marketing, technology, and media sectors to provide clients smart strategies and a competitive edge.
Previous roles include executive leadership at a private equity-backed B2B media company serving the higher education sector, and Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, a cross-channel content marketing agency owned by Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP). Earlier in his career, Jack was a leading growth executive with online advertising bellwether Advertising.com, where he opened markets in San Francisco and Los Angeles prior to the company’s acquisition by AOL Time Warner in 2004. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Communications from the University of Notre Dame.
Brian Pagel, 2026 Chairperson of the Board, Chief Revenue Officer, SEMA | PRI
Brian Pagel currently serves as the Chief Revenue Officer for SEMA | PRI. Prior to that he was Executive Vice President of Business Development and oversaw the Residential and Commercial Connections portfolio at Emerald. Brian began his career at Shore Varrone in 1998 and has worked in a variety of leadership positions with Bill Communications, VNU, Nielsen Expositions and Emerald.
Brian has produced nearly 100 events in his career, successfully repositioned several struggling properties and was a part of the deal team that acquired CEDIA Expo in 2017. In 2013 he helped to champion an effort to co-locate the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) with the International Builders Show (IBS), creating Design and Construction Week. Brian holds a degree in Organizational Communications from the University of Kansas and is an active volunteer with both the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE). He is also a frequent industry speaker, blogger and guest columnist.
Brian is originally from Littleton, Colorado, but currently lives and works in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Lauren Parr, Chief Meetings and Exhibits Officer, Optica
Lauren Parr is Chief Meetings and Exhibits Officer at Optica, where she leads the organization’s meetings and events portfolio, helping connect the global optics and photonics community through impactful technical conferences and experiences. With more than 20 years of experience in association meetings, learning, and event strategy, she brings deep expertise in program development, instructional design, and creating engaging experiences that advance professional and scientific communities. She believes without a doubt that face-to-face meetings and conferences change our world for the better.
Before joining Optica in 2024, she served as Senior Vice President of Meetings and Learning at the American Geophysical Union (AGU), where she led a diverse portfolio of scientific conferences and events for nearly 10 years. While there, she developed a passion for ensuring meaningful approaches to creating and measuring sustainable meetings and events. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles with the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society and the American Society for Microbiology.
Lauren holds a bachelor’s degree in education and communications from Northern Arizona University, a master’s degree in management from the University of Maryland, and a master’s degree in oenology and viticulture from Washington State University. She lives in Mount Airy, Maryland with her son and an assortment of cats, dogs, and horses. If she’s not traveling to a meeting, most weekends you can find her at a horse show somewhere on the Eastern seaboard.
Dr. Sam Potolicchio, President, Preparing Global Leaders Forum
Dr. Sam Potolicchio was named one of “America’s Best Professors” by the Princeton Review, the Future Leader of American Higher Education by the Association of Colleges and Universities and was also profiled in a cover story on his leadership curriculum by Newsweek Japan as the “Best Professor in America”.
Potolicchio is the President of the Preparing Global Leaders Forum and also teaches in Executive Education EMBA programs at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown and at the Mannheim Business School (Germany). He is a visiting lecturer at University of Bologna (Italy) and teaches two classes (US Political Systems and Preparing to Be President) to Georgetown University undergraduates.
He is a columnist for Newsweek Japan, a Distinguished Global Scholar at the Canterbury School of Fort Myers, and the lecturer on Leadership at the Library of Congress for COIL, an international leadership program of the United States Congress.
Potolicchio has served as the Distinguished University Professor, Department Chairman and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Political Science at RANEPA, Director of Global and Custom Education at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, a visiting Professor at NYU’s DC campus and co-taught with Senator Richard Lugar at UIndy’s Semester in Washington Program.
Potolicchio has delivered lectures in over 85 countries, from Oxford, LSE, Cambridge and Yale to Iraq’s Komar University and Donetsk State University. As a middle-school basketball coach he led his Little Hoyas to 6 league titles and previously served as a 5th grade Latin teacher, public high school teacher of Law and History and secondary school admissions officer.
B.A. Government, Georgetown; B.A. Psychology, Georgetown; M.T.S. Theology and Culture, Harvard; PRSE, Harvard; MA, Government, Georgetown; PhD, Government, Georgetown
Tara M. Sinclair, MA, Ph.D., Economist, Department Chair and Professor of Economics and International Affairs, George Washington University
Professor Sinclair is the chair of the GW Department of Economics and is the former director of the GW Center for Economic Research. Her research models, explains, and forecasts macroeconomic fluctuations and trends. She also evaluates forecasts, particularly with respect to their role in policy and decision-making. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in macroeconomics and econometrics.
Tara earned a BA in Foreign Languages from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, and an MA and PhD in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis. Before starting graduate school, she worked as a commercial real estate appraiser in Chicago. In 2022-2024 she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Macroeconomics in the Office of Economic Policy at the Department of Treasury. Sinclair has also been a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis and Atlanta, a visiting associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, a consultant at the World Bank, a member of the Technical Advisory Committee at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and founding chief economist at job search site Indeed.
She is regularly quoted by the press, including in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Financial Times, and has appeared on CNN, C-Span, NPR, Fox Business, Bloomberg Radio and TV, and various other national and international outlets.