Meetings and events industry content veteran Julius Solaris left EventMB, a company he started and later sold to travel trade publishing company Skift, to join Swapcard, an end-to-end virtual and hybrid event platform, as its head of engagement.
Solaris brings more than 15 years of experience in event management. In his most previous role, he served as founder and editor-in-chief of EventMB, a resource on event technology, where he “operated at the forefront of the event app revolution, integrating social media with both live and virtual event management,” according to a press release.
From that role, Solaris brings his experience working with major event technology companies, destinations and venues.
“The event industry is going to change more in the next three years than it has within the past 10,” said Swapcard CEO and Founder Baptiste Boulard in a press release announcing the appointment. “Content will play a big part of our market evolution. We saw a high demand from the market to learn and share during our Evolve series, [an online community for event planners]. We are following our industry evolution, moving toward community, and think Julius is the right person to lead that project at Swapcard. We have been following EMB closely over the last years and are very excited to have him joining our team.”
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In his new role as head of engagement, Solaris will be responsible for leading marketing initiatives such as the Evolve event series, Inside Events podcast and the company’s online training program Swapcard Academy. It’s all in an effort to “offer customers and the global event professionals community tools to better navigate the challenges of virtual and hybrid events,” according to the press release.
“The next few years are going to be some of the most challenging for the event industry,” Solaris said in the press release. “Whether it is virtual or in person, I feel that Swapcard is ready to help planners deliver incredible experiences. I am honored to be part of this diverse and fast-growing team to be on the planner side, doing our bit to support them with opportunities for connection and learning.”
Swapcard, which was founded in 2013, hosted more than 1,500 events in 2020 and attracted the attention of some of the world’s biggest event venues that were looking to integrate virtual events. As a result, Swapcard experienced 400% growth, according to the company, and also acquired registration platform Avolio and its event management software, IPReg.
Swapcard’s next event in the Evolve series takes place February 23-25, where Solaris will make his debut for the company as a speaker at multiple interactive sessions.
This story is based on a press release from Swapcard.
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