Steve Prahalis joined SME in October 2003 and currently serves as its chief operating officer. Prahalis leads key strategic units including SME Media and SME Events while continuing to oversee Canadian Operations and SME Studios. His passion revolves around finding ways to amplify SME’s value to members, strategic partners, customers and volunteers to drive greater integration, ensure efficiency and enable stronger strategic execution across the entire organization. Prahalis is focused on growing and diversifying a $50M portfolio of products and services, committed to continuous improvement and obsessed with innovation. He is responsible for several important initiatives and launches such as SME’s Corporate Membership program, the Manufacturing Technology Series (MT Series), Customer F1RST program and EventLIVE, SME’s digital community platform. Previously, Prahalis was president of the Canadian Division of Reed Exhibitions, a leading global producer of trade shows and events serving a variety of markets. He also served in various positions at Key3Media, including director of strategic alliances and vice president of its International Division. Prahalis is a member of the International Association of Expositions and Events, has served as chair on its Executive Task Force and received CAEM’s Lifetime Achievement Award.