Samantha Jordan, Futurist and Consultant, the Future Today Institute

Moderator and Speaker Represented by Leading Authorities, Inc.

Samantha Jordan is a futurist on a mission to spread “plausible optimism” about the possibilities of emerging technologies. As a consultant with the Future Today Institute (FTI), a leading foresight and strategy firm founded by world-renowned futurist Amy Webb, Jordan helps organizations dissect the complexities of upcoming opportunities, while also factoring the inherent risks. Her analysis of the data and trends in the ever-changing tech landscape gets organizations unstuck and ready to develop and implement their own customized, future-focused strategies for evolving their businesses.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Jordan infuses her talks with a compelling blend of passion and conviction as she leads a fascinating exploration into artificial intelligence, computing, meta-science, and the advancements in technology that will make the biggest impact on business and society. With her unique approach, Jordan helps organizations identify which emerging technologies they can integrate into their operations and strategies to power their businesses to the next level, while talking them through the ethical aspects. She is immensely skilled at making otherwise abstract concepts in future trends and technological ethics accessible to any audience. Groups come away from Jordan’s talks with tools for productive action toward progress in overcoming current and future challenges.

At FTI, Jordan maintains a database of thousands of different trends, leveraging her expertise with the firm's unique foresight methodology to advise her clients, some of whom rank in the Fortune Top 20. Together, she works with these organizations to adapt their strategies based on future scenarios that she helps craft. Jordan was also the founder and CEO of TrovBase, a secure data discovery and analysis sharing platform. Previously, she was an IBM client leader helping enterprise clients modernize their IT environments.

In addition to serving as a mentor for NYU Stern MBA students in strategic foresight, Jordan headed the Carnegie New Leaders program at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, during which time, she created programming for the next generation of leaders across sectors to engage deeply with ethics. She was also a national finalist in persuasive speaking and international champion in rhetorical critical analysis as a student, bringing a high level of passion and polish to every engagement.

Samantha Jordan believes emerging technologies have the potential to enable a better future for all if we make good choices. Stressing progress over pessimism, she shares her purpose-driven and framework for using today’s capabilities to build a better tomorrow.

McNeel Keenan, Vice President of Product Management at Cvent, Expert in Event Technology and Artificial Intelligence

Panelist

McNeel Keenan is a seasoned professional in the meetings and events technology industry with over 16 years of experience. As the Vice President of Product Management at Cvent, a market-leading meetings, events, and hospitality technology provider, McNeel has been a driving force behind the company's success, contributing to the development of multiple flagship products, including Attendee Hub, OnArrival, Webinar and Events +.

McNeel has played an integral role in expanding the Cvent platform to encompass all phases of the event planning life cycle. In response to the pandemic, McNeel led the development and launch of Cvent's virtual event solution, Attendee Hub, in just four months, which went on to become the company's fastest-growing product line in its history. Previously, he spearheaded the development and launch of Cvent's onsite solutions in 2014, featuring native mobile solutions for onsite check-in, badging, attendance tracking and lead retrieval at events.

Robert Marusi, Chief Commercial Officer, Turtle Bay Resort

Panelist

Robert Marusi is a progressive and dynamic omnichannel marketing expert with a hospitality career spanning over four decades with high-level experience in a host of areas including digital brand architecture, development, operations, food & beverage, sales, digital and social media marketing, financial management and more. Currently at Turtle Bay Resort, on the North Shore of Oahu, Marusi is part of a team of hand-picked industry visionaries and is playing a crucial role in the reimagination of this iconic resort that has been a landmark on the island for 50 years. Under his direction, an authentic and contemporary brand experience has been shaped for the property, resonating not only with a new guest profile but also centered around the very important sensibilities in the local community and Hawaiian culture. In this short time, Turtle Bay has won numerous awards and accolades including A Best New Hotel on Travel + Leisure’s It List, #1 Luxury Resort by Hawaii Magazine, #2 on The Top 25 Hawaii Resorts in Conde Nast Traveler, Forbes Top 10 resorts in Hawaii, Afar top 15 Luxury Beach Resorts in the world and many more.

Marusi is known in the industry for not only promoting exceptional hospitality but demonstrating it as well. In addition to being a dynamic content creator, his progressive and forward-thinking strategies and always having a pulse on the market and the foresight to navigate through competitive revenue strategies, to drive more business in highly competitive markets is what makes him truly stand apart. Robert has stated that one of the most rewarding parts of the various positions he has held over the years is building lifelong relationships and helping to navigate individuals and teams alike towards not only professional, but personal successes in their careers and life.

Prior to joining Turtle Bay, Marusi was the Director of Sales & Marketing at Pelican Hill, a luxury beachfront retreat in Newport Beach, California. Here, Marusi led a highly successful and high-performance sales team, implementing disruptive and innovative technology across all channels to gain conversion and maximize revenue streams. Under his transformative leadership, he also curated and applied a collaborative culture at the resort that provided internal and extremal stakeholders with results that far exceeded expectations. Marusi has also held a variety of leadership positions in sales and marketing over the years at The Hamilton Princess Hotel in Bermuda and with Marriott International.

Junior Tauvaa, Chief Business Officer, PCMA

Panelist

Junior Tauvaa serves as Chief Business Officer at PCMA since January 2023. Tauvaa oversees events, education, products, Convention Publication, Technology and CEMA at the strategic level in addition to PCMA vision of being the Platform for the Business Events Industry

Tauvaa was previously Chief Sales Officer, overseeing sales, marketing, tourism, events and destination services for Visit Anaheim and Executive Director, Orange County Sports Commission. Prior to Visit Anaheim, Tauvaa was Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships with Meeting Professional International (MPI) and the MPI Foundation for six years. He was also previously with Los Angeles Tourism Board for more than 10 years, where he held several key leadership roles.

Tauvaa held several volunteer leadership positions within the industry with DI, EIC, ASAE, MPI, Visit California as well as several technology companies over the course of his career. He is currently serving on volunteer leadership positions at, EventsGIG and San Diego State University. Tauvaa earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from California State University, Long Beach and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from California Polytechnic University.