Charles Bello is Vice President and Team Director at ConferenceDirect, a Los Angeles-based meeting solutions company. Charles has more than 20 years' industry experience across corporate, association, religious and nonprofit market segments.

Throughout his career with ConferenceDirect, Charles has served clients including SAP, Salesforce, Box, Inc., Splunk, Twitter, The Conference Board, Wells Fargo, First Republic Bank, AGN International, Gaymer and the International Ocular Inflammation Society. He has experience planning events ranging from senior-level board meetings to citywide conventions with more than 25,000 attendees.

Charles was recognized as Rookie of the Year during his first year as a ConferenceDirect Associate. He has also completed the ConferenceDirect Certified Sales Associate program, covering site selection, contract negotiation, cancellation and attrition, supplier relationships, food and beverage, conflict resolution and problem-solving.

Before joining ConferenceDirect, Charles held leadership positions with IHG, Hilton and Renaissance Hotels. During eight years with IHG in San Francisco, he worked at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins, supported the opening of the InterContinental San Francisco and led group sales as Area Director of Sales for the InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco.

A Boston native and graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Charles moved to San Francisco in 2000. He lives in the city with his partner, Robert, their son, Jack, and their rescue puppy, Ripley. He also enjoys endurance cycling.