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On this episode of Behind the Event, we speak with Shane Allor, Vice President and General Manager of the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa. We discuss the current state of events and how their hotel has been transitioning to a safer meeting space. For more information, visit eventrender.com

For all of us searching for anything but doom and gloom in the age of Covid-19, look no further than Gayle Majeski. Gayle is the Director of Strategic Events at KPMG, overseeing event planning. While the rest of us were running frantically about trying to figure out how to stay above water, Gayle and KPMG stood confident in the face of adversity. Prophetically, KPMG had been developing their virtual event platform for quite some time and the transition from in person to virtual was (virtually) seamless. In this episode of Behind the Event, Gayle lets us in on how they’ve fared and how they’re planning for the future.

Hugh Forrest has been with SXSW since the early days and as the Chief Programming Officer, he’s seen the world renowned event grow and evolve into what it is today. In this episode of Behind the Event, Hugh lets us in on the challenges Covid presented, like the cancellation of the 2020 event for the first time since its inception 30+ years ago, and how they’ve been working to adapt and overcome those challenges in 2021. Moving to a digital platform for next year, while reflecting on the issues of the past eight months, Hugh talks about the focus on themes like social justice, environmentalism, and the changing landscape for events in the future. While cautiously optimistic, we dive into what we can expect in the years to come, as all of us find our footing within this uncharted territory

On this episode of Behind the Event, we speak with Matt Emerson, President of CEAVCO, an Event Production company that has been putting on events for 60 years. We discuss the current state of events and how production companies have been transitioning to a virtual world as well as insights on the future for production companies. For more information, visit eventrender.com

On this episode of Behind the Event, we speak with Duane Tornquist, Chief Creative Officer of Artists of the Industry about how new technology has been used to create tools that have improved the event industry in many ways. We also discuss how those tools can be used and how they might improve in the future.

Enjoy our first episode of the Behind the Event podcast, with our guest Nick Bacon of Mainstream Media LLC.  We discuss important topics around live streaming, virtual events and the future of the industry. This episode includes tips, best practices and stories around recent streaming and virtual event projects.