‘The biggest thing that I learned coming into the corporation was how to manuever and get things done.’
primarily around getting the right speakers for the membership base and then bringing in the press if the press was involved. Here our role is really to manage the entire meeting, from the content, to the strategic alignment of the meeting, to all the logistics. There are about 280 meetings a year for my team, so rather than it being turnkey, each meeting is unique and customized for that group.
KB My background is a little bit different. I had never actually worked in meeting planning prior to coming here into the McDonald’s meeting and events department. I always was a third-party company in the strategic-business- communications arena, producing major marketing events and entertainment. And prior to that I worked for Hyatt Hotels. But throughout my entire career, McDonald’s has always been my customer. So I have grown up with them for 27 years, but just in different facets. I think the biggest thing that I learned coming
into the corporation was how to maneuver and get things done. That was the biggest challenge — the layers you had to get through to get at the table in order to be part of the decision-making process early. I think much more so now from where we have come in the industry, we are at the table and part of that process, but it was a good few years trying to figure out how to maneuver and move things quicker.
CP In my early event days, I spent seven years in PCMA.ORG
nonprofit, and have been in corporate-planning/ management roles in Silicon Valley networking companies since that time. You use different management skills for mobilizing volunteers — you have a budget, usually small, and figure out how to make it happen. There’s a different sense of purpose.
KQ Before [ joining Microsoft], I was on the association side of the business and worked in Washington, D.C., for 11 years. I think the biggest difference for me is just the pace at which decisions are made and the agility that you have to show, because on the association side it would take several cycles and long, drawn-out decision-making time to move forward, whereas here it could change on a dime. You think that something is all set, and the next day your whole world is different.
SK The majority of my career was spent in the not-for-profit [sector]. The way we look at our events and how they fit corporate goals is [with] a much more strategic view [at True Value]. The whole retail side of it is totally different than what I was doing on an association or not-for-profit side. We make money on our show, do not get me wrong, but really the money we make on our show is not the way we make money as a corporation. In the past, the show was make-it-or-break-it for the budget of the organization. And the other big aha for me is how rapidly
JULY 2012 PCMA CONVENE 47 Carolyn Pund
‘One of Cisco’s core principles is collaboration, and meetings are critical to getting business done.’