About Us

Debbie Landa, founder of Dealmaker Media, is an entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in business development, sales, marketing, and public relations. Before starting Dealmaker Media in 2000, Debbie was the director of business development for Double Impact, a venture catalyst firm focused on accelerating the growth of emerging startup companies. Prior to that, she was the founder of several companies including a PR and  event production company. In addition, Debbie has 10 years  of experience in the apparel industry, working with various clothing manufacturers, designing and developing private-label programs for major retailers.


Christen O’Brien comes to Dealmaker Media with over 8 years of experience in conference production and marketing, spanning the legal, investment banking, healthcare, non-profit and technology sectors. At Dealmaker Media, Christen is responsible for content, speakers, strategy and execution of all activities related to DM conferences, roundtables and events. Prior to Dealmaker Media, Christen worked for American Legal Media, Houlihan Lokey, Littler Mendleson and the MDA. In addition, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bulgaria where she taught elementary-level English and learned to survive bitter, cold winters without heating. Christen graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Communications and Business, as well as an endless love for college football.

Giselle Umland is the Event and Operations Manager at Dealmaker Media. Her event and meeting planning experience spans the business development, human resource, and finance fields. Prior to joining Dealmaker Media, Giselle was an Event Manager at Agencia Um, a leading event production company in Sao Paulo, where she served clients such as Citibank, Bank of Boston and ABN AMRO Bank. She holds a B.A. degree in Tourism from Anhembi Morumbi University and completed the San Francisco State University Event and Meeting Planning Program.



Karen Lau brings over seven years of design, marketing and public relations experience to Dealmaker Media as the Marketing Coordinator. Karen has an extensive array of creative experience including event and trade show production, sales, PR, design, copy, and Web programming. She was also a key player in launching direct mail, interactive, print, television and radio advertising campaigns. Her creative work includes a mix of corporate and government industries, such as social services, education, law enforcement, retail, hospitality, tourism, construction, real estate, and finance. Karen graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a B.A. in Mass Communications and loves baking copious amounts of scrumptious pastries for friends and family.