Management Team
Brian D. Stevens
President and CEO
Brian D. Stevens is the founding President & CEO of ConferenceDirect®. Stevens’ entire career has been in the meetings and hospitality industry. He began in 1978 with Hilton Hotels Corporation as a sales trainee and was there 21 years. Stevens, held every level of sales in the company and climbed the corporate ladder at Hilton achieving his final position of Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
In 1998, Stevens departed Hilton Hotels to fulfill his vision, along with co-founder Brian Richey, of establishing an innovative, cutting edge meeting services company that followed a new business model. A company with the values of virtual practice, personal entrepreneurial spirit and an unparalleled level of savings and service for customers was born. This unprecedented new model became ConferenceDirect™. Stevens’ well established and deeply valued name and reputation helped to achieve record-growth in the company.
Mr. Stevens received his bachelor’s degree in Business from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA. He went on to obtain a MBA from Golden State University, completing this degree in 1986. In 1997, Stevens was named a Board of Trustee of St. Mary’s College in 2011. In 1998, he was appointed to the Board of Regents of St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, CA. Mr. Stevens has been inducted in the Order of Knights of Malta and the Equestrian Order of The Holy Sepulcher. 2010 he was named a Knight Commander in the Order of St. Gregory the Great, by Cardinal Roger Mahoney.
Throughout his career in the meetings and hospitality industry, Mr. Stevens has been an active volunteer in many industry organizations. Among these are ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership, Meeting Planners International (MPI) and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).
Specifically for ASAE & The Center, Mr. Stevens is a Past Chairman of the ASAE Foundation and served on its Board of Directors for 15 years. He was the first Co-Chair of a fundraising program that continues today called Five-Star Weekend. In addition, he was the founder of two additional fundraising initiatives called Club Energy and the Annual Partner Awards Dinner. He has served on numerous committees, was named an ASAE & The Center Fellow and received the association’s highest honor, its 2007 Academy of Leaders Award.
Mr. Stevens’ volunteerism in PCMA is renowned as well. After serving on its Foundation Board for 19 years, he was Chair in 2003. Once again, he started two fundraising initiatives for this foundation, its Partner Summit and Annual Foundation Dinner. For his services to this organization, he received its prestigious Wizard Award and its Distinguished Service Award.
At MPI, he served both on the International Board of Directors and on its Foundation Board of Directors. His total service was more than 9 years.
In his community, Mr. Stevens served on the Board of Directors for a Los Angeles based hospice shelter for AIDS patients for many years. For his commitment to this organization, he received the Serra Project’s Compassion Award from Cardinal Roger Mahoney.
Finally, Stevens’ highest honor was his induction into the Convention Industry’s Council’s Hall of Fame – an honor that has been bestowed on only 130 people in the meetings and hospitality industry.
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 Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ConferenceDirect. He quickly excelled in the entrepreneurial model of ConferenceDirect, achieving the designation of Senior Vice President in 2004. In 2008 he was made COO due to his hard work and commitment to the company. Mr. Horan’s contributions to ConferenceDirect are evident in the growth of the business, the establishment of its infrastructure and the recruitment of top leaders in the industry. Mr. Horan began his career in the hospitality industry in 1987 as a professional with Hilton. He worked in San Francisco in the Hilton Professional Development Program at the San Francisco Airport Hilton. He then spent seven years at the infamous 1,900 room San Francisco Hilton Hotel. Known as a flagship for both Hilton and the convention industry he made his mark on this very popular convention hotel, by achieving the position of Assistant Director of Sales. He continued his career with Hilton by becoming Director of Sales at the Pointe Hilton Resorts. He demonstrated his executive capabilities by leading the sales teams at the three resorts within the Pointe Hilton Resorts, the Tapitio Cliffs, Squaw Peak and South Mountain. In recognition of his leadership, he was promoted to Director of Marketing. These three resorts represented 1,800 rooms. Again, Mr. Horan confirmed his ability to lead and manage complex organizations.
Mr. Horan received his Bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA. He has been active in the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) for more than 20 years. Jerry resides in Sacramento with his wife Jennifer and their four boys, Riley, Shea, Charlie and Blair.
Lisa Gray Messina
Chief Marketing Officer
Lisa Gray Messina is Chief Marketing Officer at Conference Direct. Lisa has 20 years of experience in the hotel industry with over 15 years in sales and marketing for Hilton, Hyatt and Wyndham Hotels. Prior to joining Conference Direct, Lisa was a successful sales and marketing leader with Hilton Worldwide. Her most recent position was Area Director of Sales and Marketing for the Hiltons of Chicago consolidated sales office representing several hotels including Hilton Chicago, Palmer House and The Drake Hotel. Other positions held by Lisa while a team member with Hilton included Regional Director of Sales & Marketing, Southeast Region and Director of Sales for the Hiltons of Washington consolidated sales office in Washington, D.C. representing the Washington Hilton and Capital Hilton. She earned a Leadership Award at the Hilton Worldwide Global Sales meeting in 2010 in recognition of her innovative marketing efforts. Lisa has been an active presenter for HSMAI online training and was a Director of Sales Advisory Board member. Lisa is a proud graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. She now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with her family and chocolate Labrador Retriever, Macy where they all enjoy their many favorite outdoor hobbies and national parks.
Dave Scypinski
Senior Vice President
Dave Scypinski is Senior Vice President of ConferenceDirect and is based in Washington DC.
Dave supports the company’s continued growth strategy in building the industry’s leading full service meeting planning company. Dave's 32 years industry experience will be of tremendous value to ConferenceDirect’s Associates and Customers. He spent eight years with Starwood Hotels and Resort as Senior Vice President, Industry Relations. Before joining Starwood, Dave spent his entire professional career with Hilton Hotels with whom he served a variety of roles, including corporate director of group marketing; managing director of sales; director of sales-national accounts; and most recently, vice president of industry relations.
Dave is currently serving on the international board of Meeting Professionals International as well as having served as the past chairman of the MPI Foundation. Additionally, he sits on the board of the Travel Industry of America. He has been a trustee of the American Society of Association Executives Foundation. Additionally, he has also served on the board of Professional Convention Management Association Foundation, and the board of directors of New York Society of Association Executives. In 1996, 1997 and 2004 Meeting News recognized Dave as one of the "25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry", In 2006, Tradeshow Week recognized him as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the Tradeshow business", and in January 2005, he was given the PCMA Distinguished Service Award.
Jason Bond
Vice President
Conference Management
Jason has a long ranging career in the hospitality and meeting's industry. He most recently was with Experient where he served as Managing Director of the Canada Division. Prior to his role at Experient, Jason was Managing Director of HOST Event Management for 11 years. Before joining HOST he was Manager, Sales & Marketing for Ontario Tourism Education Corporation (OTEC) .Among his other accomplishments, Jason is also the recipient of a SITE Crystal Award that honors top professionals who deliver programs that connect motivational experiences to solid business results. The Crystal Award serves as a benchmark for industry programs and is regarded as one of the highest honors in the industry.
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.
Jim Vandevender
Vice President
Training and Development/Team Leader
Jim worked for Hilton Hotels and Resorts for ten years in various sales capacities. His sales positions included Senior Sales Manager at the Houston Plaza Hilton , Transition Team Member at the Hilton Waikoloa in Hawaii, and National Sales Manager at the prestigious Waldorf=Astoria in New York. Also, he was National Account Executive at Hilton Direct in Dallas and Director of National Accounts in Hilton’s New York National Sales Office. Jim was with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts and Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts serving as Director of Global Sales in both of their New York Regional Sales Offices. In academics, Jim has taught Introduction to Hotel Management, as well as, Travel and Tourism at Baruch College in New York/City University of New York. He has been an active member of MPI and chaired numerous committees. Currently, he is a member of the American Society of Training and Development. He has also won numerous awards in the sales arena including Supplier of the Year from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Top Production Achievement at Hyatt Hotels. Jim also received the Achievement Award from Hilton for his role as part of the Microsoft Team in 2006. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, Jim received ConferenceDirect’s “Hero of the Year” award.
Anthony Laudato
Senior Vice President
Talent Acquisition
Anthony Laudato is Senior Vice President of Talent Acquisition at ConferenceDirect where he is charged with uncovering new talent and cultivating relationships for the future growth of the organization. Anthony is a hospitality career professional with over 20 years of experience in the industry spanning Sales, Operations, Training and Recruiting. Prior to joining ConferenceDirect Anthony served in a variety of roles with Hyatt, Marriott and boutique brands building the foundation for future success. Anthony most recently held the role of the Director of Sales Recruitment with the Hyatt Corporate Office where he served for four years with a secondary focus on training Hyatt's existing sales force.
Anthony recognized his interest in hospitality at an early age which led him to pursue his Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Management and Associates degree in Restaurant Management at Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI. Along with being an active member of his local MPI chapter Anthony has also served his preferred charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, through fundraising efforts.
As a successful corporate representative today Anthony gives credit to his varied background and strong mentors that have guided him along the way. While originally from the Midwest, Anthony is based out of Atlanta, Georgia where he and his family have lived over the past eight years.