Liz Irving

Liz’s endless curiosity, desire for learning, and passion for building relationships infuse her responsibilities as the President of Clarion Events North America. With over 20 years of experience in the events industry, she has transformed the businesses she works with through her strategic vision and customer-centric approach to drive commercial outcomes.

In her current role, Liz oversees the strategic direction for the Clarion North American business by focusing on customer and behavioral insights, commercial effectiveness, digital platform development, and innovation. In addition, she is responsible for product strategy development, where she partners with Clarion’s portfolio directors to identify growth opportunities to enhance our existing events and develop new digital offerings. Her forward-thinking mindset constantly has her eye on the customer experience and how to continuously evolve what our events, media, and products offer to increase the value we provide face-to-face and digitally.

Liz fosters an environment focusing on employee engagement, innovation, and team collaboration to serve Clarion’s customers and communities. Her leadership nurtures inclusivity, creativity, and continuous improvement within Clarion and is well-recognized by top talent in the industry. Liz’s interest in events began when she worked hands-on to assist her father in setting up his local food distributor events. From there, she worked in a variety of positions in college, assisting the Convention & Visitors Bureau, and quickly, her passion for the events business spread. Before joining Clarion, Liz was with Reed Exhibitions for 14 years in various marketing leadership positions across several events, including the leading jewelry media brand, JCK. Liz earned her bachelor’s degree from Niagara University, a master’s degree from the University of New Haven, and a digital marketing certificate from Cornell University. She is active in her community where she volunteers, assisting her sons’ sports teams throughout the year, managing communications and events.

Liz is the Chair of SISO’s Marketing Special Interest Group and is on the Board of Directors for SISO and the Board of Directors for UFI. Liz has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the Events Industry, the Virtual Event Industry Smart 100 List, and the Event Content Professionals to Follow list. She is also an active member of the Women In Exhibitions Network North American Chapter and is a member of several Event Technology Advisory Boards. Liz lives in Connecticut with her husband, two boys, two dogs, and a cat.