Corporate Event Expert Profile Series

At Corporate Event News, our objective is to showcase the diverse people, programs, challenges and rewards of corporate events, so what better way to accomplish that than by talking to industry experts? Our Corporate Event Expert series highlights a different corporate event professional each month. We also feature interviews with third party, association and supplier professionals, to help you get to know some of the individuals who make this industry thrive.

Bio: Cathy Song Novelli is Senior Vice President, Marketing + Communications at Hubilo, the all-in-one hybrid event platform designed to drive deep engagement.
Aug 10, 2021
The future is hybrid! You must have heard this statement repeatedly over the last few months, and rightly so. We are now moving into a world where people are warming up and getting excited to go back to the physical events, though there are still those who aren’t ready to attend a physical event (whether for safety or resource/expense) but have embraced virtual events. Hence, welcome to the world of hybrid. Now, how do you generate the maximum ROI in this blend of virtual and offline events? The Right Strategy What is your primary objective here? Sales opportunities, lead generation or… more
Sep 02, 2020
After nine years in the meetings industry — where she went from managing large-scale, consumer-focused festivals to consulting on corporate events to guiding a software company as it transitioned its in-person roadshows to virtual when the pandemic hit —  Cara Galloway has launched her own company to assist businesses with virtual event planning and execution. Based in Toronto, Events by Cara aims to help entrepreneurs deliver high-impact events, workshops and summits that build community and scale their business. Galloway talked with CEN to share more about the launch of her new business… more
Keri Ibbitson
May 18, 2020
The CEN event expert profile series features interviews with some of the many talented corporate event professionals who make this industry thrive. Keri Ibbitson says she first got involved with events when she was in college — before she even was aware that careers in event management existed. She’s now worked in the field for more than 10 years, eight of which have been in a corporate environment. What is your current role and company? I am the lead of events for the North America and Latin America regions at Philips. I oversee the portfolio of events in those markets, and work with our… more
Oct 21, 2019
I first met Connie Luc when one of my former interns referred her for an internship in the Sybase events department, back in 2005. I hired her for the summer, and she was one of the most organized people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. As it turns out, that internship helped her decide that she wanted to pursue a career in events. Luc was only in the Bay Area for school (she attended U.C. Berkeley), and didn’t stay long before moving back down to Los Angeles, where she quickly found employment at City National Bank. She had interned there for three summers and they were eager to… more
Aug 08, 2019
Known for her fierce leadership, creative approach to events and impressive collection of brightly colored Tieks flats, Angie Ahrens, CMP, is a well-known face in the corporate events industry. She’s currently vice president of operations for Leadercast, a role she began in November last year. Prior to that, she worked as senior director of meetings and events with Connect, managing more than 30 shows for meeting professionals. And in all her spare time, she finds a way to give back, currently serving on Events Industry Council’s Sustainability Committee as well as MPI’s Women’s Advisory… more
Jun 21, 2019
The Corporate Event News Event Expert Profile series features interviews with some of the many talented corporate event professionals who make this industry thrive. Mary Kelly Rich has been working in the B2B technology startup world for the past five years. For the last two, she’s been the event manager for cloud automation and management software provider SkyKick. Rich attributes her success in event management to having spent a number of years in customer-facing roles where her focus was on providing an exceptional client experience — something she strongly believes is vital to success in… more
Apr 02, 2019
Caesars Entertainment is an acknowledged industry leader in corporate social responsibility (CSR) which encompasses its commitment to employees, suppliers, communities and the environment. This work is done through Caesars' PEOPLE PLANET PLAY framework. In the past six months, the company has received significant news coverage around these initiatives, including: Being named as a leader by the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) for its efforts in reducing emissions and lowering climate-related risk Making a global commitment to combat commercial sexual exploitation of children… more
Feb 18, 2019
Adrian Segar is one of the most interesting people that I know, and also one of the smartest. In his extensive career, he has been at the leading edge of several industries. He also happens to be the pioneer of what has become most commonly known as the “unconference,” although he prefers “participant-led and participation-rich event.” Segar began his career as a researcher in high-energy particle physics, doing graduate work at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) on the big accelerator in Geneva. He then moved to Vermont, where he started a solar energy company. Then he… more
Dec 17, 2018
The Corporate Event News Event Expert Profile series features interviews with some of the many talented corporate event professionals who make this industry thrive. Throughout her 12-year career, Michelle Radlowski has held roles that have spanned a wide variety of marketing responsibilities. She believes in the importance of marketing working closely together with sales, and loves seeing the impact of her work on business growth.  In her current role, she is responsible for leading a team of regional field marketing managers and developing strategically focused marketing activities and… more
Dec 10, 2018
The Corporate Event News Event Expert Profile series features interviews with some of the many talented corporate event professionals who make this industry thrive. Throughout her 12-year career, Michelle Radlowski has held roles that have spanned a wide variety of marketing responsibilities. She believes in the importance of marketing working closely together with sales, and loves seeing the impact of her work on business growth.  I met Radlowski when we both worked at Dell Software, where she was responsible for managing corporate events and the organization’s Customer Advisory Board.… more
Partner Voices
Just when it seems like Las Vegas can’t get any bigger, brighter or more exciting for groups, MGM Resorts raises the bar again. The company continues to invest and innovate across its portfolio of Las Vegas resorts, with new attractions and upgraded experiences for attendees of all interests.  Remodeled Guest Rooms MGM Grand is the largest single hotel in the world with over 5,000 guest rooms and an 850,000-square-foot conference center. It is home to the newly remodeled MGM Grand Studio Tower—700 reimagined guest rooms with a fun mid-century vibe. Nearby, the iconic New York-New York Las more