Lisa Gracyalny
Event Marketing Professional
Scottsdale,AZ
Summary
Performance driven Vice President with 18 years experience in strategic event program management. Lead, develop and grow event teams to deliver results producing global events including; industry events, tradeshows, conventions, product launches, sales incentive trips, regional events, and leadership retreats. Confident with a dynamic personality; highly experienced in managing resources, budgets and implementing optimized practices for increasing productivity and profitability.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Vice President
Plexus Worldwide
Scottsdale, AZ
01.2016 - Current
- Lead the overall strategy, planning, marketing and execution of engaging and innovative in-person, virtual, and hybrid events in support of company's objectives and strategies
- Continuously develop core events team to successfully execute global events on the long-term, strategic vision of the company as well as support a growing, high-performance culture
- Spearhead cross-functional initiatives across departments to achieve business goals for bottom-line profits.
- Deliver impactful presentations of event recommendations building the vision for internal stakeholders and executives; drive feedback/post-con discussions to ensure buy-in and enhance future events
- Develop and track 5-year global event roadmap with an emphasis on deepening attendee engagement and growing sales pipeline
- Manage $30M+ yearly budget to maximize impact and ROI including tracking financial progress while identifying cost-savings opportunities
- Develop event content, marketing strategy and drive its successful development, deployment and post-event ROI
- Implemented global corporate travel process and SOPs with Concur travel
- Responsible for digital event pivot strategy without sacrificing business goals; adapt to post-Covid environment
Director of Global Events
Seacret Direct
Phoenix, AZ
01.2012 - 01.2014
- Built and oversaw events team in executing global event strategy and logistics for national and international conventions, tradeshows, incentives, and regional events within US, Australia, Asia and UK
- Developed RFPs and negotiated contracts with service providers, to include audio visual suppliers, entertainment and décor providers, transportation companies, graphic designers, etc
- Managed all internal and external event marketing communications
- Evaluated consumer preferences and behaviors, combined with market trends and historical data, to adjust and enhance campaigns.
- Developed and maintained year-round calendar of events, raised brand awareness and drove organic engagement with consumers and partners.
Director of Events
FreeLife International
Phoenix, AZ
01.2008 - 01.2012
- Directly managed team of event professionals and planned conferences, meetings, incentives and revenue generating events for marketing executives in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia with attendance from 100-5000
- Assume fiscal responsibility for over $2M annual events budget
- Implemented companywide events calendar, promotional strategy and budget forecasting to increase awareness of meeting spend and savings used across multiple departments and our executives
- Planned and executed worldwide sales contests and incentives in exciting locations while working within strict budgets ranging from 70K-1M resulting in an average of 18% sales revenue post event
- Built team processes and procedures to streamline event reporting and approval process in an effort to meet critical deadlines and targets resulting in efficient planning and cost savings of 20%
- Managed key vendor relationships with many worldwide hotels, destination management, production, tradeshow and exhibit companies to obtain best-negotiated rates.
Account and Event Manager
Meetings & Incentives Worldwide
Caledonia, WI
01.2005 - 01.2008
- Provided Fortune 500 Companies with utmost support and guidance on all event services
- Accountable for the day-to-day management of account team and acted as the customer’s main contact from purchasing to final billing process
- Contributed in the largest client implementation that grew from the newest client to the third largest in one year
- Implemented central meeting portal (SMMP) bringing awareness to our services and resulting in penetration into other businesses within the accounts and increased revenue by 30%
- Worked in conjunction with C-suite, procurement and applied strategic sourcing principles yielding in an average of 20% savings annually
- Designed and created custom marketing collateral, promotions, direct marketing pieces, websites, proposals and presentations bringing awareness to and increasing attendance for each event
- Built relationships with all departments and executives within the account gaining trust in the company
Senior Channel Marketing Manager
3COM CORPORATION
Sunnyvale, CA
12.1999 - 05.2005
- Designed, implemented and enhanced national marketing initiatives and events to maximize outreach and product sales.
- Planned and coordinated logistics and shipment of materials for attendees of trade shows.
- Managed marketing budget and associated P&L to develop and execute marketing strategies, budgets, and sales plans for business segments.
- Collaborated with senior sales, engineering, and other business development executives to create best practices marketing initiatives and media positioning for vertical markets.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Recreation Administration
California State University
Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) Certification in Meetings Management (CMM) - undefined
Skills
Event marketing
Relationship building and retention
Budgeting
Negotiation
Financial Management
Resilience and Adaptability
Presentations
Certification
CMM
Timeline
Vice President
Plexus Worldwide
01.2016 - Current
Director of Global Events
Seacret Direct
01.2012 - 01.2014
CMM
07-2011
Director of Events
FreeLife International
01.2008 - 01.2012
Account and Event Manager
Meetings & Incentives Worldwide
01.2005 - 01.2008
Senior Channel Marketing Manager
3COM CORPORATION
12.1999 - 05.2005
Bachelor of Science - Recreation Administration
California State University