SPEAKER BIOS
Steve Rizzo - KEYNOTE SPEAKER
At the pinnacle of his stand-up career, Steve walked away from comedy to pursue his true purpose and passion—to show people how to shift their focus and way of thinking, to discover more joy and enthusiasm, increased productivity and greater levels of success. Steve offers more than the usual nuts and bolts on how to succeed. He stresses the importance of enjoying yourself during the process of achieving your goals, and building a solid foundation to stand on when all else fails, because he absolutely knows that no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, attitude is everything. When Steve Rizzo shares his blueprint for success with Fortune 500 companies and associations across the globe, he delivers a powerful message for living an extraordinary life, because he lives the Common Sense Success Strategies that have made him a member of prestigious Speakers Hall of Fame—an honor bestowed on fewer than 250 speakers worldwide since 1977. Steve is the author of the bestselling books "Conversations With Bob," "Motivate THIS!," and "Get Your SHIFT Together." He is a regular contributor for Success magazine and often called upon as the go-to guy on the topic of personal and professional development for many network, cable and radio media outlets.
Jeremy Bess - KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Jeremy Bess is a vital member of ITR Economics team of expert economists and consultants. Backed by a decade of consulting experience, he lends his expertise to the production of client reports, forecast reviews and research, and frequent communications with clients. Jeremy majored in economics at the University of Tampa, and went on to earn a Masters of Business Administration from the University of South Florida. His accomplishments include, but are not limited to, being featured on The Working Lunch podcast, speaking at the 2017 World Tea Expo, presenting a pricing workshop at the 2019 Burger King Global Convention, hosting a workshop at the University of South Florida’s Executive Peer Workshop Series, and publishing several blogs and articles on economic events. Prior to joining the ITR Economics team, Jeremy got his start at Jaffe Tilchin Wealth Management, researching economic and financial information to inform clients on investment strategies. From there, he held many positions at Revenue Management Solutions, working his way up to Senior Director of North America Consulting Services at Revenue Management Solutions, where he worked closely with many C-suite executives to optimize business profitability.
Jeff Butler
Jeff Butler is an author and workplace strategist who explores human behavior within the working world. His experience spans over 40 industries in 4 continents on how different cultures and employees interact with each other. He studies common threads of behavior in industries such as IT professionals, underground utility workers, police officers to clothing retail chains. In addition, companies like Google, Amazon, John Deere, and Coldwell Banker. As a researcher and practitioner, he also runs a consulting company and a tech company, TrinityFix where he is able to test his ideas in different workplace environments. His ideas have made it to TEDx twice, appeared in dozens of media outlets including two books on human behavior: "The Authentic Workplace" and "The Key To The New You." Currently, he lives in Dallas, Texas, as an out-of-place Californian.
Jeffrey R. Dross
Jeffrey is an internationally known lighting expert whose in-depth knowledge and capabilities allow him to translate design concepts into functional products that optimize lighting in residential projects. He has helped the design community understand the complexity of new and emerging technologies, providing relatable, easy-to-comprehend explanations. His long career and expertise have made him a “go-to” resource for trade, design and consumer trends journalists, who rely on him for quotes, design knowledge and articles. He is also a creator of fine art and writing for personal enjoyment. Jeff was honored with the American Lighting Association’s 2015 Pillar of the Industry Award.
Mark Lien LC, CLEP, CLMC, HBDP, LEED AP
Mark has designed interior and exterior lighting systems for a wide range of applications including residential, municipal, retail, healthcare and both conventional and nuclear power plants. He started his lighting career by managing home centers and a lighting showroom with a staff of fourteen. Mark has provided lighting education while working, presenting, and teaching across four continents. He serves on over twenty lighting related committees including ASHRAE, ANSI, IEEE, IUVA, IDA and the IES. As a part of his work, he monitors over 100 lighting related organizations. Mark is also a columnist for Lighting Design and Application Magazine writing on the changes in our industry and he hosts a podcast on lighting trends and technologies. He has served on multiple boards and is currently on several executive committees advising various organizations. Mark ran the educational centers for both Cooper and Hubbell Lighting and was the Director of Government & Industry Relations for OSRAM SYLVANIA before joining the Illuminating Engineering Society and he serves as lighting consultant to the IES today through his company, Augmented Illumination.
Scott Lindberg, CPMR
Scott has extensive experience on both the rep and manufacturer side of the relationship, having spent more than 20 years as a rep (and rep firm owner) and the past 18 years as a manufacturer. Today he is President for Quell Corporation in Albuquerque, New Mexico - a manufacturer of EMI filters and transient protection products for connectors. Prior to his current role, Scott was Area Sales Manager and VP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing Operations for Microsemi's Power Products Group, later moving into the role of VP of Sales and Marketing Operations for Microsemi Corporate. He is a visiting professor at the University of Texas, Austin, where he teaches multiple CPMR certification courses, including “Line Profitability Analysis,” “Understanding Your Manufacturer” and more. He has been a member and officer of the CPMR Board of Governors, Member of MRERF's executive committee, served on the ERA National Board and Executive Committee. Scott has presented at past ERA National Conferences as well as many other national associations sharing his innovative sales and marketing approach.
Shawna Suckow
Shawna Suckow, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), CVP (Certified Virtual Presenter), is a speaker with some serious knowledge of the customer mindset. She spent 20 years as a corporate buyer in hospitality and tourism, observing marketing departments and their target customers. Along the way, Shawna became intrigued with how customers of all kinds were evolving and responding to (or ignoring!) marketing efforts. She began sharing this insider information to audiences to pull back the curtain, so to speak. She realized that when these professionals had the up-to-the-minute understanding of their customers’ mindsets, they could break through the noise more effectively. Her research and insights have never been more timely or necessary than today. The pandemic has changed consumers more deeply and quickly than any other time in history. Shawna has shared her research on 5 continents in 17 countries, using real case studies and data interpreted with candor and humor. She’s especially proud that her 5th book, The Roaring 20s, was featured in Forbes as a top marketing book of 2022.
Crystal Vilkaitis
Crystal Vilkaitis is a world-class social media expert and powerful speaker who helps retailers shine online and bring their unique brilliance to the local and global masses. Fueling entrepreneurs with empowerment to evolve their visibility and results, Crystal’s on a mission to help Main Street businesses thrive. She founded Crystal Media in 2012, where she’s worked with thousands of retailers to increase traffic, sales, and profits using social media. She’s shared the stage with industry giants like Martha Stewart, Gary Vaynerchuk, Bethenny Frankel, and Jim Kwik, and hosts the show Rooted in Retail - covering retail-centric topics like marketing, money, mindset, and more. To learn more visit www.crystalmediaco.com and follow on Instagram at @crystalmediaco.
