Less than two months out, we are quickly approaching the 2016 Local Search Association Conference in San Francisco, March 7-9. The agenda is taking shape nicely and we’re adding speakers daily. Updates will be posted soon.
We’ll be highlighting speakers and sessions here as we approach the conference. To kick off the new year, here are four keynote speakers, with more to come:
Ben Wood, Director of Channel Sales Americas, Google
Topic: Google 10X Thinking
Wood runs the team responsible for selling Google AdWords, display, video and mobile products to SMB’s through partners in the Americas region. He has spent the last 16 years working in the local and national advertising industry and has wide ranging experience in print, digital and events sales and marketing.
Marco Zappacosta, CEO, Thumbtack
Topic: Thumbtack’s Story & Perspective on Local
Under Zappacosta’s leadership, Thumbtack has raised $225M in the past 18 months and is now worth almost $1.3 billion. The site has 200K loyal advertisers and no sales reps. Prior to Thumbtack, Zappacosta was the Director of Students for Saving Social Security in Washington, DC. He is also a graduate of Columbia University where he majored in Political Science.
Geoff Donaker, Chief Operating Officer, Yelp
Topic: Yelp’s Story & Perspective on Local
Geoff joined Yelp in 2005 to head business development and has been COO since 2006. In his current role, Geoff oversees the company’s business operations including sales, marketing and administration. Prior to Yelp, he held several roles at eBay, most recently as Director of International Categories.
Chandu Thota, Engineering Director, Google
Topic: Google, Eddystone and the Future of Location
Chandu is responsible Google’s geo-location and location discovery efforts and is one of the most accomplished names in the local search and geo-spatial/mapping industries. Having filed over 40 patents in the web, mapping and social technology areas, he is a well-known speaker and the author of three books.
Early bird rates (save $200) for LSA16 end next Friday, January 15. Click here to learn more or register now!
