People Profiles

Avid golfer and veteran Pebble Beach sales exec, Tim Ryan is redefining what it means to score a hole in one at his resort. 

This veteran planning pro blends event production and personal concierge services into a booming business.

Mayor Lili Bosse is leading her city on a new path.

Kathleen Schaffer is the fiery force behind some of LA’s most memorable events.

Hillary Harris left a top spot at Warner Bros. Studios for life as an independent event producer.

Ever since he was a teenaged event manager in Melbourne, Australia, Wayne Fernandez has sought ways to work leaner, faster and bigger. Today he has dual roles as general manager of the Magic Box at the Reef, a downtown Los Angeles venue and small convention center with over 100,000 square feet of event space, and head of Curated Events, his event production company. Efficiency matters more than ever to him, and with his proprietary cost- and time-saving software, Exhibitor Management Tool, Fernandez is out to streamline how events are planned, managed and invoiced.

Terri Haack has learned a lot about creating healthy environments during her 30-plus years in the hospitality business. Today, as president of Terranea Resort, a Destination Hotel, she’s the steward of the 102-acre luxury resort, perched on the Palos Verdes Peninsula south of Los Angeles. She has been with the 582-room property since 2007, two years before its 2009 opening, overseeing its construction in a delicate ecological zone to make sure it complied with strict measures to protect its seaside environment. 

Former chef and restaurateur Chuck Samuelson gives back with innovative culinary programs.

Chef Brad Martin and registered dietitian Cory Gheen are cooking up healthy innovation at the Riverside Convention Center.

Los Angeles enjoyed a record year in tourism in 2015, welcoming 45.5 million visitors. That’s an increase of nearly 3 percent over 2014, and it makes 2015 the fifth consecutive year to shatter visitation records. Some credit for this boom goes to Ernest Wooden Jr., who has been the president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board since 2013. It’s under his very capable leadership that LA is marketed both nationally and internationally.