We’re only one week away from WeddingWire World 2015, and tickets are sold out! We’re so excited to welcome hundreds of wedding and event professionals for two full days of education and information to help you grow your business.
In addition to your WeddingWire World favorites like CEO Timothy Chi, CMO Sonny Ganguly and our team of Education Experts, we’re proud to host the following special guest speakers from a variety of backgrounds! Get to know a little bit more about each of them below:
Bill Rancic
Entrepreneur & Author, Winner of NBC’s The Apprentice
Bill Rancic burst onto the national scene when he was hired by Donald Trump as the winner of the first season of NBC’s breakthrough program The Apprentice. The published author of a New York Times best-selling book, Bill wrote “You’re Hired: How To Succeed In Business And Life.” This book chronicles Bill’s successful life, experience, and proven advice. He continued to make a name for himself as an author by writing “Beyond the Lemonade Stand” to help educate and motivate young people worldwide about the value of money and how to leverage skills, talents and abilities at an early age. All proceeds from the sale of this book have gone to charity.
Monte Durham
Fashion Director, Bridals by Lori, TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta
Monte Durham is the Fashion Director at Bridals by Lori, the South’s premier bridal salon featured on TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta. A native of small-town West Virginia, Monte describes his ascension from one-room schoolhouse to the fashion industry as an unlikely story. Before he found his way to bridal, Monte worked in fashion merchandising and hair styling, then made a name for himself as a Washington, DC-based bridal image consultant. His work has appeared in the pages of The Washingtonian, Martha Stewart Living, Brides Magazine, and several other publications. Monte’s no-nonsense fashion commentary and naughty sense of humor have made him a favorite and regular guest on CNN and Fox.
Dana Herbert
Owner, Desserts by Dana, Winner of Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker
Dana Herbert, owner of the award-winning Desserts by Dana, resides in Bear, Delaware. Chef Herbert lives and breathes in the sweet and artistic world of pastry art, where flavor and color come to life in his wonderful wedding cakes, sugar sculptures, custom cakes, and tasty miniature desserts for all occasions. Dana is an expert sugar artist with a number of nicknames. He’s best known as “The Sugar Daddy” because of his work with pulled and blown sugar, but is also known as Delaware’s “King of Cakes.” Dana leads a talented group of cake makers and designers that have been named top 100 Bakeries in the United States by Brides Magazine, routinely receive the Best of Delaware and People’s Choice Award for their amazing cakes. Chef Herbert was named Top Ten Cake Designers in the United States by Dessert Professional Magazine in 2014.
Reno Perry
Account Executive, LinkedIn
Beginning with a stint at the US Department of Commerce, Reno has been able to remain a proponent of small business throughout his career. Currently at LinkedIn, he partners with hundreds of small businesses to develop strategic sourcing, data strategies, and branding initiatives. These partnerships have been successful in connecting organizations with the best talent, have advanced their competitive advantage, and have connected LinkedIn members with the right opportunities.
Matthew Davis
Account Executive, LinkedIn
Cleveland-born, after graduating from the University of Michigan and attending Cardozo School of Law, Matthew joined a residential home development start-up with a focus on energy efficiency and sustainability throughout the construction process. Matthew is currently an Account Executive in LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions vertical. He works with small- and medium-sized businesses across all industries to help them better leverage LinkedIn’s platform, enhancing talent acquisition and employment branding initiatives.
Caroline J. Fox, Esq.
Attorney, The Law Office of Caroline J. Fox
Caroline J. Fox is an attorney based in Richmond, Virginia. Her practice focuses on the needs of small, creative businesses, with special emphasis on the wedding, design, and media industries. Caroline’s background working in the creative industry helps her provide unique legal solutions without compromising a small businesses’ vision. She provides services including business formation, contract drafting and review, creative review, and copyright & trademark registration.
Amanda Miller Littlejohn
Personal Branding Coach, The Branding Box
Amanda Miller Littlejohn is an idea oven, brand problem solver, and creative powerhouse working at the intersection of public relations, journalism, marketing and social media. As a former print journalist — and the founder of Washington, DC-based social media-powered PR firm Mopwater Social PR — Amanda has helped clients leverage mainstream media as well as publicity, blogs, and social media campaigns to build buzz online and off for nearly a decade. Through her signature coaching programs and ground-breaking personal branding system, The Branding Box, Amanda is a motivating business coach for individuals seeking brand clarity and fresh ideas on how to emerge as experts in their chosen fields.
Laurie Hartwell
Founder & CEO, The Bridal Society
Laurie Hartwell is the Founder and CEO of The Bridal Society, the nation’s leader in Wedding Planning Certification and WeddingWire educational partner. Laurie is a seasoned wedding planner, with over 20 years of experience as the owner of the wedding planning firm A Wedding To Remember. At one time, Laurie had wedding planners in 12 states before deciding to focus more of her attention on the education of wedding planners and hospitality professionals across the country through The Bridal Society. In addition to their educational partnership with WeddingWire, The Bridal Society partners with universities and colleges in key cities to bring specialized training programs to their areas.
Ross Oscar Knight
Photographer & Author
Ross Oscar Knight’s strength in communication through imagery was born from his childhood stuttering, his search for a racial identity, and his fascination with emotional expression. Eight years ago he left a career in engineering, marketing and small business development to pursue his dream of becoming an international photographer. To date, he has traveled to five different continents to observe and photograph cultural ceremonies. His fine art exhibits are now touring the US and, in 2014, he published his first book on weddings. As a speaker, he has trained over 500 amateur and professional photographers and, as a philanthropist, he has supported cancer research, microfinance programs, youth fitness, and mission trips to Haiti and Honduras.
Jason Hsiao
President & Co-Founder, Animoto
A veteran of the entertainment industry, Animoto president and co-founder Jason guides the company’s strategy and marketing efforts for its award-winning online video creation service. Formerly a television producer for MTV Networks, Jason was the creator and co-executive producer of the Comedy Central series “Dirty Stinkin’ Politics.” Other major credits include Comedy Central’s “The Showbiz Show” with David Spade, the 2006 VH1 Big In ’06 Awards, MTV’s Viva La Bam, and the 2002 and 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
John Lincoln
President, Ignite Visibility
John Lincoln is president of Ignite Visibility, an industry-leading online marketing agency based in San Diego. With more than a decade of experience, John has worked with over 400 online businesses and has generated millions in revenue for clients. He is a noted author on Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, and Search Engine Journal, and has been featured on CIO Magazine, Good Morning San Diego, the Union Tribune, and more. John has won awards for Top Conversion Rate Expert of the Year, Top SEO Expert of the Year, Top Analytics Columnist of the Year, and for the Best Social Media Campaign of the Year. In 2014 and 2015, Ignite Visibility was named #1 SEO company in California and top 2 in the nation. A major aspect of John’s work is leading SEO strategy at WeddingWire.
Jimmy Sopko
SMB Channel Partner Manager, Pinterest
Jimmy Sopko leads SMB Channel Partnerships at Pinterest. His team builds strategic relationships with business partners to help small- and mid-sized businesses get discovered by the millions of people who use Pinterest to look for things to plan, buy and do. Before working at Pinterest, Jimmy served in the US Navy and rowed on the US National Team. In the Navy, he deployed three times with USS FORD. While rowing, Jimmy raced in three World Rowing Championships, winning a silver medal in 2009.
Alan Katz
Owner, Great Officiants
Alan Katz is known as the King of Reviews. With over 1,000 online reviews, his company, Great Officiants, dominates the Southern California marketplace. Alan has put together a team of 29 professional Officiants, a Wedding Chapel, a Beach Wedding Division, and has the ability to issue marriage licenses. Doing over 1,200 weddings per year, his company is the most successful in the industry. He serves on 2 ABC boards and has won the Best of the Knot, WeddingWire, and LA Hotlist for the Last 5 years. He was awarded the Trendsetter of the Year Award by the Orange County ABC Chapter. He mentors others in the industry and is a requested speaker on Wedding Business success across the country.
We can’t wait to hear from all these amazing speakers! From their sessions, you will walk away with tips, tools, and resources to grow your business.
For more details on WeddingWire World speakers, agenda or other details, visit www.WeddingWireWorld.com. For questions concerning WeddingWire World tickets, travel and lodging, please contact events@weddingwire.com.
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