Visionary Keynote Speakers Announced for Virtual Edge Summit 2011

Pleasanton, CA, October 22, 2010 - The Virtual Edge Institute (www.virtualedge.org), the pioneering organization for the advancement of virtual events, meetings and communities, today announced keynote speakers and panels for the Virtual Edge Summit 2011. The summit, which addresses how to successfully leverage virtual technology for associations, events, learning and business, will be held from January 12-13, 2011 at the MGM Grand Convention Center, Las Vegas and virtually.
 
Conference keynote speakers and topics include:

Virtual and Hybrid Meetings Deliver More Value (Virtual Edge Summit and PCMA Joint Plenary Session)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

We’re at the beginning of the biggest shift in content delivery and engagement since websites were introduced in the ‘90s. What had previously been feared would cannibalize physical events has been found to enhance and extend them. Join key industry leaders as they discuss why not including virtual events in 2011 may hurt your organization’s bottom line.

• Communicate to your board/executives why virtual meetings are necessary to your organization’s success.
• Identify a business strategy that incorporates virtual elements and events into your organization’s meeting, event and learning portfolios.
• Extend your reach to engage new audiences and enhance your position with key constituents.
  

Speakers include:
Chris Brown, Sr. VP, Conventions & Expos, National Association of Broadcasters
Michael Doyle, Executive Director, Virtual Edge Institute
Chris Price, Vice President, Graphic Arts Show Company - NPES
Tony Uphoff, CEO, Techweb, United Business Media
Shirley Whelan, Director of Food & Beverage Product Development, Hilton Hotels Corporation
Kara Wilson, Vice President of Unified Communications and Collaboration Solutions, Cisco Systems

Enterprise-wide Perpetual Virtual Environment for Events, Meetings and Learning
Thursday, January 13, 2011: 2:00 – 3:00 pm

The Virtual Event Center provides a 365 day a year environment that connects employees, customers and partners around the globe. IBM speakers will discuss their strategy that capitalizes on the power of virtual environments to launch the IBM Virtual Event Center—an event, meeting and learning platform that allows IBM groups to launch virtual events in minutes by cloning existing events or utilizing the global repository of event assets and marketing materials to simplify and speed meeting deployment. Users across the entire platform only have to register once and then can attend any events or meetings for which they have permission/access. The single-sign on simplifies the attendees registration to a mere log in and the use of a single platform makes each engagement a familiar experience. The ease of deployment and ease of use allows IBM to extend its reach into audiences that were previously hard to capture with events.

Speakers include:
Cheryl Max, World Wide Demand Programs Director, Functional Capabilities, IBM
Larry Cook, Manager, Events and Digital Metrics, IBM   
Fiona Bruder, Sr. Vice President, Client Services, George P. Johnson

About Virtual Edge Summit 2011
The two-day summit includes 30-plus educational sessions and workshops on digital solutions for events, meetings, learning and community. The Summit is designed to help attendees rapidly evaluate, implement and maximize virtual programs within their organizations. To register and learn about advanced registration discounts, please visit: http://www.virtualedgesummit.com/registration.

The Virtual Edge Summit 2011 will be co-located with the Professional Convention Management Association’s (PCMA) 2011 Annual Meeting, Convening Leaders, which brings together more than 3,000 meetings professionals to discuss issues impacting the meetings, convention and exhibition industry.
Follow the conversations on Twitter:
Virtual Edge Summit: @virtualedge or #VES11

Contact:
For media inquiries or to request media credentials, contact Cece Salomon-lee at 415-608-0302 or clee@virtualedge.org.