Chris Dessi came up with the idea for the Westchester Digital Summit when he heard about a similar event in Long Island and realized there was nothing like it closer to home.
Dessi is the CEO of Silverback Social L.L.C., a social media management company based in White Plains. He went to westchesterdigitalsummit.com and saw no one had bought the domain yet. He bought it himself.
Dessi and John Zanzarella, of Ossining”™s Zanzarella Marketing Consultants, will be hosting the second Westchester Digital Summit May 15 at White Plains”™ Ritz Carlton hotel. According to its website, the event “pools digital marketing intelligence and social media acumen to create a forum for cutting-edge, innovative and creative strategies in the online marketplace.”
This year”™s event, of which the Westchester County Business Journal is a sponsor, will feature panels and speakers from the tech and media fields.
“We are drawing from as many industries as possible to maximize the value for our attendees,” Dessi said. “Everyone will walk away with easily executable ideas and a blueprint to increase revenue through digital.”
Dessi told the Business Journal in a prior interview discussing the formation of the summit that Westchester County was the best place to hold a convention.
“We are Westchester County, New York,” he said. “We need to own the fact that there is a pedigree to that. We are not second fiddle to New York City; we are a premier suburb.”
Among this year”™s speakers will be Chris Hansen, the broadcast reporter known for “To Catch a Predator.” He was a contributor to “Dateline” and the hidden camera series “The Hansen Files.”
Other scheduled speakers include:
Jesse Redniss, the chief strategy officer of Mass Relevance. Redniss was named by Multichannel News as one of its “40 under 40” to watch in the digital world, according to the Digital Summit. He is credited for USA Network”™s early adoption of multiscreen broadcast.
Adam Ostrow, Mashable”™s editor-in-chief. Ostrow has contributed more than 2,500 articles on marketing trends, tech and social media since 2007. He is credited for introducing Mashable”™s video content and speaks frequently at industry events and conferences.
David Berkowitz, the chief marketing officer of Agengry MRY. Berkowtiz heads marketing operations and directs the agency”™s communications. His clients include Visa, Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola. He is a contributor to Mashable, MediaPost and Ad Age and maintains his own blog, MarketersStudio.com.
Tickets for the event are $550 and can be purchased at westchesterdigitalsummit.com.
