Speakers

Dr Huthaifa AbdulQader

Dr. AbdulQader is the Chair of the Advisory Board and the Past President of the International Association of Dental Students (IADS), located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Dr. AbdulQader has assumed leadership roles in multiple non-governmental organizations, including the roles of President of IADS, the Vice President of Science and Research, and Director of the International Research Program. He has also held the position of Secretary-General for the Slow Dentistry Global Network part of the Foundation for Excellence in Dentistry.

He advocates for psychological fortitude driven by self-awareness and personal development through Youth Empowerment and Innovative Leadership.

Samme Allen

With an illustrious career spanning over two decades, Samme has continually pushed the boundaries of event design and audience engagement. As the former CEO and Founder of conferenceemcees.com, she has been a trailblazer in creating better attendee experiences with her network of professional emcees and has evolved this business to really deliver across the attendee experience spectrum.

Samme's multifaceted skill set encompasses the roles of a meeting designer, award-winning emcee and a dynamic presenter. Her extensive experience has seen her collaborate with global audiences, earning her recognition as a leader in her field.

Away from her professional endeavours, Samme wears another proud title: "mum" to a gorgeous border terrier puppy named Bertie. In her leisure time, she embraces the invigorating world of cold-water swimming, a testament to her adventurous spirit. Samme Allen is a true pioneer, committed to transforming events into unforgettable experiences and making a mark in every facet of her life.

Tracy Bury

Tracy Bury is the owner and founder of Operandi Consulting, working with clients and stakeholders to drive positive results, focused on purpose, across the association and business events sectors. She has extensive international experience as an association leader and strategic thinker, and was previously deputy CEO of World Physiotherapy and past President of AC Forum. She’s a member of the BestCities Global Alliance strategic thinkers advisory group. After leading the World Physiotherapy congress to an ICCA and BestCities Incredible Impacts award in 2017, she was a lead judge for future rounds. Comfortable with the big picture and the finer details she facilitates success with societal impact. A creative, agile and innovative leader who inspires others, she was recognised as one of the women leading and advancing associations for International Women’s Day 2021.

Frits Bussemaker

Bussemaker has a passion for bringing people together in the Digital Age. He has initiated and helped run a number of (international) communities and conferences focused on linking Information Technology, Innovation and Impact. He is furthermore a coach and Program Director and supports organizations on business community building.

He is currently the chair of the ‘Institute for Accountability in the Digital Age’. An association instigated by UNESCO aimed to help define instruments for, and manage accountability in the Digital Age. He is also a founding member and vice-chair of the outreach committee of the ITU ‘AI for Good Global Summit (Geneva) with over 40 UN Agencies involved

Winnie Dehaney

With 20 years in the industry, Winnie has delivered a wide variety of events from multi-stream, multi-day conferences to awards ceremonies and book launches across the world. Her experience has centred around associations and membership bodies, working with a wide range of stakeholders that included engineers, healthcare professionals, accountants and even psychoanalysts. With a 'there are no problems, only challenges' mantra, Winnie has generated a great track record of delivering successful events across her career. She is passionate about mentoring and championing equity, diversity and inclusion throughout the event spectrum.

Daniel Doyle

With 15 years in Manhattan real estate and over 30 years in the music and entertainment business, Daniel understands the importance of clear messaging that both educates and entertains. His ability to clearly understand what’s missing from business strategies allows him to provide specific guidance, helping businesses get further faster.

Daniel brings his sales and marketing expertise to the team helping businesses strategize and think outside the box to get extraordinary results.

Rob Eveleigh

Rob is the owner and manager of Brightelm. He oversees the account management and project leadership responsibilities.

With a successful career in hospitality spanning more than 20 years, he has spent the last decade supporting membership organisations. Rob is an established expert on association events. He is sought after by associations from a wide range of sectors to help them create a successful event strategy.

Rob also coaches and mentors a handful of association CEOs each year.

Sasha Frieze

Sasha Frieze is an award-winning event strategist, consultant, coach and trainer.

Sasha has worked for decades with clients across associations and non profits, media owners, and corporates. Her clients include the United Nations Foundation, British Society for Immunology, Royal College of Anaesthetists, Chartered Institute of Wastes Management, The Guardian, Times & Sunday Times, Incisive Media, Informa, The BMJ and the Open Data Institute.

Sasha is a Non-Executive Director of the British Society for Haematology, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and The Royal Society of Arts, is a visiting lecturer in event management at The University of Westminster, London and judges industry awards.

Megan Garmers

As a business consultant, speaker and sales/marketing strategist with experience spanning over the last 2 decades in multiple industries internationally, Megan loves helping businesses connect with each other and their target markets. She is also passionate about de-mystifying tech solutions like social media, automation and AI and help businesses do more with less to increase revenue, impact and engagement online and in-person.

Her experience and network in the wedding, beauty and fashion industries along with the business world provide a unique blend of understanding what content and platforms resonate with audiences for effective marketing strategies.

Eija Hakkinen

Accomplished well connected event management professional with over 20 years of experience working across the sectors from private sector to public sector and membership organisations and associations working both in-house and agency side delivering a wide variety of events globally, leading projects and managing event and project teams as well as designing and managing global event programmes and strategies.

CISI offers an extensive programme of events in London, regionally and internationally with offices in London, India, Ireland, Kenya, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and the UAE. Eija is responsible for the CISI events team & CISI's global events programme and strategy ensuring that the events plan is aligned with CISI's other membership activities and communications. CISI delivers 200-250 events annually including both in-person and online events.

Pip Hall

Pip is a Business Analyst at Telent Technology Services Ltd, passionate about delivering outcomes, driving continuous improvement, and challenging assumptions that hold individuals and organisations back from embracing change. She is known for pursuing honesty – “I don’t care what you tell me, as long as it’s the truth”.

As a career-changer within the transport and communications sectors, Pip is reaping the benefits of applying her skills, domain knowledge and insight from her extensive public sector customer career to her role in a private sector service provider.

Pip holds the BCS Advanced International Diploma in Business Analysis, Change Management Practitioner and A4Q Certified Service Designer qualifications. She won Business Analyst of the Year in 2023.

Nika Kurent

Nika, Head of Events at Ciarb, is an event geek with 20+ years of experience in events and hospitality industries. She has worked for a high-end hotel group as Sales and Event Manager, before moving to a buyer side as Head of Events for World Association of Girls Guides and Girl Scouts and Federation of International Gynecology and Obstetrics. Now she is working with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb), planning their calendar of in-person, hybrid and virtual events.

Nika is always looking into ways to improve event project management processes, to increase the impact of events for membership organisations and to make the events as accessible and sustainable as possible

Claus Raasted

Director of The College of Extraordinary Experiences. Was an external advisor at McKinsey. Ruby Hunter. Marketing Wizard. Innovation Strategist. Playfulness Preacher. Experience Design Pioneer. Keynote Speaker. Event Designer. Author of 45 books.

With more than a thousand talks, workshops, etc. to his name, Claus Raasted has been called “a cross between Thor, Mick Jagger and Lady Gaga”. He also has a past in reality TV, but these days, who hasn't?

Expect the unexpected from this closing session. Claus will inspire you to sit up and listen, engage and enjoy and experience you will not forget.

Zak Roby

With 24 years in the industry, Zak specialises in commercial event strategy, delivery,management, sales, and leadership. Zak has curated unforgettable experiences forglobal brands, blending a passion for data, impactful attendee engagement, andexciting contextual content.

Paula Rowntree

Paula is a passionate advocate for the power of business events to create long-term economic and sustainable impact. With over 28 years of experience in the business event and association/not-for-profit sectors, Paula has successfully designed, developed, and implemented strategies for business events, strategic alliances and partnerships, and revenue diversification that enhance the member experience, adapt to changing environments and best practice, generate revenue, and increase the value of the organization. As Head of External Engagement with The Australian Psychological Society and Founder of the Business Events Network, Paula is committed to driving innovation and growth in the industry.

Paul Walsh

Paul Walsh is an experienced association executive who has worked with various European associations for almost 10 years.

He is particularly interested in helping associations increase their engagement with members while raising revenue.

He believes an association career can be extremely fulfilling, and he is in favor of any initiatives that contribute to increased professionalism in his sector.

Lauralee Whyte

Lauralee is a speaker specialist with a background in marketing spanning 15 years, working at award winning agencies such as Publicis, BD Network and Kru Talent.

Throughout her career, Lauralee has overseen a number of SPEAKER, PRESENTER & ENTERTAINMENT partnerships across key brands and events, such as BT Sport, Retail Trust, Virgin Money, UEFA Champions League, Nickelodeon, Pfizer and Diageo to list a few.

SPECTRUM was born from a clear need fill the diversity deficit.