Frederick, Md. -- Conferon Global Services, the country's largest independent meeting-planning company, yesterday changed its name to Experient.
Experient's three divisions--Conferon, ExpoExchange, and ITS--have been dissolved, according to a company announcement. The divisions represented the merger of Conferon and ExpoExchange in 2003, and the prior merger of three organizations, including ITS, into ExpoExchange. They were premier brands in the industry.
"While we recognize the enormous equity in each of the former divisions, I have absolutely no doubt that the event industry will very soon recognize a much greater benefit in the combined resources we have as Experient," said the company's chief executive, Ed Shartar, said today in announcing the name change.
"We believe that the event industry is ready to look beyond providers of individual services and embrace a company dedicated to creating fully integrated and distinctive experiences for attendees, exhibitors, and event organizers," Shartar added.
Conferon had focused on full-service meeting planning; ExpoExchange, in event registration and lead retrieval; and ITS, in group housing management.
which provided event registration, lead retrieval and group housing management, in 2003 to form Conferon Global Services.
The name change and integration of the three former divisions represents the culmination of a management restructuring that took place over the past two years.
Experient is the largest third-party planning organization not connected to a corporate travel-management company. It has more than 1,000 clients and about 665 employees. This year Experient expects to manage all or part of more than 2,800 events attended by 3.2 million people and negotiate or purchase on behalf of clients 4.2 million hotel room nights.
The company operates nine offices around the country. Its new web address is www.experient-inc.com.