Board Member
Bob, former CEO of Freeman, is known as a visionary leader of people and events. His 35+ years of experience across industries, technologies, and geographies brings a forward-thinking view to people development, business strategy, and the industry at large.
Under his 15-year leadership at Freeman, the company was recognized by Forbes as #4 in the Best Employers for Women and also as a Best Large Employer, AdAge listed Freeman as the world’s largest global event marketing company in their World’s 50 Largest Agency Companies list, and Chief Marketer named Freeman to its Top Marketing Agencies.
Bob has always worked at the forefront of innovation in the events industry. In the emergence of digital technology, he managed and created specialized trade events for early internet developers. He was a contributor when the first user-friendly web browser, Mosaic, was relaunched as Netscape Navigator. He moved to Japan to unveil the first major tech event produced outside of the U.S., NetWorld+Interop, and built a market for disruptive technology events. He helped host the first JavaOne conference for developers while working with Sun Microsystems, acted as an executive coach to Google leadership, consulted UBM (now Informa) on key acquisitions, and helped Dwell magazine expand its media platform into the new world of brand experiences.
“Freeman leadership is committed to providing a secure, open, collaborative environment in which people feel empowered to explore, to take chances, and to imagine new worlds.”
Bob Priest-Heck
Bob continues in the spirit of transformation and is respected for his progressive efforts in technology, advocacy, sustainability, and safety. He is optimistic about the future of the events industry and its evolution as the world’s markets change. At the forefront of the pandemic, Bob brought together over 80 industry leaders to form Go LIVE Together, facilitating legislative action to support the industry. This effort lives on as the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance (ECA).
Most recently, Bob was part of the CEO advisory group that launched the Net Zero Carbon Events pledge at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26. Additionally, he has been honored among BizBash’s 2021 Most Influential Event Management and Consulting Professionals, received the 2021 Catalyst Award from Smart Meetings as an agent of change in the meetings industry, and was named by Meetings Today as one of the top twenty 2020 Meetings Trendsetters, recognizing those who stepped up when the industry needed them most. His effort to lead the Go LIVE Together coalition (GLT) was also honored with the IAEE Chairman’s Award. For his overall contribution to the events industry, Bob was recognized with the SISO Krakoff Award. Bob is especially grateful for receiving Freeman’s highest honor, the Buck Freeman Award.
Bob believes in authentic, purpose-driven leadership and is inspired by what is possible when individuals connect to achieve a shared goal. His career, beginning in the era of nascent internet technology and spanning more than 35 years, is testimony to the many amazing people he has been blessed to work with. Across multiple C-suite roles in family-owned, private-equity funded, and publicly traded businesses, he has exercised design thinking, data-driven decision making, strategic direction, and the nurture of value-based cultures. He is adept at coaching leadership teams to achieve enterprise-wide transformation. He is an expert at choreographing M&A activity to drive revenue growth and increase shareholder value. He enjoys feeding his curiosity and seeking moments of awe.
Bob’s Blog: bphconnect.com
