About

BrainXchange is a boutique conference company dedicated to providing interactive learning and intelligent networking opportunities for leading minds and industry professionals at each and every quality event it produces.

Through these initiatives, BrainXchange is pioneering the new way that business is being conducted and connections are being made.

Our Story

BrainXchange was launched by experienced event organizers with the shared belief that by thoroughly studying and understanding how professionals best learn, generate new ideas, and forge sustainable relationships, they could profoundly change the way people encounter one another at conferences.

What is BrainXchange? The name BrainXchange refers to our vision of a modern business-to-business conference: The exchange of practical knowledge, progressive ideas, and best practices amongst industry professionals in a one-of-a-kind, interactive community setting.

We, the founders of BrainXchange, knew that what professionals value most at conferences is the knowledge, inspiration and connections that can potentially be gained through participation in the event and engagement with peers. With this in mind, we asked ourselves how we could deliver the most time- and cost-effective opportunities for learning and networking at our events. Our answer: The new BrainXchange conference style.

The BrainXchange Difference

Our Events

BrainXchange has dedicated a significant amount of time to studying the art and science behind conferences in order to determine the most effective method for putting on an event that is valuable to all those involved. Having worked in the industry for a number of years, we saw an opportunity to create a more meaningful and intimate conference experience by taking a “One Quality Event at a Time” approach.

Expand on Events

The BrainXchange team works on one event – YOUR event – at a time. Since we are a smaller operation, attention to detail and quality assurance are not buzz phrases but rather achievable goals for our customers and us.

By drawing together leading specialists and major players from industry, academia and the public sector, BrainXchange conferences are designed to be a one-stop-shop for knowledge sharing, relationship building, and business development.

It is our event style which sets our company apart—the unique learning and networking features that form the foundation of the BrainXchange experience.

Interactive Learning

Education is one of the main reasons why people attend conferences. With that in mind, BrainXchange has made it a priority to research and understand the most effective methods and scenarios for learning. What we found is that learning is best accomplished through interactive engagement. Thus, our events boast the most dynamic, participation-driven presentation formats in the industry.

Expand On Interactive Learning

It is not enough to just bring together a group of top-notch speakers. What really matters is the means by which these thought leaders and industry experts convey their knowledge. This should be done by creating thoroughly engaging and exciting talks, with opportunities for the audience to both pick speakers’ brains and share their own thoughts and insights.

Aiming to move away from the traditional conference model of speaker after speaker, panel after panel, while the audience just sits and listens, all BrainXchange formats support audience interaction and community building. Whether entirely driven by the input and participation of delegates, fueled by various styles of group chat and reflection, or followed by enthusiastic, live, social-media influenced Q&A periods; all BrainXchange talks are designed to “amp up” interactivity and facilitate enjoyable learning.

Intelligent Networking

Too often, conferences claim to have great networking opportunities yet are really just gatherings of professionals set loose at scheduled times to find, vet, and weed out one another. This model is haphazard and ineffective; it is not intelligent networking.

At BrainXchange, we understand the importance of going to conferences in order to meet the right people.

Expand On Intelligent Networking

We also know that it can be challenging to identify, approach, and form lasting connections with those people. Additionally, we realize that even though there are numerous technologies and social media channels dedicated to networking, nothing compares to the experience of looking a potential business partner in the eyes and shaking his or her hand.

BrainXchange has made it a priority to provide intelligent networking activities at all our events. What is intelligent networking? It is networking with a purpose, helping related but disconnected parties make the right connections before, during, and beyond the event.

Personal Business Development

What are your business development goals? At BrainXchange, we develop a deep appreciation for our customers’ unique business circumstances in order to come up with a customized solution to meet their needs and objectives. How? By creating opportunities for our partners to interact with key members of their target audience on a personal level.

Expand On Personal Business Development

Many conference companies focus on metrics and numbers, or online impressions, with respect to business development; but we know that in the email- and social media-saturated world, having your company’s logo displayed over and over won’t cut it. What creates long-term impact on building a relationship with a client are real-life, emotional impressions on individuals. And so, BrainXchange promotes a more personalized approach, on both our end and yours.

Not only do we have years of experience in facilitating major business partnerships amongst otherwise disconnected parties, we also have the resources to personally see to the individual needs and wants of every company and individual professional with whom we work. We assist you in building more intimate, personal relationships with your clients and prospects by integrating you (and not just your logo) into our great learning and networking initiatives.

Leadership

Jeff Friedman

CEO

Jeff has worked for a number of the leading commercial conference organizers in the U.S. and around the world, having held managerial and executive positions in all major areas of event development, including sales, production, marketing and project management. Jeff’s conference experience ranges from industry to industry – from Life Sciences to Finance to Enterprise – and from large trade shows and strategic summits to small, intimate business gatherings. Today, Jeff capitalizes on his diverse background and skill set within the conference industry as well as his extremely outgoing personality as BrainXchange’s CEO.

Andrew Ferguson

Head of Strategic Partnerships

Andrew’s background as a business development expert and technology “wiz” is both interesting and unique. Once a professional poker player who traveled the globe to play against some of the sharpest minds in the game, Andrew began his work in the conference industry when he decided to take a hiatus from the poker scene. Subsequently, Andrew put his poker skills – his quick wit and self-assurance – to work, driving a number of successful events from both the commercial and production ends. Somehow a mind for cards translated into an expertise in bringing together disconnected parties with mutual goals and interests through conferences. This makes Andrew a great asset to BrainXchange and our customers’ business development needs.

Emily Friedman

Head of Content

Emily is a young and ambitious content marketer with a background in the Fine Arts, Art History, and Fashion. An experienced researcher, writer and editor, Emily’s attention to detail (verging on perfectionism) and obvious intelligence, along with her youthful energy and passion, are what ensure the realization of the BrainXchange vision. In addition, Emily is the company’s chief blogger, content coordinator, and Social Media Pro.

Zach Bloomgarden

Director of Strategic Initiatives

As a former doctoral candidate in psychology, Zach possesses a strong sense of how people think and interact. Upon growing restless with his graduate schooling, Zach decided to take his knowledge of the human condition into more real-world, practical applications, including a job in sales at a major sports and beach games wholesale company. When he learned of Jeff’s plan to start his own conference company, Zach was intrigued. Having known Jeff for close to 30 years, Zach believed in his friend’s talents and ambition; in addition, Zach believed that as a member of BrainXchange he would be able to put his own interpersonal skills and understanding of human nature and behavior to good use. Sure enough, Zach’s psych background comes in handy daily as he works to build and enrich the BrainXchange community.

Michael Gonzalez

Head of Enterprise Outreach

Mike Gonzalez is a modern-day Renaissance Man. Prior to joining BrainXchange, he played professional poker on the international stage, became an award-winning mixologist, worked with renowned chef Peter X. Kelly, rubbed elbows with Bill Murray and Mikhail Baryshnikov as a fellow brand ambassador for Slovenia Vodka, and even earned a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tai Kwon Do. Nothing like your neighborhood bartender, Mike brings eclecticism and outstanding customer service skills to the BrainXchange team. In his free time, Mike is an experimental artist, working with pencil, paint and clay.

Ryan Romano

Head of Enterprise Strategy

A New York native, Ryan Romano followed up a business degree by becoming an esteemed leader in the hospitality industry for over a decade as well as an award-winning pioneering mixologist. Not only does Ryan make a great drink, he is also the Head of Enterprise Strategy at BrainXchange, where he researches and cultivates contacts with business leaders seeking to improve their operations and deliver ROI through innovative and disruptive technology. When not connecting like-minded professionals, Ryan is most likely reading the New Yorker, attempting to improve his culinary skills, or mountain biking New York’s most rugged terrains.

Wendell Barton

User Experience Design

Wendell is an avid futurist and professional multitasker. He oversees all things digital at BrainXchange, connecting the dots between human interaction and technology by combining an ever-expanding knowledge of CMS, web development, and graphic design with applied UCD (User-Centered Design) practices. Wendell's humble beginnings started Portland State University for design, and then as a self-made freelance graphic and web designer. He's worked with a variety of clients from Mom & Pop startups to Fortune 500's. This varied background has given him the skills to adapt to any challenge. When not plugged in to the digital world, you can find Wendell longboarding, painting, or making music.

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