For the last decade, EM has been championing the luminaries of the b-to-b event world, delving into their career journeys, portfolios, sources of inspiration, best practices and industry predictions. This year, as we mark the 10th anniversary of our B-to-B Dream Team recognition program, we’re celebrating nine new all-stars who don’t just execute events—they live and breathe them.
Like many Dream Teamers before them, each of the 2026 honorees made it clear that event marketing isn’t just their job; it’s their calling. And across our conversations about their passion for the industry, and how they approach strategy and execution, we spotted several themes and overlapping tactics that may signal what’s ahead for conferences, trade shows, meetings, and the event landscape at large.
AI, of course, was a hot topic, as it continues infiltrating every aspect of business, and our daily lives. While the tech is making a positive impact by streamlining event ops and logistics, personalizing experiences, and unlocking efficiencies, these event profs recognize that, with the public’s growing distrust of digital content, it’s also securing the need for in-person experiences.
“Given the fast pace of AI and what it’s doing right now, it leaves us a little skeptical of what we’re seeing online,” say honoree Shawn Wagner, vp-global events at HPE. “With that skepticism, I believe people are going to want to go to in-person events. They’re going to want to touch and feel and look someone in the eyes when they’re talking to them and know that they’re having that real, human experience.”
The team also underscored the significance of choosing quality over quantity when it comes to engagement and audience curation—a tall order as the majority of them are managing both massive global conference and trade show footprints, as well as intimate, curated meetings and customer events. But across every format, the honorees agreed: It’s about getting the right people into the right room at the right time.
And there’s plenty more insight where that came from. We’re proud to present a group of outstanding event architects who represent the best of the industry best.
Introducing the 2026 B-to-B Dream Team:
• Collin Hummel, Director-Global Partnerships & Events, 3M
• Tom Flynn, VP-Global Events & Experiences, B2B, American Express
• Jeremy Youett, Head of Proprietary Events, Atlassian
• Dannielle Simpson, North America Event Marketing Manager, Chiquita
• Pam Corcoran, VP-Global Events, CrowdStrike
• Amy Loskutoff, Director-Events, Google Cloud
• Shawn Wagner, VP-Global Events, HPE
• Danielle Damiano Medeiros, Global Head of Tentpole Events, Executive COE, LinkedIn
• Julie DeQuattro, Senior Manager-Global Marketing Events, UKG
