As Exclusive Meeting Events (PPAI 532363) beefs up its leadership team, one longtime executive prepares to exit. 

New Addition

The Sacramento, California-based business service provider has announced that Carlye Wund has joined the organization as director of operations.

  • Wund, who has created and managed corporate event experiences for 17 years, previously served as director of development for San Diego-based nonprofit FirefighterAid and the Firefighter Cancer Support Network in Burbank, California.


“Being the industry leader, we take pride in our ability to bring together top-notch exhibitors and motivated distributors,” Wund says. “Our commitment to curating premier events that empower attendees to connect, learn and grow will remain unchanged. We’ll continue creating an unparalleled networking opportunity and providing the level of service that our clients appreciate and love.”

Eric Taras, who has served as company president for nearly 16 years, has taken a minority role and will continue in an advisory capacity. Although Taras will remain president, Wund will manage the day-to-day business.

“Competitors have tried to imitate what EME has been delivering to our clients for years because it truly is an experience for their business,” Taras says. “I’m beyond the moon with the new team that we have implemented, and I have no doubt they’ll take the EME experience to the next level it deserves.”

End Of An Era

Lauren Fox, who has been vice president of sales and marketing at EME for more than a decade, will retire on November 1. 

  • From 1995 to 2002, Fox worked at PPAI as a sales manager for PPB.


“EME’s number-one priority is to maximize our supplier’s investment and our distributor’s valuable time out of the office,” Fox says. “We realized in order to continue to provide unparalleled quality and service to the industry, newer processes, technology and media avenues would need to be added. After reviewing and carefully selecting a new management team, we’re confident that the new ideas and energy the team will bring to EME events will achieve a new level of success for our EME family members.” 

EME's Next Chapter

EME specializes in organizing one-on-one meetings between the top distributors and suppliers throughout the United States. While the foundation of the EME experience remains intact, there are updates on the horizon, according to the company.

“We’re adding off-site experiences to our events, as well as scoping new resort locations,” Wund says. “We’re also implementing improvements in our meeting management processes, adding new tech components to our website and streamlining how we gather information from our clients.” 

Industry veterans Vicky Tirpack and Eric Johnson, MAS, will continue in their respective roles of director of sales and director of distributor development.   

  • Tirpack, who joined EME in November 2022, began her career working for Miller Freeman as an account representative selling booth space for the NY Premium Incentive Show and later joined PPAI selling advertising for PPB Magazine. From there, she spent more than 20 years with NAPCO Media/Promo Marketing as senior business development manager selling print and online advertising.

 

  • Before Johnson joined EME in December 2022, he spent 29 years at supplier Halls & Company (PPAI 111778, S6) as a second-generation owner along with his sisters and other family members. Beginning in sales, he was promoted to vice president of sales and development, where he was responsible for all sales functions, including trade shows, customer relationships, marketing plans and budgets.