Crissy Kerney (left), VP client services, and Tiffany Wildman, speaker bureau manager, with Meetings & Events International

Denise Cyr, CMP, associate director of professional educational programs & events with Aesculap Inc., took a moment to check in from on site.

Ive Grgas (left), team leader, Sunshine Act reporting/senior business analyst, Genentech, guided a panel on compliance training strategies, QC checks, and SOPs related to Sunshine Act implementation. Joining him on the panel, from left to right: Judy Johnson, CMP, president and chief executive officer, Rx Worldwide Meetings Inc.; Dawn DiPierro, senior manager, U.S. Compliance, Teva; and Gary Southard, director, faculty administration/transparency operations, Lilly USA, LLC.

On the meeting management track were Cindy McCormick (left), former senior manager, conventions and meetings, with Dendreon; and Mahima Tripathi, manager, global accounts, HelmsBriscoe. McCormick outlined some of the best practices involved in managing exhibits and events that support large conventions and trade shows, while Tripathi provided some tips on how to improve the site selection and contracting processes.

From left: Michelle Bartolone, CMP, chief executive officer, Meeting Sites Pro, Inc./Global Meetings Group, shard a laugh with conference co-chairman Michael Mahoney, director, meetings & convention services, Genetech; and David Horwitz, MD, PhD, FACP, a biomedical consultant who formerly was chief medical officer with the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute.

Danna Buonarti, group sales manager, Hilton Los Angeles Universal City, joined Milton Gregory, Esq., compliance specialist with Esquared, in a roundtable discussion on innovative meeting formats.

The Hilton crew was all smiles both on and off of the expo floor.

Mary Grealy, president of the Healthcare Leadership Council, explained the potential effects the Sunshine Act could have on collaboration between healthcare providers and life sciences companies—and what meetings professionals can do to ensure that innovation doesn't get squelched as a result.

Patty Schubert, associate manager, and Todd Tate, senior manager of KOL strategy & operations with Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Menka Acevski, an associate event planner, and Erin Sullivan, an account manager, with AbbVie