Program Outline

Bio

Amir Halevi is a Law graduate (LLB) from Bar Ilan University, and has a BA in Geography from Tel Aviv University.

Born in Jerusalem as the 15th generation of his family in the city, Mr. Halevi now resides in Tel-Aviv. In recent years he established ARTTIC Israel, a branch of the European provider of management services for international collaborative R&D projects. He headed Halevi Dweck Ltd, from the Grant Thornton Israel group that specializes in project consultancy and management in the private and public sector. 

Halevi served as council member in the Tel Aviv city council (1993-2003). During this time he served as chairman of several committees, among them, the Acquisitions & Communications, Finance, and Planning & Construction. Between 2001 and 2003 he served as Deputy Mayor. Among the many projects he was involved in, he prides himself especially with the cycling project in Tel Aviv that he initiated. Until recently, Halevi served as the director of companies in the private and public sector and as chairman of the National Sports Center in Tel Aviv. 

Halevi is married and the father of 3 children.

Bio

Bio

Matthew is an international security consultant, author, speaker and entrepreneur, with decades of experience working at the most senior levels of government and industry across six continents.

He is the Managing Director of AUGMENTIQ — a consultancy firm specializing in homeland, border and transportation security.

Matthew advises Chief Executives and the leadership teams of many of the industry’s highest profile security companies. He briefs ministers and politicians on homeland security policy and is a regular commentator on security and terrorism-related issues in the media.

A respected author and speaker, Matthew seeks to inspire critical thinking, innovation and leadership — and challenge the way we view risk and implement security.

He is an Executive Board Member of the World Border Organization – BORDERPOL; Editorial Advisory Board Member of Aviation Security International; Advisory Board Member for Smart Borders; and Strategic Advisor to and Chairman of SDW 2017. Matthew is also the Founder & Sponsor of the Security Leadership Summit.

Bio

Dirk Glaesser is Director for Sustainable Development of Tourism Department at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The department deals with the different challenges and opportunities of tourism development, among them environment and planning, investment and finance, risk and crisis management. He supervises the Consulting Unit on Biodiversity and Tourism of the Organization based in Bonn, Germany.

Dr. Glaesser obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Lüneburg, Germany and won the ITB scientific award for his work on Crisis Management. He is the author of a number of publications which have been widely translated.

Bio

As Head of the Regional Development and Tourism Division in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, Alain Dupeyras oversees OECD work on tourism, on rural policies and on other regional and territorial issues. Alain works closely with Members and Partners, the private sector and other international organisations to develop policies that address major challenges in all these policy areas. The Tourism Committee, the Regional Development Policy Committee, and the Working Party on Rural Policy are key OECD fora to assist governments in the assessment and improvement of these policies. Through the Working Party on Tourism Statistics, Alain also contributes to an improved measurement and analysis of tourism services.

Bio

Isabel Hill is the Director of the National Travel and Tourism Office at the U.S. Department of Commerce.  She and her team support and implement policies and programs that foster the competitiveness of U.S. travel and tourism industries in collaboration with the private sector and other federal agencies. Her office produces the national statistics on travel and tourism and serves as the federal liaison to the nations tourism promotion organization, Brand USA.  Her office also represents U.S. travel and tourism policy in bilateral and multilateral fora.

A leader in tourism policy and planning, Ms. Hill led the development of the first National Travel and Tourism Strategy for the United States across 12 federal agencies and with the private sector, reflecting her commitment to public-private engagement and partnerships to advance shared objectives.  Ms. Hill has played a significant role in the development of policies that advance both economic and national security for the United States, in collaboration with relevant agencies and the private sector.  She is the past Chair of the Tourism Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and sits on the Advisory Committees of the World Tourism Forum Lucerne, and the International Tourism Crisis Management Summit.  Ms. Hill has been a frequent speaker and contributor to global discussions on tourism policies and programs and has regularly engaged in working groups of the World Travel and Tourism Council, The World Economic Forum, and the World Bank.

Ms. Hill also served as a member of the United States Civilian Response Corps, trained at the National Defense University as a planner for reconstruction and stabilization, and participated as a civilian planner in the Warfighter decennial exercise.

Bio

Rolf D. Freitag studied Economics at the University of Berlin and Munich and graduated with a Master Degree in Economy from the “Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München”.

In 1969, he founded IPK International, a tourism consultancy specialized in travel research, tourism marketing and tourism masterplanning, which counts among the leading tourism consultancies worldwide. For more than 200 clients from the private and public sector in over 50 countries around the globe, IPK has successfully completed more than 1,000 customized tourism studies, marketing plans and masterplans over the past 45 years. Besides its main focus on tailored studies, on a regular basis IPK International also publishes reports on the latest tourism trends, such as the “World Luxury Travel Report”, the “MICE Travel Report” or a report on its investigation on the impact of terrorism on tourism. Apart from tailored projects, a variety of studies are based on IPK’s World Travel Monitor®, the world’s most comprehensive tourism database on European, Arabian, Asian, North and South American outbound travel behavior covering more than 90% of the international travel demand. The "World Travel Monitor®" with around 500.000 interviews in over 60 countries has established itself as the largest continuous tourism study of its kind.

Bio

Hans holds a MBA from Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Until 2008 Hans hold various marketing and sales roles in Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies. In 2008, Hans combined his love for adventure travel and his expertise in marketing when he became Managing Director of Sawadee Reizen in The Netherlands. In 2010, Hans moved to Toronto and became president of Quark Expeditions, the leader in polar travel. In 2015 he took over responsibility for all adventure brands within TUI Travel, a business that was sold to KKR in 2017. In 2018 Hans became CEO and President of boutique luxury cruise start-up Victory Cruise Lines, while he is also a trustee of the Safer Tourism Foundation in the UK.

Bio

Mrs. Ilanit Melchior is the Director of Tourism for the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA). The JDA is responsible for economic progress and development of the city, a key part of which is tourism that represents an economic engine of growth across the different socio-economic groups in Jerusalem.

As Director of Tourism, Ilanit oversees the strategic development and implementation of the national and international projects aimed at promoting tourism in Jerusalem, including the development of new hotels, conservation and preservation projects, tourism products, and the newly launched Jerusalem Conventions and Visitors Bureau, offering logistical support and financial incentives to conference organizers.

Bio

Michael Goldsmith is the Vice President of Marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). The LVCVA is the destination marketing organization for Las Vegas and Southern Nevada, and its mission centers on attracting domestic and international visitors by promoting the destination as the world’s most desirable destination for leisure and business travel.  The LVCVA also owns and operates the Las Vegas Convention Centre.

In his current role, Mr. Goldsmith is responsible for directing the efforts of the LVCVA’s 15 international offices on 5 continents.  He oversees International Sales and Public Relations, Airline Development, Digital Engagement, Sports Marketing and Special Events efforts for the LVCVA.

Prior to joining the LVCVA in 2000, Michael held a variety of management positions at resort properties including The Mirage, Aladdin Resort, and Riviera Hotel & Casino. He began his professional career as a travel coordinator at Group Travel Specialists in Tucson, Arizona in 1985, and later progressed to positions at America West Airlines in Phoenix and the Boulders Resort in Scottsdale, prior to relocating to Las Vegas in 1991. 

Mr. Goldsmith holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.

He is active in many industry organizations, currently serving on the International Board of Directors for the Pacific Asia Travel Association, the Global Development Committee for Brand USA, and the Global Leadership Committee for Destinations International.

Bio

Roy Graff brings over 20 years of experience working in and with China in the tourism, hospitality, luxury retail and digital marketing sectors. Roy is the author of the 2015 book, China, the Future of Travel, and frequently speaks at leading travel and tourism conferences. Roy has provided strategic advice and market entry support to some of the world’s leading travel organisations, including Skyscanner, VisitBritain, PromPeru and Eurostar. In the early 2000s, he spearheaded Gullivers Travel Associates’ development of the independent travel business in China in the early days of Chinese outbound tourism.

Bio

With a long and International experience in the MICE industry, Régis is in charge of the sales and the marketing of the Cannes destination as well as the Exhibition & Convention Centre that hosts worldwide events such as the famous International Film Festival, MIPIM, Cannes Lions, Tax Free… He also oversees the Cannes Conventions and Visitors Bureau to promote and to market the destination to PCOs, events organizers as well as tour operators and final clients.

Bio

Philippe Leclerc is head of the security and safety department of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès (Cannes, France).

He started his career as Navy officer in the French Navy and then worked at the French Ministry of Defence on global security and counterterrorism.

After working over 30 years as a military (commander) he joined the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in 2016.

Philippe is graduated from National Institute of Higher Defence Studies (IHEDN) and National Institute of Higher Security and Justice Studies (INHESJ), both under the authority of the French Prime Minister.

Bio

Irfan Önal, born in 1971 in Izmir, studied Public Administration at Ankara University and graduated in 1994. In 1995 Önal was appointed as Assistant Inspector of the Ministry of Culture and in 2006 Önal was appointed as Head Inspector at the Ministry of Culture and Tourısm. In 2007, Önal became the Culture and Tourism Attache to London. Önal has been Director General of Promotion fort he Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkish Republic. Önal is married with one child.

Bio

Doris works with a very diverse and fast-developing region within the TBWA\ collective. She is leading and supporting her teams to deliver the best growth strategies for our clients. Furthermore, she ensures that big and small clients experience the same level of creative solutions, strategic knowledge and brand leadership in any of the almost thirty markets across the territory. Having more than two decades of experience in advertising and marketing, Doris is also a key partner to our global clients, including McDonald's or Nissan.

Prior to joining TBWA\ almost 20 years ago, Doris was in key marketing positions at McDonald's and Henkel.

Doris enjoys traveling and spending time with different cultures. At TBWA she has lived and worked in many countries from Argentina to Russia and from Germany to Hungary. In her private time she is a contemporary art collector, works on her family vineyard and is a crazy football fan. Doris is Austrian and lives in Vienna.

Bio

Professor Eli Avraham teaches in the Department of Communication at the University of Haifa in Israel. Prof. Avraham is the author/co-author of a number of books including “Media Strategies for Marketing Places in Crisis and Improving the Image of Cities, Countries and Tourist Destinations” (Elsevier, 2008) and “Marketing Tourism for Developing Countries: Battling stereotypes and crises in Asia, Africa and the Middle East” (2016, Palgrave-McMillian). His research interests include public relations and marketing strategies, marketing places, nation branding, advertising, image repair, and crisis communication.

Bio

Ambassador Ido Aharoni, member of APCO’s International Advisory Council, serves as global distinguished professor at New York University’s School of International Relations in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Ambassador Aharoni is a 25-year veteran of Israel’s Foreign service, a public diplomacy specialist, founder of the Brand Israel program and a well-known nation branding practitioner. Ambassador Aharoni, who served as Israel's longest serving consul-general in New York and the tristate area for six years, oversaw the operations of Israel’s largest diplomatic mission worldwide.

In September 2007, Aharoni was appointed to serve as the nation's first head of brand management in Jerusalem, designed to improve Israel's positioning in the world by highlighting its relative advantages and increasing its relevance.

In 2002, Aharoni initiated the inclusion of Israel in the BAV (Brand Asset Valuator), the world's largest database on brands maintained by advertising giant Y&R (Young and Rubicam). Later that year, he convened the Brand Israel Group, an independent group of marketing and branding specialists, thus creating the foundation to what would later become the Brand Israel Program. In 2014 Aharoni initiated the creation of the “Best Countries Index” published annually by U.S. News & World Report. The index is unveiled yearly at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Bio

Tom Buncle is Managing Director of Yellow Railroad Ltd., an international destination consultancy, which helps destinations improve their competitiveness through branding, marketing, destination management planning, and crisis recovery. His client list spans UK, Europe, Africa, Middle East, North America and the Caribbean. He has worked on crisis recovery teams in the UK and Africa and delivered crisis communications training for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

In life before consultancy, Tom was Chief Executive of Visit Scotland and worked for Visit Britain in USA, Canada, Norway, London and Singapore.

He is also an Honorary Professor at Edinburgh’s Heriot Watt University and lectures at conferences worldwide on destination branding, crisis recovery, and global travel trends. He authored the definitive Handbook on Tourism Destination Branding, published by UNWTO and European Travel Commission (ETC).

He is a Fellow of the UK Tourism Society and the UK Tourism Management Institute, a member of the Experts’ Committee of World Tourism Cities Forum (China) and the Sustainable Tourism Certification Alliance (Africa).

Tom’s motto: “Life is not a dress-rehearsal”

Bio

Yiftah Curiel is the incoming director of the department for digital diplomacy at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, overseeing the full array of the MFA's online and social media activity.

Curiel is a career diplomat, having served as spokesman of the Israeli embassy in London (2013-2017). Previous postings include the public diplomacy portfolio at Israel’s embassy in Buenos Aires, and DCM (deputy ambassador) in Addis Ababa.

Bio

As senior director for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region at Expedia Media Solutions, Andrew van der Feltz drives business development and sales for the growing display advertising space. His team works closely with agencies, destination marketing organizations, hotel and airline partners in the region. Prior to joining Expedia, Andy was the Director of Business Development & Operations at the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC) since April 2011. Prior to this, he also worked at NBTC in the London office as country manager for the UK and Ireland. He started his career at NBTC as marketing manager, after his role as an international marketing manager at VisitScotland. Andy studied Marketing and French in Scotland, continued his postdoc education at the Institute of Marketing in Edinburgh, and attended the Executive Educational Programme in General Management at the London Business School.

Bio

Mor Schlesinger started her high-tech career at the age of 17, and spent more than 25 years in a variety of roles as a software engineer, entrepreneur and a senior executive in the mobile, Internet, engineering and defense industries. Mor is an Engineering Manager at Google, working on Crisis Response in Search, and focusing on getting people the right information at the times they need it most. In her most recent role she served as Vice President of Engineering at Quixey, a mobile technology company focused on providing users with easy access and engagement with the content and functionalities within apps. In this role, Mor established the Israeli office and led the engineering team at Quixey Israel. Prior to Quixey, Mor spent time at SharedBook (as its VP R&D and co-founder), Vigil, Technomatix/Siemens, IBM and she also served as an officer in the IDF intelligence corps.

Mor holds a BSc cum laude in mathematics and computer science from Tel Aviv University and MSc cum laude in computer science.

Throughout the years Mor has been actively volunteering with women empowerment and diversity, initiating mentoring programs, consulting and public speaking.

Bio

Merav Borenstein is Vp Strategy and Innovation in Buzzilla.  Buzzilla is a listening company- scanning the social networks, monitoring and conducting research based on the data gathered from the social networks.  During the last 10 years listening research has grown both in volume and significance and is now a significant part in the way companies learn about their customers. The most important element in listening research is the fact that no questions are being asked. We learn from what people say voluntarily, as part of their daily behavior.

Merav has an MBA from the Tel Aviv University. As Vp Strategy she is responsible for all research conducted by Buzzilla, including developing methodologies to fit various research goals or industries. She is also responsible for innovation, looking for ways to implement new technologies like Artificial Intelligence and ML into the Buzzilla system  

Bio

Carol McGury serves as executive vice president, Event and Education Services of SmithBucklin, the association management and services company more organizations turn to than any other.

She oversees the Event Services team and all of the company’s convention, trade show and event management service offerings, and is charged with upholding and improving SmithBucklin’s high standard of productivity and performance, and leveraging the company’s unmatched purchasing power. In addition, she oversees the Education & Learning Services team that provides the resources and capabilities needed to manage new product/program development, education strategy and planning, content management and delivery, and program evaluation.

The client organizations’ events the team serves have regularly been named to the Trade Show Executive Gold 100 List, the Trade Show News Network’s Top 50 Fastest-Growing Trade Shows List and the Trade Show News Network’s Top 250 Trade Shows List. SmithBucklin also was named by Trade Show Executive as one of the “Companies to Watch in 2016.” Carol was inducted in the BizBash Hall of Fame in 2016.

Carol joined SmithBucklin in 1988 and during her tenure has served all three SmithBucklin industry practices (Business + Trade, Healthcare + Scientific, and Technology). She has served as chief staff executive of the Independent Oracle Users Group, SHARE (an IBM Users Group), the Joint Users of Siemens Technology (JUST-US) and several other technology associations focused on HP, Microsoft and CA user communities. She also served as the strategic account director for PTC (Parametric Technology Corporation), supporting its global event strategy and expanded North American Community Event.

As a career mentor and coach, she has dedicated herself to developing SmithBucklin talent at all levels. Carol’s broad association experience, passion for working with volunteer-driven organizations, and her strong business acumen and relationship management skills have helped develop SmithBucklin’s expertise in growing and launching client organizations.

Carol serves as Chair-Elect on the PCMA Education Foundation. She also serves on the Marriott Hotel Advisory Board and Anaheim Advisory Board, and she is co-chair of INCON (an international partnership of association and event management companies).

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications with a minor in business from St. Xavier University and a master’s degree in public service administration from DePaul University. She is also a graduate of SmithBucklin’s Leadership Learning Forum.

Bio

Keiko Nishimoto, CMP, MBA, has 18 years of professional experience in meeting management, and is now a PhD candidate at Kyoto University Graduate School of Management. Keiko is well known for her risk management skills. She serves as a deputy chair of International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Asia Pacific chapter (2016-2017, 2018-2019).

Bio

Dan Rivlin joined Kenes in 1993 and rose through the ranks of the organisation holding senior managerial positions, including Operations Director, prior to becoming CEO in 1999. Dan’s vision and guidance coupled with accumulated experience and expertise gives Kenes Group its time-honoured stability and market presence. He holds a B.Sc. in Hospitality Management from Florida International University and an MBA from Bradford University, with a specialty in management.

Bio

With more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles in different companies and industries, Iftah joined Kenes Group in 2014 to head the global sales and marketing activities of the company. With expertise in strategic planning, business development, sales, organisation establishment and contract negotiations, Iftah has successfully led matrix-based global sales organisations on four continents. Additionally, he brings experience and knowledge of a number of sectors, including automotive, technology and communications. In his current role at Kenes, Iftah manages the business development, marketing, sponsorships and accommodation sales divisions. He holds a BA (cum laude) from Pace University, New York and an Executive MBA from Tel Aviv University.

Bio

Eran Ketter (PhD) is a senior trainer, advisor and keynote speaker in tourism recovery marketing, a researcher and the co-author of the world-renowned books: "Tourism marketing for Developing Countries" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), "Marketing the Impossible" (SPH, 2012) and “Media Strategies for Marketing Places in Crisis” (Elsevier-BH, 2008).

His vast practical experience includes training, research and consulting projects for the OECD, Israeli Ministry of Economy, Philippines Tourism Promotion Board, Tanzania National Park Association, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, Kenya Tourism Board, Rwanda Development Board, Ethiopian Ministry of Telecommunication and others.

Currently, Eran serves as a special marketing advisor for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.