RevvedUP 2026: AI-Native or Left Behind Tech Panel

Jonathan Kazarian is an accomplished entrepreneur and business leader with a proven track record in the event technology space. He began his career at Windham Capital Management in 2012 as an Associate in Investments. In 2014, he transitioned to Windham Labs as Director of Sales and Business Development, where he played a key role in driving growth initiatives.

In 2015, Jonathan founded Accelevents, where he currently serves as CEO. Under his leadership, Accelevents has become a leading event technology platform, offering users a robust suite of tools for virtual and hybrid events, including keynote talks, breakout sessions, interactive workshops, virtual exhibitor engagement, networking opportunities, live polling, and more.

Jonathan holds a degree in Economics & Finance from Bentley University and has also earned a Captain’s License from the U.S. Coast Guard. His entrepreneurial vision and leadership have made him a recognized figure in the event tech industry.

Michael Barnett is a social marketing entrepreneur and CEO of InGo, a company driven by a new vision for event marketing: creating advocates by empowering attendees to engage their friends with events they love, with the goal of making events more fun and more social.

Prior to starting InGo, Michael spoke around the world about using Social Media to start and develop grass roots organizations and often captured hundreds of supporters in a single day. Michael studied at Virginia Tech with a brief break to intern in Parliament for Nigel Waterson, the Member of Parliament from Eastbourne. He resides in the Washington D.C., area, where he actively leads InGo.

Heather Holst-Knudsen is a distinguished figure and expert in the events, media, marketing and technology sectors. Using her extensive experience, she guides clients in adapting to structural economic and market changes, seizing the chance to innovate and evolve. She specializes in digital and data disruption and opportunity, exploring how these overarching factors can impact revenue growth,customer-centricity, operational efficiency, profit margins, and the overall valuation of companies in both public and private markets. Her journey began at her family business, Thomas Publishing Company, where she honed her skills. She further expanded her expertise by holding positions at early industry giants Miller Freeman, Reed Elsevier, and IDG. Returning to Thomas Publishing, Heather founded and spearheaded Manufacturing Enterprise Communications, an integrated media portfolio connecting buyers and sellers in the manufacturing and technology sectors. Starting in 2015 and spanning the next seven years, she leveraged her expertise as a revenue and business leader in various SaaS businesses, including Feathr, Gleanin, Brella and Edflex. Heather is deeply passionate about digital innovation, data monetization, and AI and how these strategies fuel revenue growth, profitability, and company valuation. To serve and create value for clients in these areas, she launched H2K Labs, dedicated to generating and leveraging value through data for media, business information, events, and adjacent technology and service markets.

**Verena Papik **is the Founder and CEO of Talkalytics, an emotional-intelligence platform transforming spoken feedback into actionable insights on human emotion and behavior. She previously helped scale musical.ly, now TikTok, into a billion-dollar cultural phenomenon by understanding the emotional triggers that drive people to click, connect, and stay loyal.

With expertise spanning growth, neuroscience, consumer behavior, and business strategy, Verena helps companies uncover the emotional data behind customer decisions and turn those insights into stronger experiences, higher retention, new revenue opportunities, and smarter product and sponsorship strategies.

In addition to leading Talkalytics, Verena advises a select group of Fortune 500 and high-growth companies on growth and market expansion, revenue and ROI, community and membership programs, and operational excellence. Her work is driven by a simple philosophy: bring truth into how companies grow and build systems that actually work.