INSIGHTS FROM A VISIONARY PANEL

Peter C. Yesawich is chairman and chief executive officer of Ypartnership, America's leading marketing, advertising and public relations agency serving travel, leisure and lifestyle clients. The agency represents clients in every category of the travel industry through seven offices across the United States and Europe.

Ypartnership is an integrated marketing communications company that is known for its strategic thinking, breakthrough creativity and innovation in marketing practice. The firm's Research & Brand Strategy Group is also regarded as one of the most respected sources of insights on the emerging travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans and coauthors the widely acclaimed National Travel MONITOR® survey with Yankelovich Partners.

Yesawich is a frequent commentator on travel trends in such publications as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Newsweek and Business Week, on the CNN, CNBC and MSNBC cable television networks and on National Public Radio. He serves as a featured columnist in several industry trade publications and has authored numerous articles on marketing and advertising strategy in professional journals. He is also a coauthor of Marketing Leadership in Hospitality published by Prentice Hall.

Listed in Who's Who in America, Yesawich is the recipient of the World Travel Award from the American Association of Travel Editors, The Albert E. Koehl Award from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and the Silver Medal from the American Advertising Federation. He was also named one of the 25 Most Extraordinary Marketing Minds by HSMAI and is a member of the board of directors of the Travel Industry Association of America.

Yesawich received three degrees from Cornell, including a doctorate in applied psychology, and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Yale.

Roger Helms serves as Founder and CEO of HelmsBriscoe. In 1992, he had an "aha" moment when he realized how much clients could benefit from the industry knowledge that he and others like him had gained over the years to help them find the right meeting venues with the best possible contracts and rates.

He seized this moment to create HelmsBriscoe and, since its inception, Roger has spent each day driving the organization's vision and culture. 

He continually strives to ensure the company remains the undisputed global leader in meeting procurement by attracting the highest quality people, developing innovative solutions, and delivering world-class client services.

Roger has been named on multiple occasions to Business Travel News' list of the 25 Most Influential Executives of the Business Travel Industry.

A 30-year health and fitness industry veteran, Paul Byrne is president of Precor Incorporated, a global leader in premium fitness equipment and technology services for commercial and consumer markets.  Byrne joined Precor in 1985, then a $25 million manufacturer of rowing machines for the home market.  He led Precor's growth through line expansion and distribution into specialty retail channels in North America, Europe and Asia.

In the 1990's, Byrne solidified Precor's commitment to innovation, playing a key role in launching the EFX® Elliptical Fitness Crosstrainer^TM, and leading Precor's entry into the club and fitness facility market.

Named president of Precor in 1999, Byrne first concentrated on tightening Precor customer service, operational efficiency and core competencies that deliver customer value. In 2003, he outlined a "total product" vision of cardio, strength, entertainment and technology services that became the foundation for future acquisitions including Icarian and Cardio Theater.

Since then, he has led Precor to focus on innovations that enhance the Member Experience® in ways that make Precor's club and fitness facility customers more successful. These innovations include the 2007 launch of the revolutionary Adaptive Motion Trainer® (AMT®) that adapts to the user's movement and in late 2008 the launch of two new lines of strength equipment, the Experience Strength^TM C & S Lines.

Byrne holds a B.S. degree in biology from Colgate University, an M.S. degree in education from Syracuse University and has attended Harvard Business School postgraduate business programs.