OUR TEAM
Meet Hamilton's Leadership
We are a group of people with incredibly diverse talents and interests, yet we all have one passion in common: creating immersive brand experiences. Together, we ensure our Hamilton values of curiosity, integrity, creativity, reliability, and agility fuel our work at every level of the organization.
Dan Cantor built Hamilton into a nationally recognized, full-service event marketing agency following his acquisition of the company in 1990. Cantor previously served as CEO and today fulfills the role of Chairman after assembling a high-impact team, enhancing and broadening Hamilton’s depth and capabilities to include all aspects of experiential marketing and execution. Over the past 32 years, Cantor has taken Hamilton from a small design and build exhibit house to an award-winning event marketing agency with an impressive 75-year history. A proven entrepreneur and recognized industry leader, Cantor continues to focus on innovative design and marketing technology while promoting fair practices and charitable giving in the trade show industry. Cantor is a Past President of the Experiential Designers and Producers Association and the 2020 recipient of the prestigious EDPA Hazel Hays Award for his positive national contributions to the industry.
Jason Weddle brings 17 years of experience at Hamilton developing and implementing strategies and policies, building employee alignment with company and client goals, promoting company culture and vision, driving extensive and sustainable growth, and ensuring customer satisfaction. Weddle oversees the design, production, and execution of Hamilton’s immersive brand experiences that drive meaningful connections between clients and their audiences. He will readily cross traditional industry boundaries for best-in-class solutions. Weddle joined Hamilton and the event industry business in 2005 as Warehouse Foreman. He was progressively promoted to various leadership positions before being appointed COO in 2018 and CEO in 2021. Weddle is on the board of the Experiential Designers and Producers Association and a Kellogg School of Management Executive Scholar.
Before joining Hamilton in 2002 as the company's Chief Financial Officer, Paula Tinkey served in IT, progressive accounting, and administration positions in the public accounting, retail, and manufacturing industries. In her current role, Tinkey holds responsibility for all financial, IT, and administration functions at Hamilton. She has been instrumental in successfully guiding Hamilton through a series of economic and industry challenges over the last 20 years while simultaneously positioning the company into a period of significant future growth. Tinkey combines financial expertise with excellent strategic instincts – focusing on margins and cost controls without discouraging the investments required to be competitive, attract talent, and exceed client expectations. Tinkey complements her accountant background with a financial entrepreneur approach by taking controlled risks and strategically moving the business forward.
With over 30 years of experience at Hamilton, Lynne Damer provides executive consultation on overarching program strategy and brand compliance. Damer’s experience learning the value of strategic marketing and creative services at several national agencies led her to the industry. As Hamilton's Vice President of Strategy, she is responsible for mentoring Hamilton's client teams and developing strategic solutions and brand experiences for Hamilton customers. Damer’s marketing leadership experiences include working with major US corporations in retail, manufacturing, technology, and automotive.
For the past 20 years, Josh Frisbie has led Hamilton’s award-winning multi-disciplinary creative team focusing on magnifying customer brands through unique immersive experiences. Frisbie maintains a deliberate emphasis on desired customer outcomes and understands how innovative design can support achieving those outcomes. Frisbie challenges the creative team and Hamilton’s customers to take the extra step to stand out and be strategically memorable with breakthrough creative planning and design. He leads Hamilton’s experience design discipline to produce real-world experiences for promoting clients’ brands through exhibit, environment, digital, and event design.
Bringing Hamilton over a decade of experience in successful marketing and engagement strategy, Courtney Soice started at Hamilton in 2017. Soice oversees and manages all marketing initiatives across the company, including strategic marketing planning, brand development and awareness, demand generation, print and digital advertising, sales support, public relations, SEO, and competitive bid efforts. Soice is highly active in the experiential industry, serving on the Women in Exhibitions Board of Directors and as an EDPA Midwest Board Member. Before joining Hamilton, Soice held a high-impact position at Ogilvy & Mather in New York City. During her tenure, Soice participated in the agency’s prestigious Rising Star program and helped grow its engagement strategy practice. She brings her extensive experience in customer journeys, account strategy, and emerging technologies to her role at Hamilton.
In 2019, David Pott joined Hamilton with Hamilton’s acquisition of ARK Media, the company he founded in 1999 and developed into a leading provider of video, animation, and interactive content for pharma and biotechnology marketing. For the past three years, Pott has led Hamilton’s Digital Engagement practice emphasizing the integration of comprehensive digital and analog storytelling capabilities with Hamilton’s strategy and design, providing solutions that attract, engage, inform, and motivate target audiences. His 25 years as a producer/director of compelling digital content have resulted in numerous industry awards for scientific and medical animation, interactive engagement, and data storytelling. At Hamilton, Pott focuses on the attendee experience, specifically what will effectively capture the audience’s attention and deliver memorable information.
With over 12 years of experience as an HR professional, Sarah Sparks comes to Hamilton devoted to making a difference for team members and employers. Sparks has spent her career focused on employee engagement, strategic business alignment, diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and recruitment. At Hamilton, Sparks oversees all human resource functions, supports employees and management, monitors and enforces team member safety, and encourages the growth and development of team members through continual education. Sparks brings a strong passion for employee engagement, connecting with team members, and further developing an understanding of what motivates them to help achieve the company’s goals.
John Patten brings over 40 years of C-Suite experience across the construction, broadcasting, experiential marketing, and telecommunications industries. In 2003, Hamilton’s now Chairman, Dan Cantor, asked Patten to serve as Hamilton’s President. Patten quickly accepted as Hamilton combined his passion for show business and experience in construction. After six years at Hamilton, Patten pursued new opportunities at MG Design and Smithville Communications. Patten returned to Hamilton in 2020 to consult with CEO Jason Weddle and to provide leadership assistance in redirecting Hamilton’s capabilities to enhance revenue during the pandemic. He now leads the discovery of many unique opportunities for Hamilton, seeking growth within the company and the chance to build our client reach.