March 7, 2025—Attendees at the 2025 IIBEC International Convention and Trade Show on Friday heard from keynote speaker Joel Neeb ahead of the opening of the IIBEC trade show.
The opening ceremony started with the singing of the national anthems for the US and Canada from entertainer Jeff Tracta, whose voice broke toward the end of O Canada. Tracta then asked the crowd to help sing the US anthem, and attendees joined in, hitting the most difficult to reach notes and carrying the song to its conclusion.
IIBEC Second Vice President Jennifer Hogan, REWC, RRO, CRE, LEED AP, Certified Passive House Consultant, acknowledged IIBEC’s many volunteers, and noted that 39 students had been sponsored, allowing them to attend this year’s convention and trade show.
Illuminated dance troop Photon Krew then wowed the audience with a one-of-a-kind performance.
Next up was IIBEC Executive Vice President and CEO Brian Pallasch, who shared IIBEC highlights from the past year. He expressed his gratitude to Johns Manville for sponsoring the opening ceremony and keynote presentation. Pallasch also had past presidents, board members, volunteers, and all IIBEC credential holders stand. He concluded by introducing a video promoting next year’s IIBEC convention and trade show in Sacramento, California, March 12–15, 2026.
IIBEC President Robért Hinojosa acknowledged the many new faces at the 2025 convention, and he highlighted the second year of the Excellence in Building Enclosure Consulting Awards, the winners of which will present highlights of their projects immediately following the Awards Ceremony on Saturday.
Keynote speaker Joel Neeb, chief transformation and business operations officer at 8×8 and former combat pilot, spoke about how organizations can prepare for the future by transitioning from the information age to what he dubbed “the insight age.” As for AI’s role in the insight age, Neeb stressed that AI functions well only when given the necessary amount and scope of data. “If you want the insight, you have to add the input,” Neeb said.
This year’s trade show for the industry’s premier event features an all-time high number of exhibitors. A busy opening day on the show floor included product demonstrations from Sika Corp., Polyglass USA Inc., and McElroy Metal.
The day concluded with hospitality receptions from IB Roof, Siplast, and Soprema.
Saturday starts with a trade show breakfast and additional product demonstrations from Elevate Roofing Systems, Carlisle, and Westlake Royal Roofing Solutions. The Annual Awards Ceremony and more education sessions are also set for Saturday, which will conclude with the Emerging Professionals Networking Reception.
