Concept Artists and Concept Speakers exclusively represents an elite class of artists, speakers and packaged entertainment tailored toward specific performance settings and applications, event themes, brand identity and other objectives. Our dynamic and diverse roster of talent are a great fit for corporate events, product launches, trade shows, awards galas, and private events. Each of our acts are uniquely accomplished professionals both onstage and off, collaborating with clients from the inception of a “concept” to the development, execution and delivery of a performance. Thanks to an enormous network of time-tested relationships and resources, Concept also has the capacity to locate and deliver rich entertainment solutions worldwide at various price points. Concept’s team of agents has extensive experience in sourcing top tier celebrity talent and negotiating agreements for customized live performances and limited usage film agreements. From digitally branded and customized entertainment to team-building activities, Concept provides clients with the broadest conceivable range of talent solutions for targeted programming.

Our Team

David Yamner, President & CEO


David Yamner, President & CEO of Concept Artists is an attorney and Emmy award-winning entertainment producer, with more than two decades of experience in artist representation, negotiating complex international and domestic talent transactions, as well as in designing, booking and producing all manner of live entertainment. David spearheaded the creation of Concept Artists to specialize in representing artists with attractive price points who are uniquely adept at exceeding client expectations in corporate and special events environments.

In 1993 David co-founded one of New York’s most successful event production firms, where he served as co-President between 1993 and 2009. At that firm, David distinguished himself as a pioneer within the corporate events industry, introducing artists from Lenny Kravitz and Sheryl Crow to Aerosmith and Glenn Frey, to their first corporate shows, while helping to build that firm into one of the country’s premier full-service event production firms serving the corporate and special events markets.

Over the course of his career, David has been responsible for negotiating thousands of transactions in over 40 countries, including deals with superstar artists such as Elton John, P!nk, Phil Collins, Cher, Jennifer Lopez, Bon Jovi, David Copperfield, Blue Man Group, Jon Stewart, Robin Williams, Jerry Seinfeld, and Billy Crystal. David’s work has included all manner of talent transactions, including special purpose film projects involving Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Marcia Cross, Nicolette Sheridan, George Lopez, Greg Kinnear, Dana Carvey, Jim Belushi and Danny Glover, as well as sports legends Terry Bradshaw and David Robinson.

David’s experience in identifying the most compelling Keynote Speakers, and negotiating the most favorable terms for his clients, is similarly diverse and impressive. From superstar Keynoters like Richard Branson, Al Gore, and Colin Powell, to customized industry-specific panel discussions with moderators, David has the relationships and knowledge to whittle down the hundreds of options available, so his client’s objectives are met, on budget, every time.

David completed his higher education at Vanderbilt University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and earned his B.A., M.B.A. and Law degrees in 7 years.

From 1988 until founding his first firm in 1993, David practiced law at a large Manhattan law firm. From 1986 to 1988, David backpacked across 25 countries on 5 continents, which included experiences scuba diving along the Great Barrier Reef, ascending to the Mt. Everest Base Camp, and Uhuru Peak atop of Mt. Kilimanjaro, and participating in safaris in the Serengeti Plain and the Thar Desert.

Since 1998, David has served as Treasurer of the African Rainforest Conservancy, an organization dedicated to conserving the Eastern ARC, a forest ecosystem in eastern Africa.

In his spare time, David is a voracious reader who enjoys strength training and travel. He is married to Jean Lee and lives in Soho (NYC) with his sons Noah and Miles, and daughter Audrey.

Matt Kendall, Senior Vice President


Matt got his first start in the industry in 2003 with ICM Artists (now Opus 3 Artists), one of the leading agencies for classical music, jazz, dance, theater and world music.  As a member of ICM Artists booking department, Matt had the pleasure of working with such visionary artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Wynton Marsalis and Ravi Shankar.

In the spring of 2005, Matt left the conventional agency world to become an agent with Industrial Artist Management– the world’s premier talent agency specializing in private and corporate events, product launches and trade shows.  Lending his professional and creative expertise to some of the most knowledgeable and respected producers, creative directors and event coordinators in the business, Matt has worked on global projects for:  Microsoft, Michael Jordan, Motorola, Snickers, Staples, Google, Nintendo, Nike, IBM, Time Warner, Panasonic, LG, Toyota, PepsiCo, Sony, and many more.

As Senior Vice President of Concept Artists, Matt is excited and enthused to continue his work with a tremendously talented group of performance artists, musicians and speakers. A dedicated professional, Matt understands the value of excellent customer service; his ability to listen to a client’s goals and offer effective entertainment solutions makes him an asset to his loyal client base and has greatly contributed to Concept Artists’ emergence as an industry leader.

Matt lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children.

Lisa Carnemolla Comerford, Vice President of Concept Speakers


Lisa has been enthusiastically assisting clients with achieving their meeting goals for over two decades.  She has worked on a wide variety of meetings and events throughout the US and internationally with corporations from a remarkably diverse list of companies such as Nationwide, Walmart, Prudential, Blue Cross, GM, Pfizer and Raytheon, to name a few.

She began her sales career in retail management with Origins Cosmetics. It was in this industry that she developed her passion for serving clients on a personal basis and built strong relationships which continue to this day.

Lisa entered the Speaking and Entertainment industry as a Customer Service Manager with Goodman Speakers Bureau Inc, where she worked for 15 years. After five years she was promoted to Vice President of Client Services where she focused on creating a culture where clients come first, and relationships are long term and based on trust.

Through the years, her skills in creating win-win negotiations, talent management, event management and extensive knowledge of speakers have fostered many strong relationships and created thousands of successful events and meetings for executives around the country.

Lisa is a native of Connecticut and is now residing in Dallas, TX.

Karen van Suijdam, Director of Marketing of Concept Artists


Karen, born and raised in the Netherlands, came to NYC in 2008 to earn her graduate degree in Corporate Communication Management and Public Relations from New York University.

Over the past years, Karen has worked extensively both in the non-profit sector and the corporate world, providing communications consulting for organizations both in NYC and the Netherlands (L’Oréal, Chanel, Castle of Valkenburg Foundation, Stichting Radar). She also guest lectured at NYU on intercultural relations and communications and freelanced as a writer for a lifestyle magazine.

Prior to making her permanent move to NYC and working with Concept Artists, she managed the social media for Mercedes-Benz. Her primary responsibilities have included identifying marketing trends, promoting brand awareness, managing and growing social media exposure and improving the internal efficacy of organizations by creating formal company protocols for digital marketing and social media strategies.

At Concept Artists, Karen focuses on strategically growing Concept Artists’ brand and social media reach, as well as advising individual artists on how to leverage marketing content for the corporate entertainment industry.

Karen lives in Harlem (NYC), and roams around the concrete jungle in her spare time to find the best live music and karaoke spots.