William Pate, President & CEO - Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB)
William Pate, president & CEO of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, is charged with maintaining tourism as one of the city’s top economic drivers. Prior to joining ACVB, Pate served as president of Career Sports & Entertainment, a national sports marketing and representation firm, and was previously former chief marketing officer of BellSouth, one of the world’s largest communications companies. Georgia Trend Magazine named Pate to its list of 2018 Notable Georgians, and the Atlanta Chapter of American Marketing Association previously selected him as Corporate Marketer of the Year. Atlanta Business Chronicle honored him multiple times as one of Atlanta’s 50 most admired CEOs and has named him to its 100 most influential Atlantans list every year since 2009. Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) recognized Pate as one of the top 25 most extraordinary minds in sales and marketing; and much more.
Karen Bremer, Executive Director - Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA)
With over 47 years in the hospitality industry, Karen Bremer leads the Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA), which serves as the unified voice for over 18,900 eating and drinking place locations that employ more than 500,000 people and generate total sales in excess of $24.9 billion per year.
Bremer is the former owner of Dailey's and City Grill restaurants and was a top executive with the Peasant Restaurant Group, as well as a founding member of the GRA. She in deeply involved in the community and serves on the boards of the ACVB, the Industry Advisory Board of Georgia State University's Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality and is a member of Les Dames d'Escoffier International (LDEI). Bremer has also been named as one of Georgia Trend Magazine's "100 Most Influential Georgians of the Year." In 2021, Nation's Restaurant News named Karen as one of the Industry's Most Influential Solution Providers in the USA.
