SISO CEO Summit 2027 Exhibitor List

John Mooney is the CEO of Boston-based Pri-Med (www.pri-med.com), an operating division of Diversified Business Communications. He founded the Company in 1994 to provide clinicians with better access to high quality continuing medical education and an efficient way to learn about rapidly expanding therapeutic options for their patients. Under John's leadership, Pri-Med has delivered over 20 million hours of live education in six languages to 300,000+ clinicians through programs in 125 cities across 15 countries. John began his career in the research department at Cahners Publishing in Boston (which later became Reed Exhibitions) and advanced through roles in business development and event management roles until leaving to start Pri-Med. He is a Massachusetts native and a graduate of Boston College.

Kerry C. Gumas was President & Chief Executive Officer of Questex Media Group LLC, a leading international event and media company that brings communities of buyers and sellers together to do business face-to-face, online and one-to-one via a series of over 50 conferences, exhibitions, hosted buyer and other events produced annually in North America, Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia/Pacific and over 100 related eMedia, web and mobile titles, B2B magazines and other information products. A leader for over 30 years in the exhibition and B2B media industry, Mr. Gumas also held senior executive positions at Advanstar Communications, IDG World Expo and Reed Exhibition Companies. He has been responsible for managing, launching and acquiring standalone and integrated B2B tradeshow, digital media and publishing businesses in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia, serving over 35 distinct industries. Mr. Gumas began his career at the United States Department of Commerce where he was a key member of the team that produced the first U.S. National Trade Exhibitions in Beijing and led over 20 U.S. trade missions throughout China. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO) and is a member of the American Business Media Association and International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE). He was recently named an Honorary President and previously served as president and vice president of the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers (SACEOS). In addition he is a member of numerous tourism, travel and hospitality industry and trade groups and associations. He was named to Tradeshow Week Magazine’s “Power Pack: The 100 Most Influential People in the Tradeshow Business” and B-to-B Magazine’s “Who’s Who in Business Publishing”. Mr. Gumas received his degree in Political Science and Business Administration from Widener University.

Lisa Hannant is Group Managing Director of Clarion Events. Lisa has 30 years’ experience working across a broad range of products and international markets. Lisa is responsible for the strategic development and growth of Clarion’s portfolios internationally and has extensive experience of building market leading brands and positions both organically and through acquisition.

Lewis Shomer, President and CEO: Shomex Productions, Santa Monica CA, 1984 – Present. Executive Director, Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO), January 2009 – Present; Chairman, 5NET4 Productions, and Abilities Expo, Present. Shomex Productions, founded in 1984, by Lew and Clare Shomer was the nation’s largest producer of Diversity Career Fairs. The company no longer produces career fairs after 25 years in business. Shomex is now the administrative organization for The Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO). 5NET4 Productions is the parent company for Abilities Expo, an exhibition and trade show for people with disabilities, caregivers and professional healthcare workers. Abilities Expo currently produces shows in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta. Lewis Shomer (Lew) holds a BA from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MBA from The Bernard Baruch Graduate School of Business at CCNY in New York. Mr. Shomer’s career started with IBM in New York, and he later joined Honeywell Information Systems in White Plains. He moved to London in 1967 and spent 10 years as Vice President, International Operations for Computer Investor’s Group, a leading computer leasing company. When he returned to the US he held various sales, marketing and general management positions with Mohawk Data Sciences, Novation, Inc. and Pertec Computer Corporation. Before starting Shomex, Lew was Vice President, Marketing and Sales for The Interface Group, producers of COMDEX, the Nation’s largest Trade show. Prior to becoming the Executive Director, Mr. Shomer served on the Board of Directors of SISO for 9 years including the position of Chairman. He served on the Board of Directors for The American Friends of the St. Petersburg (Russia) Philharmonic. Lew is a fifteen year member of the NAACP Board of Trustees, Special Contributions Fund, serves on the Image Awards committee, and is a Golden Heritage Life Member. Mr. Shomer has owned a soul food restaurant in Atlanta and an antique mall in Los Angeles. Lew lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Clare and has one son, three dogs, 2 cats, and 3 horses.

Liz’s endless curiosity, desire for learning, and passion for building relationships infuse her responsibilities as the President of Clarion Events North America. With over 20 years of experience in the events industry, she has transformed the businesses she works with through her strategic vision and customer-centric approach to drive commercial outcomes. In her current role, Liz oversees the strategic direction for the Clarion North American business by focusing on customer and behavioral insights, commercial effectiveness, digital platform development, and innovation. In addition, she is responsible for product strategy development, where she partners with Clarion’s portfolio directors to identify growth opportunities to enhance our existing events and develop new digital offerings. Her forward-thinking mindset constantly has her eye on the customer experience and how to continuously evolve what our events, media, and products offer to increase the value we provide face-to-face and digitally. Liz fosters an environment focusing on employee engagement, innovation, and team collaboration to serve Clarion’s customers and communities. Her leadership nurtures inclusivity, creativity, and continuous improvement within Clarion and is well-recognized by top talent in the industry. Liz’s interest in events began when she worked hands-on to assist her father in setting up his local food distributor events. From there, she worked in a variety of positions in college, assisting the Convention & Visitors Bureau, and quickly, her passion for the events business spread. Before joining Clarion, Liz was with Reed Exhibitions for 14 years in various marketing leadership positions across several events, including the leading jewelry media brand, JCK. Liz earned her bachelor’s degree from Niagara University, a master’s degree from the University of New Haven, and a digital marketing certificate from Cornell University. She is active in her community where she volunteers, assisting her sons’ sports teams throughout the year, managing communications and events. Liz is the Chair of SISO’s Marketing Special Interest Group and is on the Board of Directors for SISO and the Board of Directors for UFI. Liz has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the Events Industry, the Virtual Event Industry Smart 100 List, and the Event Content Professionals to Follow list. She is also an active member of the Women In Exhibitions Network North American Chapter and is a member of several Event Technology Advisory Boards. Liz lives in Connecticut with her husband, two boys, two dogs, and a cat.

Tony Calanca joined Advanstar in 2006 and is responsible for the continued growth and direction for the company’s trade exhibitions in the Fashion, Licensing, Life Sciences, and Powersports and Automotive industries. Tony has over 30 years experience with large-scale domestic and international trade and consumer exhibitions and conferences.

Brian Field was named Interim President and CEO of Emerald in January 2020, having joined the company in June 2019 as Chief Operating Officer with responsibilities across marketing, sales and event operations, customer experience, data, and digital initiatives and product innovation. Brian has over 20 years of experience across both B2B and B2C industries.

Britton Jones recently founded NXT Events Media Group, a company dedicated to producing experiences beyond expectations by creating higher levels of engagement and interaction than the traditional trade show model. Prior to founding NXT Events Media Group, Britton served as President and CEO of Business Journals Inc. (BJI) where he led the development of a market-leading portfolio of 27 annual trade shows serving the fashion/retail markets. Britton was also one of the founders and CEO of LeftField Media, a consumer-facing events company focused on fan-based/ enthusiasts markets.

Carl Pugh has launched and acquired dozens of trade shows, published numerous articles in the trade press and speaks frequently at industry events. As president of Radius Events (www.radiusevents.com), he manages conferences and expositions and consults on trade show acquisitions for some of the industry’s most prominent organizations.

A former vice president at Citi, Cassandra left corporate to start a B2B media company. The third launch became the leading cannabis industry trade publication MJBiz, which in turn was the foundation for the fastest-growing trade show of the past decade, MJBizCon. She oversaw the growth of MJBiz, first as CEO then as Chair of the Board, until its recent acquisition by Emerald Expositions. Cassandra serves on the board of SISO, and will chair the association’s Executive Committee for the coming year.

Charlie McCurdy is Chief Executive of Informa’s Global Exhibitions division. He has over 25 years’ experience in events and business-to-business media and has held a number of senior executive roles during his career, leading the process of transforming, expanding and creating value at a range of companies.