Management Team
Brian D. Stevens
Brian Richey
Jerry Horan
Brian D. Stevens
President and CEO
Brian D. Stevens is President and CEO of ConferenceDirect. Stevens began his career with Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1978 in Sales at the Oakland Hilton. Working his way up the corporate ladder, Brian achieved the distinguished title of Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Hilton. In 1998, after 21 years of loyalty and dedication, Stevens left Hilton to establish ConferenceDirect with co-founder Brian Richey.
Mr. Stevens attended St. Mary's College in Moraga, California where he received a Degree in Business. He received his MBA from Golden State University in 1986. Brian was named "Alumni of the Year" by St. Mary's College in 1997. In 1998, Brian became a member of the Board of Regents of St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California.
Brian has been extremely active in the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), serving on the association board for three years and the Foundation Board for 19 years. He was named chairman of the Foundation Board in 2003. He has also served as Chairman of the Affiliate Advisory Committee and has received the Wizard Award and the Distinguished Leader Award. He started the Partner Summit and the Annual Foundation Dinner at the Hilton Washington.
Active in the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Brian served on the Foundation Board of Directors for 15 years and served as Chairman in 1999. He was the first Co-Chair of ASAE's Five-Star Weekend. He also started the ASAE's “Club Energy” and founded the ASAE Foundation Partner Awards Dinner. He was inducted into the first class of ASAE Associate Fellows. He currently serves on their selection committee.
Stevens served on Meeting Professionals International’s (MPI) International Foundation Board of Directors from 1997-2000 and served 3 three-year terms on the MPI Foundation from 1995 – 2004.
Brian has long served on the Board of Directors for the Serra Project, a Los Angeles AIDS homeless shelter. In 1998 he received the "Compassion Award" from Cardinal Roger Mahoney for his dedication and service. He has also served on the Board of St. Vincent de Paul's Shelter for the Homeless in San Diego. Brian is also the founder of CharityDirect.
Stevens became a Knight of Malta in 1990 and in 1996 was inducted as a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher. 1999-2005, Stevens has been named among Meeting News’ Top 25 Most Influential People. Brian is also co-founder of SearchWide, a hospitality-consulting firm. In 2000, Brian was inducted into the Convention Industry Council’s Hall of Leaders. In 2007 Stevens received ASAE’s highest supplier award the Academy of Leaders award.
Brian Richey
Executive Vice President and Chief Talent Officer
Brian Richey is the co-founder of ConferenceDirect, which was established in August of 1998 along with Brian Stevens. He currently serves as ConferenceDirect’s Executive Vice President.
Brian Richey started his career with Hilton Hotels Corporation in the Hilton Professional Development Program in June of 1989 at the San Francisco Airport Hilton. In October of 1989 he moved to the Los Angeles Airport Hilton as a Conference Center Salesperson handling short term, small meetings business for the hotel. Not long after his arrival to the Los Angeles Airport Hilton he became a Sales Manager handling convention business for a variety of markets.
In August of 1991 he went to Dallas as the Assistant Director of Sales for Hilton Direct, Hilton's group sales office. In February of 1993 he was promoted to Managing Director of Sales for Hilton Direct. In November of 1996 he moved to Atlanta, GA where he was promoted to Director of Sales Recruitment for Hilton Hotels Corporation and simultaneously was the Managing Director of Sales for Hilton's Southeast National Sales Operation. Brian also handled IBM as a key account for Hilton from 1993 - 1998.
Brian is a graduate of St. Mary's College of California in Moraga, CA, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Brian resides in Alpharetta, GA with his wife Molly and their three children, Connor, Quinn and Grace.
Jerry Horan
Chief Operating Officer
Jerry Horan is Senior Vice President of ConferenceDirect. He has been with ConferenceDirect since 1999 and was appointed Senior Vice President in 2004. Jerry began is career with Hilton Hotels Corporation in 1987 in the Hilton Professional Development Program at the San Francisco Airport Hilton. Jerry then spent seven years at the Hilton San Francisco, a 1,900 room convention hotel, as a Sales Manager and Assistant Director of Sales. He was promoted to the Pointe Hilton Resorts, consisting of Tapatio Cliffs, Squaw Peak and South Mountain, in Phoenix, Arizona as Director of Sales and then promoted to Director of Marketing, overseeing all three Pointe Hilton Resorts, with 1,800 total rooms.
Adam M. Briggs
Vice President
Housing and Registration
Adam Briggs is the Vice President of Housing and Registration, bringing over 10 years of Client Service experience to the position. As the Vice President of Housing and Registration Adam is responsible for effectively managing all aspects of your meeting's event registration, and hotel room block management.
Prior to joining ConferenceDirect Adam worked for Passkey International, the Industry’s leading group housing software company. Functioning as both an Account Manager and a Customer Support Manager Adam assisted Hotels, Association Planners, and Corporate planners in improving the success of their groups through more effective communication and more efficient management. While at Passkey Adam was a two time recipient of their Outstanding Professional Award.
Adam is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. Adam resides in the Charlotte, NC area.
Jeffrey Devine, CMP
Vice President
Conference Management
Jeffrey Devine brings 18-years of experience and expertise from the hotel, special event and convention management industry. He also served as the managing Director of Conventions for several associations in the healthcare, technology and commercial sectors with a portfolio that includes both domestic and international events ranging in size from 500 to 22,000+ attendees.
Prior to joining SmithBucklin, Jeff worked with the Marriott Corporation in Chicago. There he assisted several properties in managing the convention planning and housing needs for group clients such as the National Radiology Association, the National Restaurant Association, and the National Hardware Association.
Following his work with the Marriott Corporation, Jeff produced and managed meetings and conventions ranging in size from 100 to 7,500+ attendees. He managed several corporate travel incentive programs including full-ship international charters with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Carnival Cruise Lines. He also served as the Director of Meetings & Conventions with an independent management firm in Chicago.
Jeff earned his professional certification as a CMP from the Convention Industry Council, and received his B.A. degree in Corporate Communications from DePaul University – Chicago. He is a member of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the American Society of Association Executives.