Event Software Leaders MeetingPlay and Aventri Merge; Eric Lochner Named New CEO
Today, market leading event software companies MeetingPlay and Aventri announce that they have merged and received a growth equity investment from Sunstone Partners and Camden Partners. Combining the strengths of both companies, they will forge a new path as the dominant, full-service event software provider.
This new event software powerhouse will blend visionary technology and best-in-class service to close all gaps in the planning process, offering the most complete full-service solution for meetings and events of all sizes, from conferences of 200,000+ to meetings with less than 100 attendees. The combined company will become one of the world’s largest event technology companies, servicing customers on a global scale.
In conjunction with the merger, Eric Lochner has been named Chief Executive Officer of the new company. Eric has over 25 years of experience in building technology and technology-enabled services companies, with an impressive record of mergers and acquisitions. “We are excited to bring these two inventive companies together to create a new cutting-edge experience for the meetings and events industry,” said Lochner. “We have a strong opportunity to deepen the process of hosting in-person, hybrid and virtual events and are excited to be able to better support meeting planners and event organizers while offering a wider range of products and experiences.”
Each year, MeetingPlay and Aventri power a combined total of more than 50,000 events, service over 10,000 companies, and elevate the attendee experience for more than 7 million attendees. The unrivaled creativity, service, and ingenuity of each company will be at the forefront of their new company and brand, which will enable their enterprise customers to grow their businesses with best-in-class events of all types and sizes.
Founded in 2011, MeetingPlay is an award-winning technology pioneer, centered around creating innovative solutions for premier in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. The company is known for pushing the envelope on technology advancements and has successfully powered many of the largest, most complex global events to date across numerous industries.
Aventri is the global leader in data-driven, end-to-end event management solutions for virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. The company was founded in 2008. Today, the award-winning platform provides a suite of premium solutions for the entire event lifecycle, from venue sourcing to event marketing, registration, onsite technology, strategic meetings management, data security and privacy, and ROI reporting.
“Two great companies are coming together, leveraging secular tailwinds to increase market share and expand their innovative software capabilities to benefit top companies and brands,” said Sunstone Partners Co-Founder and Managing Director, Michael Biggee. “We’re delighted to continue partnering with them on their exciting future as one company.”
This news comes at a critical time in the meetings and events industry when planners and organizers are seeking to adopt the benefits of virtual and hybrid gatherings while using fewer software integrations. The two companies will integrate their proprietary software platforms to elevate event experiences through a robust lineup of unmatched products to leading companies in the technology, financial services, travel, hospitality, health services, and association markets. This, paired with the highest level of service, will deliver a richer experience for both planners and attendees, while setting the brand apart from competitors. Highlighted capabilities include:
- Event Marketing Website and Registration to create a seamless attendee journey from beginning to end.
- A Virtual and Hybrid Event Platform, which uses novel technology to create lifelike experiences for virtual attendees. The platform provides virtual and onsite attendees with unified engagement features like chat, Q&A, network matchmaking, and video conferencing that enables participants in the same room and across the world to connect instantly.
- A Mobile App and imaginative Onsite Event Solutions, which enrich the attendee experience start to finish, boost engagement, and deliver ROI metrics, while keeping participants safe.
Co-Founder and former MeetingPlay CEO Joe Schwinger, and Co-Founder and former MeetingPlay COO Lisa Vann will remain with the new company and undertake executive roles to continue enhancing the event technology industry and working with their valued customers. Former Aventri CEO Jim Sharpe will remain a shareholder and advisor to the new company.
For more information about MeetingPlay, visit www.meetingplay.com and follow along on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
For more information about Aventri, visit www.aventri.com and follow along on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About MeetingPlay
MeetingPlay is a Washington D.C.-based technology company focused on creating groundbreaking solutions for in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. With every meeting and event, MeetingPlay creates transformative experiences that enables their customers, attendees, and sponsors to make valuable, face-to-face connections. Market-leading companies entrust MeetingPlay to solve their biggest event challenges. Learn more at meetingplay.com.
About Aventri
Aventri is the global leader in data-driven, end-to-end event and meeting management solutions for virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. Their award-winning SaaS platform, virtual technology, and best-in-class service offerings have enabled more than 30,000 event professionals annually to plan, promote, deliver, measure, and optimize their events. Aventri’s fully integrated platform’s capabilities include virtual delivery, networking, venue sourcing, registration, marketing, logistics, onsite services, attendee engagement, and data analytics. Headquartered in the United States, the company has offices in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia Pacific and has delivered customer events in over 120 countries. Learn more at aventri.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220106005160/en/
Contact information
Media:
Paige Callan
Laura Davidson Public Relations
paige@ldpr.com
646-568-3769
Sharlet Brennan
Brennan Communications
sharlet@brenncomm.com
407-257-7331
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Civil Air Patrol Expands Fleet With 15 New Cessna Aircraft to Support Lifesaving and Community Missions15.12.2025 17:00:00 CET | Press Release
Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today that Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the world’s largest operator of Cessna aircraft, is strengthening its national mission capabilities with an order for 15 additional piston-engine aircraft, including seven Cessna Skyhawk 172 and eight Cessna Skylane 182 models scheduled for delivery throughout 2026. The order follows recent deliveries of an additional two Cessna Skylane and one Cessna Turbo Stationair HD aircraft, expanding CAP’s fleet to more than 500 Cessna aircraft nationwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251215613573/en/ Delivery of an additional two Cessna Skylane and one Cessna Turbo Stationair HD aircraft joins CAP’s fleet of more than 500 Cessna aircraft nationwide. Cessna aircraft are designed and produced by Textron Aviation. “Civil Air Patrol’s missions demand aircraft that are reliable, versatile and ready to perform in critic
Winston & Strawn and Taylor Wessing UK to Combine, Creating a Premier Transatlantic Law Firm15.12.2025 16:52:00 CET | Press Release
Winston & Strawn and Taylor Wessing’s UK-led business announced today their intention to combine, creating a premier transatlantic law firm that would operate under a new shared name, Winston Taylor. The combination responds to increasing client demand for seamlessly integrated US–UK–EU counsel for the businesses, people, and markets driving capital and innovation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251215914957/en/ The combination once final will unite two international firms with more than 400 years of combined history, complementary strengths, and a common vision to meet clients’ evolving global needs. The combined firm will include more than 1,400 lawyers, establishing one of the largest transatlantic firms whose footprint is primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, and also in Latin America and the Middle East. Leveraging significant strength and scale in major litigation, critical tra
Despite Barriers, Financial Institutions are Clear About AI's Greatest Impact15.12.2025 16:32:00 CET | Press Release
HTEC, a global AI-first provider of software and hardware design and engineering services, today released The State of AI in Financial Services & Insurance 2025, a first industry subset of its global research report in AI. This publication offers one of the clearest views to date into how financial institutions are adopting and scaling artificial intelligence. This industry-focused report analyzes insights from 250 C-suite leaders within financial services and insurance, drawn from HTEC’s broader global study of 1,529 C-suite executives—including CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, CPOs, CFOs, COOs, CEOs and CSOs—across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and Spain. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251215790717/en/ Executive Summary: The State of AI in Financial Services and Insurance 2025 The findings confirm a decisive shift in the industry: not a single respondent said AI is not a priority. L
Align Partners Sends Second Public Shareholder Letter to Coway, Urging Announcement of Revised Value-up Plan by January 30, 202615.12.2025 15:54:00 CET | Press Release
Align Partners Capital Management Inc. (“Align Partners”), a shareholder of Coway Co., Ltd. (“Coway”) since 2023 holding more than 4% of the Company’s outstanding shares through funds it manages or advises, announced that it has sent a second public shareholder letter to Coway’s Board of Directors. The letter calls for measures to address the company’s chronic undervaluation and enhance shareholder value. Align Partners has requested that Coway announce a revised corporate Value-up Plan reflecting these proposals by January 30, 2026. In the letter, Align Partners assessed Coway’s February 2025 plan as insufficient to address Coway’s persistent undervaluation and urged the Board to incorporate seven measures: (1) clear mid-to-long-term valuation and ROE targets with execution plans; (2) clarified and strengthened target capital structure policy; (3) updated shareholder return policy reflecting both the target capital structure policy and new dividend income tax separation regime; (4) en
Marathon Asset Management Provides Junior Capital Financing to EXALTA Group15.12.2025 15:00:00 CET | Press Release
Marathon Asset Management (“Marathon”), a leading global credit manager with more than $24 billion of assets under management, is pleased to announce the closing of a junior capital financing to EXALTA Group (“EXALTA” or the “Company”), a portfolio company of Montagu. Marathon led the financing that supported the formation of EXALTA through the strategic merger of three Montagu-owned companies including Intech, Resolve Surgical Technologies, and Tyber Medical. The transaction marks one of many successful transactions for Marathon’s European Credit business in the healthcare sector, where the firm has a knowledge-based advantage with a dedicated Healthcare Finance business and specialized medical advisory board providing sector insight to middle market companies. EXALTA is a global leader in orthopaedic contract design and manufacturing for spine, trauma, extremities, sports medicine and enabling technology providing comprehensive solutions to OEMs within the medical technology industry
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom