Kim Borneman

Regional Director of Sales
Visit Dallas

For four years, Kim has served as Visit Dallas’ regional director of sales for the Western United States, based in the Bay Area, where she has experienced and showcased Dallas’ many exciting developments.

Kim’s career in sales and hospitality spans more than three decades in the Bay Area. Similar to most people, she fell into this industry while still in college when she met a hotel owner l who said, “You would be great in hotel sales, come work for me,” and from there, the journey began. After college she had the opportunity to join Marriott Hotels. She decided if she truly wanted to be in this industry it would be best to get her true foundation from the best, so when they gave her the opportunity, she jumped on it.

After a 10-year run with Marriott, she joined Pan Pacific Hotels to develop her skill set in not only the ultra-luxury world of true 5-star service, but also international hotel management. She eventually returned to large hotel chains upon joining Starwood Hotels at the Palace Hotel. Kim preceded to represent many of the downtown San Francisco Starwood properties through her tenure with Starwood’s Metro Market Sales Organization.

Many may wonder what brought Kim to represent Texas after decades of promoting the Bay Area, and the answer is really quite simple for her: “Texan hospitality is a real thing you just feel everywhere you go. From the genuine smiles to the warm greetings, to all the affirmatives you receive when you ask for something; it truly is incredible.”

Kim has been involved in many professional organizations, but since joining CEMA six years ago, this is the organization she will recommend to colleagues looking for professional and personal growth saying, “The peer-to-peer knowledge sharing is so valuable. It simply is the best organization for the corporate events segment.”

Kim was born in Chicago, but her family moved to California when she was in junior high, and she has called it home ever since. She has been married to her husband, Jon, for 30 years, and together they have three children. They live on a small farm in the East Bay Hills Bay, where they raise horses, goats, and chickens, all which Kim never dreamed her adult life would contain. During this pandemic, a life with more gratitude and thankfulness has been her focus. Kim reminds herself, “That no matter what the day brings, we ‘get’ to experience it. Embrace all that it teaches and changes you. This is a true gift.”

CEMA Executive Profile

John Woo

SVP Creative and Strategy
GES Events

As the engagement of brand experiences continue to evolve, John Woo is constantly challenging convention by creatively leveraging behavioral psychology, environment, and technology to design more meaningful connections to further our clients’ vision. As the SVP Creative and Strategy for GES Events, and a PCMA 2020 Visionary Award nominee, John develops creative solutions to deepen brand relationships, leveraging over 20 years of design experience to create communities of brand believers through human and transformative experiences, online and in person.

A recognized speaker of sustainable design, experience trends and design management practices, his previous and current clients include Tableau Software, Northwestern Mutual, Procore, USAF, DDS, Dell, McDonalds, Mary Kay, House of Marley, Harley Davidson, Oprah Magazine, Warrior Dash, Silverstein Properties at World Trade Center NYC, Adidas at the 2012 London Olympics, and Canada’s Department of Heritage at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

As we deal with so much change in our industry right now, John’s passion is understanding, interpreting and translating the human experience for our clients. He transforms “like(s)” into love by strategically humanizing the brand-to-person engagement together to create social currency for brands and consumers alike.

To check out some of his work transforming human experiences, go to:
https://www.ges.com/experiential-marketing

Contact Info:
jwoo@ges.com
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-woo/2/bb/801

From the Bottom of Our Hearts – Thank you, CEMA Summit 2020 Sponsors

Words cannot express the gratitude we feel for the incredible support, encouragement and inspiration our CEMA Summit 2020 sponsors provided us this year. This year’s event required all of us to think differently, create an experience our members could embrace and help bring us all together in knowing we are all better when we are in this together. Thank you, CEMA Summit 2020 sponsors, from the bottom of hearts.

In Case You Missed It, View CEMA Summit 2020 ON DEMAND

If you missed Summit, it’s not too late. You can register to view Summit 2020 On Demand for $99. Access more than 40 hours of compelling industry insights, inspirational world-class keynotes, breakout sessions, Lightning Rounds, Meet the Experts and Roundtables – over 80 sessions until September 30! Register www.CEMAsummit2020.com.

For those of you who registered and were unable to attend any of the CEMA Summit 2020 sessions, you can now view all the sessions at a time that works best for you until September 30, On Demand at no additional cost. All content is available to those who registered simply by logging into the CEMA Summit website. Use your username and password from CEMA Summit 2020 and enjoy reconnecting!