‘I like working for a world-class company that believes being average is over.’

overall results saved a lot of money and enforced new meeting behaviors.

LS We have not been affected by [the political climate] at all, and we were pretty minorly affected by the whole economy. So we have been really fortunate in that regard. As far as meetings and events go, though, as well as everything else in the company, there has been more scrutiny. I would not say to any extreme amount, but just more disciplined in how we are moving forward and spending our money.

KB Yes, I would agree with that. I do not think we were impacted in that meetings went away. It was just more due diligence around being smart about what you are putting out there, and if you have the majority of your audience in the backyard, you should be looking [to meet] in the backyard.

What do you like best about your job?

KQ That it is ever-evolving. It is not predictable. And I get exposure to such a broad view of the business as well as the ability to meet people from all over the world. There is never a boring day. [Laughs.] I can absolutely tell you that.

LS I could not agree more. I think that we tend to be a certain breed of people that come into this business. [Laughs.] And I think we all have a curiosity about the world, and that is one of the main reasons I think people get into this line of work. You are exposed to so many different cultures and so many different people. On the professional side, the networking is incredible.

58 PCMA CONVENE JULY 2012

CP I like that part of our culture is to lead and take risks in doing new things. I like working for a world-class company that believes being average is over, and whose mission is innovation to change people’s lives. I love (and am exhausted by it at the same time) doing business globally. I love thinking strategically global, but learning to deliver culturally local. Each week on my team calls, I enjoy accents from India, Singapore, Great Britain, and kind of Southern — it reminds me every day that we are only a very small part of a big world, and there is so much to learn.

SK It is never the same; it is always something different. Frankly, at my point in my career, my greatest pleasure is building great teams to produce wonderful events that everybody can feel proud of.

KB I think the fact that we never have two days alike adds to the adventure of everyday life — the opportunity to be able to benchmark, collaborate, share ideas, be part of the change, from the bottom on up and then also out from the various different types of professions that we are actually touching and interacting. I cannot say that I go home every day without having learned something else new.

. Christopher Durso is executive editor of Convene.

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