Event registration and cloud computing specialist Active Network has announced that Rick Binford – a travel, hospitality, and meetings industry veteran – will be joining Active’s Business Solutions Group as Vice President, Strategic Marketplace Development.
In this role, Binford will further Active Network’s commitment ‘to deliver solutions and programs that help drive growth for suppliers and intermediaries and foster strategic partnerships with industry innovators to enable smart events for customers globally.’
“Active Network’s Business Solutions Group is committed to adding value to our supplier and partner networks by expanding our team to include the best and brightest thought leaders in the industry,” said JR Sherman, SVP of Business Solutions at Active Network.
“Rick not only has a passion for the business, but a proven track record of moving the industry forward. Having come from the partner side of the business, he clearly understands the needs and objectives of our partners, and we are excited to welcome him to our team.”
With over 20 years of executive sales, marketing, business development and leadership experience across multiple sectors of the meetings and events industry, Binford most recently served as President of the Event Management Services division at Experient, North America’s largest full-service event management services provider.
Binford joined Experient in 1999 to design and build the Experient Sales Network (ESN), which under his leadership created over 350 new clients and generated more than US$90 million in new sales for the company. As President, he served an instrumental role in positioning Experient for a sale of the company to Maritz Travel Company in April 2012.
“There are other event management technology providers out there, but in my experience, none of them compare to Active Network’s ability to deliver a complete end-to-end, scalable and innovative technology suite, coupled with application expertise and strategy support,” said Binford.
He added, “Active Network is not only passionate about technology innovation, but also leveraging technology to help transform our entire industry and position events as an integral part of an organization’s DNA and overall business strategy. I share these same passions and am looking to play a key role in that new sense of possibility for the industry as part of the Active Network team.”
Prior to Experient, Binford held CEO and COO roles within the destination marketing segment of the industry as well as sales and marketing leadership roles with both Northwest Airlines and Republic Airlines. He has held the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation since 1990, and is a noted industry speaker and active volunteer leader in numerous professional industry associations. These include: Meeting Professionals International, Professional Convention Management Association, Global Business Travel Association, and the American Society of Association Executives.
Active Network is aiming to power the next generation of smart events through its Business Solutions technology suite, which provides intelligent data and insights designed to increase potential revenue, deepen attendee engagement and gain efficiency.
Customers of all sizes – including small and medium-sized businesses, enterprise corporations, associations, tradeshows and expos – can benefit from a single technology partner for all of their event management needs. The Business Solutions technology suite includes Conference for large flagship conferences, RegOnline for attendee management solutions, StarCite SMM for strategic meetings management and event expense management, and the StarCite Supplier Marketplace to connect events with suppliers
www.Activeevents.com
www.Activenetwork.com
