FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Group Marketing Director
201-902-2097
ggonzalez@ntmllc.com
(NOVEMBER 30, 2016 – SECAUCUS, NJ) Incentive has named its inaugural list of 25 outstanding professionals who have made a noteworthy impact on the motivation industry in 2016.
“There is an army of dedicated professionals across the globe that makes this industry possible,” said Vince Alonzo, Editor-in-Chief of Incentive. “We wanted to recognize the individuals who have significantly contributed to the advancement of the motivation industry, or made it easier for motivation professionals to do their jobs, and are excited to debut our inaugural list of the 25 most influential people in the motivation industry.”
VISIONARIES
- Charlotte Blank, executive director, The Maritz Institute
- David Sturt, executive vice president, O.C. Tanner
- Melissa Van Dyke, president, Incentive Research Foundation (IRF)
ANALYSTS
- Janet Traphagen, president, Creative Group, Inc.; chair, IRF
- Kari Vrba, senior vice president of business development, MotivAction; 2017 secretary/executive board member, IRF
- Tina G. Weede, CRP, president, USMotivation; vice president of research and education, Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) Foundation
GLOBALISTS
- Carina Bauer, CEO, IMEX Group
- Kevin M. Hinton, CIS, chief excellence officer, SITE Foundation
- Peter W. Hart, CRP, CEO, Rideau Recognition Solutions; board member, IRF and Recognition Professionals International (RPI)
INDUSTRY MOVERS
- Tom Mahoney, chairman and CEO, ITA Group
- Kurt L. Paben, CIS, president of channel and employee loyalty, U.S., Aimia, Inc.
- David Peckinpaugh, president, Maritz Global Events
- Larry Schoenecker, president and COO, BI Worldwide
CHANGE MAKERS
- Paul Gordon, senior vice president of sales, Rymax Marketing Services
- Brett Hatch, senior director of the global corporate gifts division, Maui Jim
- Brian Rivolta, senior vice president, business development and sales, Incentive Concepts
- Scott A. Jeffrey, PhD, associate professor, Monmouth University
- Sheree Thornsberry, general manager, Blackhawk Engagement Solutions (BES)
ACTIVISTS
- Amy J. Hurley, LSW, CRP, program director of faculty and staff recognition, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; member, RPI board of directors; chair of best practice awards, RPI
- Alan Ranzer, cofounder and managing partner, Impact 4 Good
- Michele Samoulides, senior manager of worldwide reward and recognition programs, Microsoft; member, SITE Foundation board of trustees
- Dana Weaver, CIS, senior manager of marketing services, GROWMARK; president, SITE Chicago
ADVOCATES
- Denise Dornfeld, chairperson, AlliedPRA; 2016 president of SITE Foundation
- Rick Low, vice president of special markets, Citizen Watch Company
- Spencer Toomey, vice president, Revo sunglasses; immediate past president, IMA
- Pete Mitchell, director of B-to-B sales for Samsonite and Hartmann
- Karen Wesloh, executive director, Incentive Marketing Association (IMA)
The 25 Most Influential People in the Incentive Industry were selected by the editors of Incentive Magazine, with input from members of the industry and feedback from readers. Each honoree will be featured in the November/December 2016 issue of Incentive and online at IncentiveMag.com/Influential25.
ABOUT INCENTIVE
Incentive is the only multi-platform brand devoted exclusively to motivation and performance improvement through the use of incentive programs and consumer promotions, and has been the premier source of cutting-edge strategies to drive in-house, dealer channel, and consumer sales. Incentive is the only independent resource that encompasses travel, merchandise, and gift card awards, providing insightful, creative, and unbiased information and customer acquisition services for C-level executives and senior sales, finance, and HR managers who rely on this information to grow their businesses. For more information, visit http://www.incentivemag.com/About-Us/
ABOUT NORTHSTAR MEETINGS GROUP
Northstar Meetings Group is the leading B-to-B information and marketing solutions company serving all segments of the business meetings, events, and incentives market, including full-time and part-time meeting planners, as well as senior corporate, association, and not-for-profit decision-makers, and incentive professionals, facilitating their professional development and achievement of business goals. Our influential brands—Meetings & Conventions, Successful Meetings, Meeting News, and Incentive—currently serve over 200,000 active meeting planners and incentive professionals, across an integrated suite of data, digital, events, and print products. Our mission is to identify and engage meetings and incentive professionals across all industries, to facilitate their continuing professional development, and provide access to the resources and services they need at every step of their planning process. For more information, visit northstarmeetingsgroup.com.
