After one of the closest votes we've ever had, we have a winner. As chosen by readers of The Beat, Tom Ruesink will deliver the closing keynote presentation at The Beat Live on Oct. 2 in Miami. President of Ruesink Consulting Group, our winner intrigued voters by titling his pitch "Open Booking: Inevitable, Optimal or Abysmal?" His full pitch is posted here. This was Ruesink's second attempt to win the Keynote spot, after falling just short in 2011. Congratulations, Tom.
Open booking was a theme of this year's pitches, also touched on by two other candidates: Cornerstone's Mat Orrego and ProcureApp's Phil Hammer. Ron DiLeo of AirPlus focused his pitch on Big Data while HRG's Amanda Hanlin centered on global meetings RFPs. These runners-up have been invited to discuss their topics during a panel discussion at The Beat Live moderated by Tony D'Astolfo of PhoCusWright on Oct. 1 in Miami.
Thanks to all five of our participants and thanks to those who submitted votes.
Registration for The Beat Live continues here. Early-bird registration and special hotel rates expire Sept. 10 so act fast!