LAS VEGAS, October 3, 2012… Claire Shipman, best-selling author and senior contributor for ABC News, will join the slate of high-level speakers confirmed for International Market Center’s inaugural Gift & Home CEO Summit at the Las Vegas Market in January 2013. Jon Huntsman, Jr., former Ambassador to China, and Robert Reich, one of the world’s leading economists, will be presenting keynote addresses at the two-day summit for gift and home décor industry executives.
On Thursday, January 31, Shipman, co-author of The New York Times best seller, Womenomics: The Workplace Revolution That Will Change Your Life, will address how women are changing the world – from politics to the workplace – and explore how the management styles of today’s women are producing more profitable companies with happier employees. She also will discuss how women in the gift and home industry can get more time and freedom in their jobs without falling off the professional ladder.
“Claire’s remarks will resonate with any executive, but in particular with the women who hold so many upper-level positions in our industry,” said conference organizer Randy Eller, president of Eller Enterprises. “She is a great addition to the CEO Summit’s stellar line-up of superlative economists and thought leaders.”
A panelist on several White House and State Department programs on women’s issues, Shipman is also a contributor for Good Morning America, World News and This Week. Prior to joining ABC News in 2001, Shipman served as White House correspondent for NBC News where she regularly reported on presidential policy and politics for NBC Nightly News and TODAY.
A veteran journalist, Shipman also worked at CNN for a decade, earning recognition for her White House press coverage, and spent five years at CNN’s Moscow bureau. She received a Dupont Award and an Emmy as one of the key contributors to CNN’s coverage of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student uprising, as well as a Dupont Award for CNN’s coverage of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
“Claire’s session promises to be equal parts informational, instructional and inspirational and is an excellent extension of the high-caliber content offered to conference participants,” said Dorothy Belshaw, president Gift + Home Décor of IMC. “As the first-of-its-kind executive-level conference for the gift and home industry, the Gift + Home CEO Summit is an important first step in our multi-phase plan to transform the World Market Center in Las Vegas into the preeminent gift + home marketplace in the Western United States.”
The conference program – the first of its kind for the U.S. gift and home décor industry –includes keynote addresses, panel discussions and other topical presentations, with all content geared towards CEOs, presidents and owners of gift and home businesses. Co-produced by International Market Centers (IMC) and Eller Enterprises, the event will take place January 31-February 1, 2013, in Las Vegas, during the Winter 2013 market. For information, registration and sponsorship opportunities, contact Randy Eller at 615-771-1112, x10, or reller@ellerent.com.
Gift + Home at Las Vegas Market is a leading gift and home décor marketplace in the western U.S., presenting 800+ gift and home décor resources in an unrivaled market destination. Las Vegas Market features thousands of furniture, gift and home décor lines across 5 million-plus square feet, allowing for cross-category commerce among the gift, furniture, home décor and accessory industries. The Winter 2013 Las Vegas Market runs January 28-February 1, 2013, at the World Market Center. For more information, visit GiftandHomeLV.com.
About World Market Center Las VegasWorld Market Center Las Vegas is an integrated home and hospitality contract furnishings showroom and trade complex. The campus showcases furniture, decorative accessories, gift, lighting, area rugs, home textiles and related segments, as well as the Las Vegas Design Center open daily to consumers and designers. For more information on World Market Center Las Vegas and its trade shows including the bi-annual Las Vegas Market and Gift+Home, visit www.wmclv.com. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.
World Market Center Las Vegas is a property of International Market Centers, L.P. (IMC), the world’s largest operator of premier showroom space for the furnishings, home décor and gift industries. International Market Centers owns and operates 11.5 million square feet of world-class exhibition space in High Point, N.C. and Las Vegas. IMC’s mission is to build and operate an innovative, sustainable, profitable and scalable platform for the furnishings, home décor and gift industries. For more information on IMC, visit imcenters.com.
About ELLER ENTERPRISESEller Enterprises, of Franklin, TN, was founded in 2004 by Randy Eller as a consulting firm serving companies and individuals primarily within the home accent, furniture and giftware industries. These businesses include wholesalers, product designers, merchandise trade marts, marketing, public relations and advertising firms. Eller Enterprises also offers personal executive coaching and professional speaking to customers in a variety of industries. For information, visit www.ellerent.com.
