Greg Topalian joins eMerge Americas as an Advisor and Partner. He is Chairman of Clarion Events North America and founder of On Deck Ventures LLC. With over 25 years of experience in exhibition and enthusiast events, Greg brings an entrepreneurial approach to building the North American business across a wide variety of sectors.
Greg was with Reed Exhibitions for 17 years, creating the ReedPop division, which launched NY Comic Con in 2006 followed by a series of fan-based consumer events. After leaving Reed, he founded LeftField Media, a boutique events company focused on developing experiential events rooted in contemporary culture and shared passion.
In 2016 Clarion acquired LeftField, and in 2017 Greg was named CEO of Clarion Events North America.
As CEO of Clarion for the past 5 years, he has accelerated the North American portfolio by focusing on strategic acquisitions for both B2B/B2C Events, New Launches, Media, Digital Products and Learning Management. Some of the market leading events Clarion acquired during Greg’s leadership include FDIC, DISTRIBUTECH, InsureTech Connect and Mobile Apps Unlocked. In addition, the LeftField Media portfolio includes Anime NYC, AwesomeCon, Anime Frontier and Rose City Comicon.
Greg is an active participant in the event industry as a whole and is a former Chairman of the SISO (Society of Independent Show Organizers) Executive Board. Greg is active in youth baseball and still plays in a 40+ league. He also has four dogs and is an active foster for rescue dogs.
