News

The Woman Behind the World's Biggest Tech Show

The largest consumer tech show in North America isn't put on by robots. We sat down with the human woman who runs the International CES to get the deets on how it all comes together. 

Consumer Electronics Association SVP Karen Chupka, whom we snapped Monday, looks relaxed for a woman who just closed her association's big four-day event in Vegas. The annual international trade event draws 150,000 people from all over the world, takes up over 2 million square feet of convention center space, generates 90% of CEA's $69M annual revenue, and brings $194M worth of visitor revenue to Vegas. She's been doing it for 24 years.

Karen, a Pittsburgh native, shows us one of many floor plans from this year's show. She joined the Arlington, Va.-based association in '89 to help with event registrations, and has 45 full-time people who spend 15 months planning the annual event. This year’s show was a little different in that there wasn’t one or two big technologies that created the most buzz. The buzz was around multiple innovations: wearable technology, 3D printing, driverless cars, and the Internet of things. What technology caught Karen's eye this year? Driverless cars and the new ultraHD TVs with 8 million megapixels.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's National Newsletters
Related Stories

Wall Street Impatient For Big Tech Returns On Data Center Spending

As AI Adoption Ramps Up, Half A Million Property Managers Are In The Crosshairs

Treasuries Hover Around 4.7% As Wall Street Questions If Warsh Is A 'Dove In Hawk's Clothing'

Avison Young Had Assets Frozen By Bank Over Unpaid Taxes

Camden Property Trust Sells West Coast Portfolio, Clears $1.5B Target

Churchill Downs Plans To Sell 9 Casinos, Focus On Horse Racing

Bringing Stability And Savings To CRE Insurance Through Working Layer

More Hotel Owners In Need Of Cash Are Getting It From The Big Brands

Former Arms Dealer Targeting Heartland Apartment Takeover Files For Bankruptcy

SEC Charges REIT, Its Founders With Alleged $152M Fraud Scheme

Equinix Ramps Up Spending Plans Amid Faster-Than-Expected AI Shift

Cortland, Pulte, INVH, Walker & Dunlop Execs Talk Changing Demographics, AI