Steve Acquista, CTS, DSCE, is a 20-plus year AV and IT industry veteran and the Sr. Director of Digital Signage at DT Research, a manufacturer of information appliances including digital signage solutions, mobile tablets and thin clients for the retail, hospitality, health care, education, transportation and government markets.

Avalos is retail sector general manager for Intel Corp. in the Intelligent Systems Group, leading Intel's worldwide retail & digital signage businesses. His group is responsible for delivering Intel's Intelligent Retail & Digital Signage platforms, software and services, and initiatives fueling industry growth.

Connectedsign President Loren Bucklin has more than 17 years of experience in the interactive and digital signage industry. Connectedsign, a full-service integrator, has a team that has designed and deployed systems across market verticals, specializing in innovative, data-intensive applications.

Paul Flanigan is Vice President of Content Strategy for Saddle Ranch Digital, where he educates and consults with clients on media network best practices and strategy. You can also find him writing regularly at his own blog, Experiate.net.

Friskney is vice president of sales for the Outdoor Advertising Division of Danville, Ill.-based Watchfire Signs, which has been manufacturing outdoor electric signs since 1932.

Steve Gurley is responsible for all aspects of global marketing and new market development for Symon Communications, where he also has executive oversight of Symon’s Creative Content and Content Subscription businesses.

Christopher is the editor of DigitalSignageToday.com. A longtime freelance writer and reporter, he's bringing a fresh perspective and critical take on the industry.

BrightSign CEO Jeff Hastings joined BrightSign in August 2009 while it was still a division of Roku Inc. In late 2010 with digital signage activities growing so rapidly, BrightSign became a separate firm. The holder of eight U.S. patents, he also has a history of tech industry leadership, including as president of mp3 pioneer Rio.

Joe Matriss, Managing Director of Park Cast Network, an ad-based DOOH network with screens in public parking facilities in New York City and Chicago, shares his experiences, strategies and ideas to encourage more open dialogue between network operators for success across the medium.

Matthews, a 17-year veteran of the visual communications industry, is credited with a comprehensive corporate reorganization; introducting a suite of new digital signage products; and growing revenues by more than 311% over six years. Visix has appeared five times on the Inc. 5000 annual ranking of fastest growing private companies.

Jon is a product marketing manager for Avnet's Brilliant Digital Signage, focused on building supplier relationships driving digital signage solutions for Avnet's reseller and OEM/ISV customers. He's has been with Avnet for five years supporting supplier marketing for the Embedded and Sales Acceleration groups.

Pearman is a U.S. sales manager for LED sign and digital billboard manufacturer Watchfire.

Don Pierson is founder, president and COO at Flypaper Studios Inc. He has two decades experience in the interactive communications industry; was founder and CEO of Interactive Alchemy; and later created the Catalyst collaborative development tool, which led to him develop what is now Flypaper.

Matt Schmitt, president and co-founder of Reflect, drives innovation strategy and the solution ecosystem for Reflect, and has extensive experience with multi-channel digital media garnered from his roles at Yahoo!, broadcast.com, and Fox Sports.

Vertigo Group USA president Scott Sharon has decades of experience in the sign and menu board industry, and nearly another decade in digital signage. He’s a longtime proponent of, and innovator in, expanding the deployment of digital menu boards in QSRs.

Digital Signage Certified Expert Ben Stagg, director of R&D for Vital Media Inc., is responsible for the technology solutions and deployment infrastructure for Vital Media’s digital signage solutions. Stagg started his own digital signage company in 2004, before selling it in 2007 and joining Vital Media.

Bill was the longtime editor of DigitalSignageToday.com, and continues to be a keen observer of the digital-out-of-home space.