CloserStill Media U.S., one of the fastest-growing global events businesses, appoints events industry leader April Walsh as Vice President US Vet Shows and New Ventures. In this role, she will oversee the U.S. Vet Portfolio and support growth through acquisitions, event launches, and expansion of the current shows. 

April Walsh previously served as Director for Association and Organizer Audiences with Freeman where she was for 7+ years and multiple departments including marketing, communications, and agency services. She planned and executed events for Freeman, worked on audience acquisition and research projects, and developed customer success stories for a variety of industries. She also worked closely on the onboarding strategy for company acquisitions and became deeply involved in the events community managing their executive roundtable program. Walsh also served on the IAEE 2022 Women’s Leadership Committee and helped to launch the Association for Women in Events first ever in-person event.

Yancy Weinrich, President of CloserStill Media North America states, “As we look at 2023 and beyond, we will be maniacally focused on growth, and to support that growth, we will need a structure to support those plans. Our U.S. Vet Portfolio is a very important piece of our growth, as well as looking at new acquisitions and launches in sectors that have opportunity. April Walsh brings expertise in event strategy, audience acquisition and logistics, as well as a broad overview of the event landscape in the US. She has grown up in events, has a keen eye for opportunity while also being focused on the details that are critical for execution.” 

Joseph Kowalsky also joins the U.S. Vet Shows as Event Director. He will manage the U.S. vet events leveraging his background of 8+ years in the events industry and proven track record of sales strategy and execution, community-centric engagement, solutions-focused innovation, and strategic marketing. Kowalsky joins CloserStill from Emerald where he served as Show Director for the Photography Market Portfolio. Kowalsky was selected as one of the winners for the 2022 UFI Next Generation Leadership Grant which promotes leadership in the exhibition industry, rewarding professionals who show clear initiatives in driving change and innovation in their area of activity.

The addition of these new hires builds upon momentum in the veterinary space and events industry as a whole. CloserStill media recently was awarded the Stickiest Show Floor designation for NY Vet from Trade Show Executive, honoring the best strategy for keeping attendees on the show floor. The online conference, Vet Show @ Home also was named Best Virtual-Hybrid Experience at the Trade Show News Network awards.

CloserStill Media has built an exemplary reputation with a focused portfolio operating best-in-class events throughout Europe, the United States (U.S.) and Asia. The group, which has over 400 employees, delivers events across a range of dynamically growing industry verticals including corporate learning and HR, enterprise technologies, eCommerce, healthcare and veterinary. CloserStill Media has experienced substantial growth since entering the U.S. market in 2017 through the launch of New York Vet (+ 2 regional shows), as well as the acquisition of LearningGuild (formerly FocusZone) in 2018 which established the group as the biggest provider of corporate learning and learning technology events in the US. Most recently, in December 2021, CloserStill Media acquired a majority investment in the Influence Group, which provides hosted leadership retreats for C-level executives.  The Influence Group events continue to expand with 4 additional events being added to the portfolio through 2023. 

CloserStill Media is seeking individuals to join the team in growing market sectors. Professionals are encouraged to apply at https://careers.closerstillmedia.com.