Ashton Conference Planning Professionals

What Ashton Conference Planning Professionals does

Ashton Conference Planning Professionals LLC is a privately held, Maryland-based professional services firm founded in 2009 that provides end-to-end event planning for associations, corporations, and government agencies. The company executes meetings, conferences, trade shows, virtual events, and galas for groups ranging from 10 to 25,000 attendees, with a documented specialization in educational design — applying adult-learning principles to conference content and format — that distinguishes it from pure logistics-oriented event planners.

The firm operates six integrated service lines: Virtual Events, Conference Development & Education Design, On-site Logistics & Registration, Sponsor/Exhibitor/Vendor Management, Venue Sourcing and Contracting, and Additional Services (custom budgeting, marketing, branding, post-event analytics). Revenue is generated on a professional-services basis via per-project or retainer engagements; venue sourcing and hotel block management are offered at no charge. The technology stack is non-proprietary and consists of third-party virtual event platforms, streaming services, and standard meeting management tools evaluated per engagement. There is no software product, app, API, or AI/ML capability disclosed.

The company is founder-led by Michele Nebel Peake (President and Owner), supported by a four-person core team including Gina Amatruda-Fiorillo (ex-Reed Exhibitions), Challen Edwards (Big 4-trained CPA offering fractional CFO services), and Tracy Wahler (former VP of Communications at a large international trade association). The go-to-market motion is consultative and sales-led, relying on direct outreach, website inquiries, and referral-driven acquisition. Operations are headquartered at 103 Crystal Spring Drive, Ashton, MD 20861, with service delivery focused on the Mid-Atlantic United States; no external institutional funding, M&A, or geographic expansion is recorded.

Name

Ashton Conference Planning Professionals

Legal name

Ashton Conference Planning Professionals LLC

Website

https://ashtonconferenceplanning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ashton Conference Planning Professionals is a Maryland-based, founder-led professional services firm specializing in virtual events, conference development, and educational design for associations, corporations, and government agencies across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Management Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Meeting & Conference Planning (Internal/External) (THAHACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Virtual/Hybrid Conference Production & Platform Management (THAHACAM), Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

Keywords

• Event planning services
• Conference management
• Virtual event management
• Trade show planning
• Educational design

Headquarters

HQ city

Ashton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Event Planning & Management Services: Professional services for conference, trade show, and event planning. Services are likely quoted on a project or retainer basis based on event size and scope. The company provides comprehensive services from strategic planning through post-event reporting.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ashton Conference Planning Professionals provides end-to-end event planning and management services for businesses, associations, and government agencies. Offerings span virtual event management, conference development with educational design, on-site logistics and registration, sponsor/exhibitor/vendor management, venue sourcing and contracting, and supplementary event services. The team delivers strategy, execution, and post-event reporting for events ranging from small meetings to conferences of up to 25,000 attendees.

Product overview

Ashton Conference Planning Professionals is a service-based event planning company offering a comprehensive suite of event management services. The company operates as a single integrated service offering (not a software platform) with six core service lines: Virtual Events, Conference Development & Education Design, On-site Logistics & Registration, Sponsor/Exhibitor/Vendor Management, Venue Sourcing and Contracting, and Additional Services. These services are designed to work together, providing end-to-end event planning from strategic goal-setting through post-event reporting. The company specializes in educational design — the study of how people learn — to help create more engaging events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Virtual Events

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• MCI Group: MCI Group is a global association management, meetings, and events company that organizes association conferences, congresses, and corporate events worldwide. It is a broad incumbent with strong overlap in the association conference space where ACPP operates.
• BCD Meetings & Events: BCD Meetings & Events is a global corporate meeting and event management agency offering strategic meetings management, event production, and incentive programs. It is a broad incumbent in the same space as ACPP, with a much larger portfolio and global footprint.
• Maritz: Maritz is a large global meetings, incentives, and events company serving corporations and associations with meeting planning, incentive travel, and event production. It competes in the same corporate/association event management category as ACPP, but at significantly greater scale.
• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: George P. Johnson is a global experience marketing agency that produces conferences, trade shows, and brand activations for enterprise clients. It shares ACPP's conference and trade show production capability but serves a broader experiential mandate.

Direct peers

• ConferenceDirect: ConferenceDirect is a meetings-sourcing and event-management firm providing venue sourcing, site selection, and full meeting planning services to associations and corporations. It is directly comparable to ACPP's corporate meeting planning and venue sourcing offerings, though at materially larger scale.
• ITA Group: ITA Group is a meetings, events, and engagement agency that designs conferences, incentive programs, and association events with a focus on measurable attendee outcomes. Comparable to ACPP's conference development and educational design positioning, particularly for association clients.
• HelmsBriscoe: HelmsBriscoe is one of the largest venue-sourcing and meeting-planning service firms globally, specializing in hotel block management and venue negotiation for corporate and association clients. It directly overlaps ACPP's venue sourcing and hotel block management service.

Others

• PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association): PCMA is the leading association for convention and meeting management professionals, with deep focus on association and business events. It is an industry body relevant to ACPP's association client base rather than a direct competitor.
• Meeting Professionals International (MPI): MPI is the largest meeting and event industry association, providing certification, education, and networking for meeting professionals. It is an industry ecosystem participant relevant to ACPP as both a professional community and an indirect channel for association clients.

Emerging players

• Cvent: Cvent is a leading event management technology platform offering registration, venue sourcing, and virtual event software. While ACPP is a service provider and Cvent is primarily a SaaS platform, they increasingly compete for the same association and corporate event planning budgets via Cvent's professional services arm.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ashconfplanpros

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ashton Conference Planning Professionals