Spiro Names John Emmaneel to Lead Global Operations and Innovation for Brand Activations & Events Division

Emmaneel joins Brand Activations & Events (BAE) to scale complex global event portfolios while keeping each experience creatively distinct and commercially accountable.

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Spiro®, a global experiential agency, today announced the appointment of John Emmaneel as Executive Vice President, Global Operations & Innovation for its Brand Activations & Events (BAE) division.

Emmaneel will lead how BAE plans, staffs and delivers work across markets, while building new capabilities as client needs change. He will work alongside Jen Shankman, Executive Vice President, BAE Growth, who leads the division's growth and strategic relationships. Both report to Carley Faircloth-Kilmurray, Global Chief Marketing, Strategy & Brand Experiences Officer.

"BAE combines the structure to manage a global portfolio with the creative pulse to make every experience distinct. John understands how to make that real at scale," said Faircloth-Kilmurray. "He has spent more than 25 years building teams and capabilities around complex client needs. He knows how to turn ambitious ideas into work that performs, with the operational depth to deliver it around the world."

Emmaneel joins Spiro from Invision, where he led the agency's innovation practice and Chicago office, spearheaded the Gaming & Entertainment practice while expanding services and regional growth. His career also includes leadership roles at Kenwood Experiences and Jack Morton Worldwide, with work for brands including Square Enix, Google, Intel, NVIDIA, Samsung, and Northwestern Mutual.

"What drew me to Spiro was the mix inside BAE: serious strategic and operational depth paired with the appetite to create work people genuinely care about," said Emmaneel. "There is a strong foundation here and real ambition for what comes next. I'm looking forward to connecting more of the agency's expertise across markets and helping teams deliver ambitious work for clients."

About Spiro Brand Activations & Events

We are event operators by craft and growth strategists by orientation, connecting every decision to the business behavior it is meant to create. The result is live work that feels alive and changes what happens next.

Spiro Brand Activations & Events is Spiro's specialist team for conferences, product launches, corporate meetings, festivals and brand activations. Built from enterprise event and consumer experiential expertise, BAE brings structure to the whole portfolio and a creative pulse to every experience. 

That is how BAE delivers the promise of Experience Brand Gravity™, bonding brand and customer.

About Spiro

Spiro (sp-eye-roh) is a strategically led, creatively driven global experiential agency setting the benchmark for how brands connect and grow. By accelerating Brand Gravity™, the data-informed, emotional and behavioural pull between brands and their audiences, Spiro makes brands experiential. Globally connected and trusted by some of the world's most influential brands, Spiro creates the pull that keeps customers coming back. Learn more at spiro.com.

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