PODCAST · technology
Events: demystified Podcast
by Anca Platon Trifan
Real Talk for Event Pros Who Do It All—And Still Show Up #fit4events™. Sponsored and Produced by Tree-Fan Events Production.
Episodes
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231: Corporate Event Entertainment: Heather Rogers and Velia Rizzo, CEOs of Curated Entertainment, on Reading the Room
Heather Rogers and Velia Rizzo are co-founders and CEOs of Curated Entertainment and perform as Rogers & Rizzo, America’s only female mentalist duo. They explain how they read an audience through energy, eye contact, volume and body language, and how humor, names and real connection win over...
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230: Thrive not just Survive at IMEX America: Sleep, Movement, Nutrition, #Fit4events Challenge
David T Stevens is back with Anca Platon Trifan to share how to get through IMEX America without burning out. They cover setting objectives before you land, protecting the non-negotiables on your calendar, and accepting that you can’t do it all. Their practical advice: move before the day starts,...
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229: Stewardship Leadership: David Peckinpaugh, CEO of Maritz, on Leading a 132-Year-Old Company
David Peckinpaugh is President and CEO of Maritz and the first non-family CEO of a 132-year-old, fifth-generation family-owned company. He explains what it means to lead as a steward, and how the Tugboat Institute's Evergreen seven Ps (purpose, people, passion, perseverance, performance,...
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228: The rise of the hybrid athlete: ironman lessons & limitations | Anca Platon Trifan
Anca Platon Trifan recounts her Ironman 70.3 at Lucky Peak a month after finishing, explaining her eight-month experiment of training as a “hybrid athlete” by maintaining bodybuilding-level lifting while building endurance and learning to swim as an adult. On race morning, brutal wind made the...
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227: Shadow AI & Event Data Security | 7-Year Podcast Anniversary ft Anca Platon Trifan
In this final episode of the Events Demystified seven-year anniversary miniseries, host Anca Platon Trifan explains that “shadow AI” is often ordinary employees using tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude, or browser extensions to work faster, unintentionally creating data paths outside...
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226: AI hallucinations | 7-Year Podcast Anniversary ft Anca Platon Trifan
In this seven-year anniversary episode of the Events Demystified Podcast, Anca Platon Trifan uses live event production examples to show how confident, premature conclusions can waste time, then connects that dynamic to AI hallucinations: confident but false “confabulations” such as fabricated...
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225: AI Ethics & Responsibility | 7-Year Podcast Anniversary ft Anca Platon Trifan
Host Anca Platon Trifan marks the Events Demystified Podcast’s seven-year anniversary miniseries by continuing last week’s discussion on AI bias into a broader AI ethics focus on accountability. Using her own AI agent that scans her Notion speaking database, finds calls for speakers, drafts...
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224: AI Biases & Stereotyping | 7-Year Podcast Anniversary ft Anca Platon Trifan
On the seventh anniversary episode of Events Demystified Podcast, Anca Platon Trifan explains how AI bias and stereotyping are amplified through generative and predictive systems, starting with her experience using NotebookLM to generate an image from her memoir: it repeatedly depicted AV…
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223: An AI Mini-Series on Biases, Ethics, Hallucinations & Shadow AI | 7-Year Podcast Anniversary Kickoff ft Anca Platon Trifan
Host Anca Platon Trifan kicks off the Events Demystified Podcast seven-year anniversary month, reflecting on how the show has evolved since July 2019 from AV and production into broader conversations on events, technology, leadership, wellness, and AI, especially after COVID accelerated virtual…
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222 | Rebuilding After Rupture: Stacy Kehren Idema, CEO of Equati, on Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
Stacy Kehren Idema, founder and CEO of Equati, grew up in a third-generation family business and spent 27 years in corporate technology. A breaking point five years ago led to a divorce, six months in London, an innovator visa application and a first business that failed. She explains how...
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221 | Event Accessibility and Language Services: Julia Danmeri, CEO of TranslateAble, on Inclusion and Reinvention
Julia Danmeri, founder and CEO of TranslateAble, started in event operations and planned to become a solo translator. Referrals kept asking for languages beyond her own, so she built a language agency. She explains what changed when she became a CEO: less operations, more sales, client…
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220 | AI Event Content Capture: Johan Wadenholt, CEO of Voxo, on Turning Live Sessions Into Real-Time Content
Johan Wadenholt, CEO of Voxo, explains how to turn what is said on stage into structured content that attendees and speakers can use right away. He covers session FOMO at multi-track events, the forgetting curve, and why consent, reliability and a human in the loop are needed to avoid AI...
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219 | Event Contract Negotiation: Heather Reid, CEO of Planner Protect, on Fair Contracts, Risk and the CECP Certification
Heather Reid, CEO and founder of Planner Protect Inc., teaches event planners how to read and negotiate contracts. She explains why supplier-drafted templates protect the supplier, how a balanced contract creates a real partnership, and where contracts fall short on newer risks like food safety…
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218: AI Isn’t Making You More Capable, It’s Exposing Your Thinking | Build From Within
In this solo “Build From Within” episode of Events Demystified, host Anca Platon Trifan shares six pillars about building fundamentals (“the floor”) before chasing bigger outputs, using AI, Ironman training, Fit4Events, and parenting habits as parallel examples. 👉 Episode Notes:...
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217 | Building Event Tech That Can’t Fail: Mohammed Younas, CEO of vFairs, on Scale, Support and AI
Mohammed Younas, founder and CEO of vFairs, built his own event software after a vendor charged $25,000 per event and gave poor support. That software became vFairs, a platform for in-person, hybrid and virtual events. He explains how the company scaled fast during COVID without lowering quality,...
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216 | Virtual Venue Sourcing for Event Planners: Debbie Garcia, CEO of Virsitour, on Rebuilding After the Pandemic
Debbie Garcia, CEO of Virsitour, lost her commission-based planning income when the pandemic hit, so she built the virtual sourcing tool she needed. Virsitour puts visuals and sourcing for hotels, venues, services and destinations in one place, so planners can make informed decisions before they...
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215: LIVE from NWES: AI and Human Capacity, Designing Events For The Brain
At the Northwest Event Show, podcast hosts Anca Platon Trifan (Events Demystified) and David T. Stevens (Return on Wellness) discuss AI, cognitive load, and performance in events with Wendy Turner-Williams (AI/data/tech executive with experience at Tableau, Salesforce, and Microsoft) and Lisa...
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214 | AI and Leadership Decision-Making: Joe DiDonato, President of ESource AI University, on Keeping Your Judgment Under Pressure
Joe DiDonato, President of ESource AI University, grew education businesses at Oracle and PeopleSoft. He explains how AI changes decision-making, judgment and responsibility for leaders, and how prompt engineering, personas and agentic workflows extend what a person or an organization can do, as...
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213 | Event ROI: Wendy Porter, Founder of Wendy Porter Events, on Designing Events With Measurable Business Outcomes
Wendy Porter, founder and chief event strategist at Wendy Porter Events, explains how to design live events that deliver measurable business outcomes. She walks through her Ruby Ribbon Experience Strategy and the THREAD Framework (Touchpoints, Human-centric design, ROI, Experience, Audience…
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212: My 44th Birthday: What It Feels Like to Finally Catch Up to Yourself | Build From Within
On her 44th birthday, host Anca Platon Trifan reflects on what she’s truly celebrating after a quarter where AV production, speaking, podcasting, and AI consulting all went according to plan, shifting the challenge from creating momentum to holding it without breaking. 👉 Episode Notes:...
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211 | Let Go to Grow: Lisa Gregory, CEO of Gregory Event Services, on Burnout, Delegation and Remote Teams
Lisa Gregory, CEO and founder of Gregory Event Services, built an event design and production company from the ground up. She explains why she had to let go in order to grow, how she came back from burnout, and how she kept leading through breast cancer. She also covers company culture, managing…
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210: MAIN STAGE LIVE: Leadership Under Pressure: Conversations Worth Having | GoWest Live 2026
Host Anca Platon Trifan records a live Events Demystified panel with Niesa Silzer (Details Convention & Event Management), Epiphany Bourque (TK Events), and Dustin Westling (OneWest Event Design & Production) on human-first systems and leadership in event work. 👉 Episode Notes:...
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209 | Leading After Burnout: Dennis Meador, CEO of the Legal Podcast Network, on Delegation, Trust and AI
Dennis Meador, CEO and founder of the Legal Podcast Network, on what leadership looks like when AI is speeding everything up and operations keep getting more complex. Drawing from his early entrepreneurship, digital marketing career, and experience as a teenage pastor, Dennis shares why modern...
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208 | AI for Event Operations: Huong Nguyen, CEO of Aletheia, on Starting Over as a Founder (RainFocus LIVE)
Huong Nguyen, former CEO of Shiloh Events, is now founder and CEO of Aletheia, an AI platform for event operations that she built out of the delivery problems she lived through on the agency side. She shares three validation steps for founders: focus groups before coding, market testing at...
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207 | Running Two Event Companies: Cindy Y. Lo, CEO of Red Velvet Events, on Growth, Risk and Honest Leadership
Cindy Y. Lo is CEO and owner of Red Velvet Events and Strong Events. She tells the story of building two event companies without sugarcoating it: starting Red Velvet after 9/11, the growth strategies she used, and how the two companies differ in culture and operations. She also shares what she…
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206: GoWest LIVE: What Happens When Events Actually Respect People ft Arthur Kerekes and Evan Babins
Live from Go West Live in Edmonton, this episode of Events: Demystified unpacks what happens when an industry event is designed with intention instead of habit. Joined by Arthur Kerekes and Evan Babins, we break down: Why this 600-person conference felt more alive than many large-scale industry...
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205 | Event Content Strategy: Chris Carver, CEO of Sessionboard, on How Content Drives Event Growth and Revenue
Chris Carver, CEO of Sessionboard, explains why the event industry is moving toward trusted, author-based content, and how content connects events, marketing and revenue. For event marketers and event leaders who are planning their content strategy. He also shares what he learned from hypergrowth...
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204: A Tale of Human Connection and AI at Rainfocus INSIGHT | Built From Within
This is Built From Within. In this episode of Events Demystified Podcast, Anca Platon Trifan recounts her recent experience at the Rainfocus conference in Salt Lake City. // Please Follow & Subscribe for more episodes exploring performance, leadership, resilience, AI, and the inner work behind...
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203 | From PC Magazine Editor to CEO: Robin Raskin, CEO of Virtual Events Group, on Reinvention in Tech
Robin Raskin, CEO of Virtual Events Group, started as a novice in technology and became editor of PC Magazine in the early days of the internet. One article she wrote about the future of technology brought calls from Bill Gates and Bill Ziff. She talks about the mentors who helped her through a...
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202: The Four Pillars and Ten Habits That Keep Me Fit Year-Round #fit4events | Built From Within
This is Built From Within. Today’s episode breaks down the four pillars and ten habits that keep me fit year-round. Physical fitness is the outcome. The real work lives in the systems underneath. If your life is demanding and your standards are high, this episode is for you. Let’s get into it. 👉...
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201 | Scaling an Event Tech Company: Pedro Goes, CEO of InEvent, on Hybrid Events and Innovation
Pedro Goes, co-founder and CEO of InEvent, grew an event technology company that runs in-person, virtual and hybrid events on one platform. He explains how event tech has changed, how he manages talent, and the challenges and rewards of building new products. He also shares where he thinks event...
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200: Two Hundred Conversations That Mattered
Anca Platon Trifan recaps the diverse and content-rich Season 10 of the Events Demystified Podcast, featuring a wide range of guests and topics from budget-friendly marketing strategies to AI innovations and sustainable event planning. Each episode is highlighted, detailing the contributions of...
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199: How I Almost Did Everything (And Why I Also Didn't)
Reflecting on 2025: Wins, Challenges, and Lessons Learned | Events Demystified Podcast. In this episode of Events Demystified podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan reflects on an intense year, discussing the highs and lows of 2025. From exciting speaking engagements, AI projects, and a bodybuilding...
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198: AI, Sales & Scaling Smarter Businesses ft. Arias WebsterBerry
In this episode of Events Demystified Podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan sits down with Arias WebsterBerry, digital marketing expert, entrepreneur, and master sales coach behind Webster Berry Marketing and Launch Nation AI. Together, they unpack how AI is transforming digital marketing, sales...
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197: How Sound Healing Can Improve Events and Create Meaningful Experiences ft Mike Reed
In this episode of Events Demystified Podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan welcomes Mike Reed, founder of Sound Quest and Sound Quest Academy, to explore the transformative power of sound, not just as art, but as healing, connection, and business. Mike shares his journey from musician to global sound...
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196: AI Technology, Improv & Living Well and on Purpose ft. Mark DeCarlo
In this episode of Events Demystified Podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan is joined by Emmy-winning TV host and comedian Mark DeCarlo. They discuss how comedy, improv, and wellness can create happier, more resilient workplaces. Mark shares his journey from comedy to corporate wellness, offering...
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195: Turning Pages & Profits: Turning Your Story into a Business Asset ft. Steve Martile
In this episode of the Events Demystified Podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan discusses the strategic and transformative aspects of writing a book as a business decision. Joined by guest Steve Martile, founder of Boutique Publishing Agency, this episode explores how entrepreneurs and event...
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194: Behavioral Data, Ethical AI, and the Future of Event Experiences ft Nick Borelli
In this interesting episode of the Events Demystified Podcast, we dive deep into the transformative power of AI in event planning and design with Nick Borelli, Director of Marketing at Zenus. Join us as we explore how facial analysis, ethical AI tools, and actual attendee behavior can…
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193: Mastering Authentic Influence: Communication Strategies for Leaders ft Stacey Hanke
In this episode of the Events Demystified Podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan sits down with Stacey Hanke, CEO of Stacey Hanke Inc. and author of 'Influence Redefined.' Stacey shares invaluable insights on enhancing communication and influence, especially for event professionals, entrepreneurs, and...
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192: Breaking the Pricing Trap: How AV Companies Can Thrive
n this episode of the Events Demystified Podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan dives into the business side of AV event production with Tom Stimson, President of Stimson Group, LLC. They discuss the pitfalls of traditional rental-based pricing models and the importance of charging based on expertise,...
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191: Women Breaking Barriers in AV: Resilience, Representation & Rising to the Challenge
In this episode, we explore the journey of Claudine C Pellington, an AV veteran, show director, and founder of CCP Audiovisual. Tune into this brand new conversation on the Events Demystified Podcast! Hosted by Anca Platon Trifan of the Events Demystified Podcast, Claudine shares her experiences…
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190: Future-Proofing Events: Digital Twins, Pre-Visualization & Human-Centered Innovation
In this episode of the Events Demystified Podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan welcomes Iain Morrison, CEO of an event tech startup specializing in digital twins and immersive pre-visualization. Iain shares his journey from his early days in event production to pioneering new technologies that…
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189: Elevating Event Marketing Through Strategic Creativity
Join host Anca Platon Trifan, CMP, WMEP in this insightful episode of the Events-ified Podcast as she interviews global event marketing strategist Marisa Nebosky, CMP. Marisa shares her experience in developing award-winning brand stories and impactful campaigns for major brands like Bose and…
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188: Six Yrs Anni | Events Demystified -“Iron & Ashes”: Rebirth Through Discipline #memoir
Join us in the final episode of our six-year anniversary miniseries, where Anca Platon Trifan shares her deeply personal journey of overcoming immense challenges and rebuilding herself from the ground up. This chapter, Iron & Ashes, recounts her path from depletion and grief to becoming a...
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187: Six Yrs Anni | Events Demystified - When The Feed Goes Dark
In this special anniversary episode of the Events Demystified podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the events industry, her personal journey through adversity, and the transformation that followed. The episode explores themes of resilience,...
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186: Six Yrs Anni | Events Demystified - California Dreams: When the West Called
Join Anca Platon Trifan in this special anniversary miniseries of the Events Demystified podcast as she reads from her forthcoming memoir. In this episode titled 'California Dreams,' Anca recounts her journey from Romania to the United States, navigating the challenges of adapting to a new…
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185: Six Yrs Anni | Events Demystified One Mic: My Origin Story Unplugged
In this very special 6th anniversary episode of the Events Demystified Podcast, the host reflects on the journey from the podcast's inception to the current milestone. This July 2025 episode marks a departure from the usual and features readings from the host's forthcoming memoir. The memoir…
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184: Crafting Unforgettable Experiences: Experiential Marketing and Event AI ft Steven Burchard
Welcome to the Events Demystified Podcast, hosted by Anca Platon Trifan, CMP, WMEP. In this episode we welcome dynamic entrepreneur and experiential marketing expert Steven Burchard , as we demystify creating unforgettable, engaging content and event strategies that resonate with audiences....
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183: Mastering Event Contracts and Negotiation ft Brittney Shea Cobb
Join host Anca Platon Trifan on the Events Demystified Podcast as she delves into the art of powerful event planning contracts and negotiation tips with Brittney Cobb, Director of Global Events with Innovate Meetings and Managing Director at Assemble Hospitality. 👉 Like and share this video to...
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182: The Truth About AI Agents & Large Language Models: Insights ft. Vlad Iliescu
In this episode of Events Demystified Podcast, host Anca Platon Trifan provides a deep dive into the world of AI agents, large language models, and practical applications for businesses. Featuring guest Vlad Iliescu, CTO of zenai.os and a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional in AI, the discussion...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Real Talk for Event Pros Who Do It All—And Still Show Up #fit4events™. Sponsored and Produced by Tree-Fan Events Production.
HOSTED BY
Anca Platon Trifan
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Events: demystified Podcast have?
Events: demystified Podcast currently has 233 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Events: demystified Podcast about?
Real Talk for Event Pros Who Do It All—And Still Show Up #fit4events™. Sponsored and Produced by Tree-Fan Events Production.
How often does Events: demystified Podcast release new episodes?
Events: demystified Podcast publishes regularly with 233 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to Events: demystified Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Events: demystified Podcast?
Events: demystified Podcast is created and hosted by Anca Platon Trifan.
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