Solution Seekers

Research consistently shows that diverse teams lead to increased profitability and better overall business performance. The speaker emphasizes the need for incorporating diversity and inclusion in recruitment, promotion, performance evaluation, and compensation reviews to create a sustainable, inclusive future. So why is DEI the first thing cut from budgets during economic hardships? 

In this episode of The Kennedy Events Podcast, Sophia Piliouras joins host Paige Buck to dive deep into the evolution of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the corporate world. This thought-provoking discussion highlights the importance of genuine expertise in DEI initiatives and the challenges faced in achieving true diversity and inclusion in today's society. Piliouras, an experienced professional with a background in law and DEI, shares her insights, experiences, and passion for creating positive change in the corporate landscape.

Listen to the full episode of The Kennedy Events Podcast featuring Sophia Piliouras to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities in driving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the corporate world.

In the world of business, revenue growth is the ultimate goal. It's what drives companies forward, fuels innovation, and creates opportunities for expansion. But achieving sustainable revenue growth requires more than just hard work and dedication. It requires alignment within teams, a shared understanding of metrics, and a strategic focus on key goals. In a recent episode of The Kennedy Events Podcast, titled "Aligning Teams Toward Shared Metrics for Revenue Growth," host Paige Buck sits down with guest David Aronica, Head of Growth Marketing at Yellowbrick Data, to discuss the importance of team alignment in driving revenue growth.

One of the key takeaways from the episode is the impact of misalignment within teams. Aronica highlights the common scenario where different teams, such as marketing and sales, focus on different metrics or drivers for making money. For instance, the marketing team might prioritize generating marketing qualified leads (MQLs), while the sales team focuses on generating opportunities. This divergence in focus can lead to friction and inefficiency within the organization, ultimately hindering revenue growth. To address this, Aronica emphasizes the role of leadership in setting clear goals and metrics for each stage of the customer journey. When teams have a shared understanding of what constitutes a qualified opportunity or lead, they can work together more effectively toward revenue growth. 

In today's competitive business landscape, creating unforgettable experiences has become crucial for companies across industries. Enter experience design, a methodology that combines creativity, psychology, and strategic thinking to craft memorable events. Whether it's a product launch, a corporate conference, or a music festival, the principles of experience design can be applied to any industry, elevating engagements and leaving a lasting impression on attendees.

In this episode of “The Kennedy Events Podcast,” host Paige Buck is joined by Tony Allen, current President of RevRoad and previous Global Head of Event Services at Zoom. Tony shares his wealth of knowledge on experience design and how its methodology can be applied to any industry to create a memorable event. At its core, experience design methodology focuses on orchestrating all aspects of an event to elicit specific emotions and engage the senses of the participants. Tune in to learn how organizations can differentiate themselves from competitors, build stronger connections with their target audience, and ultimately, create events that leave a lasting impact in the minds and hearts of attendees.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) play a crucial role in event planning, serving as a guiding principle for creating inclusive and meaningful experiences. Event planners recognize that diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and identities bring forth unique ideas, foster innovation, and enhance attendee engagement. So how does one embrace DE&I in the event planning process to prioritize equal representation and ensure that all participants feel welcomed, respected, and valued?

In this episode of "The Kennedy Events Podcast," host Paige Buck is joined by Anna Nicholson, an experienced events manager on the Global Events and Experiential team for B2B Marketing at Yahoo. Anna shares the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the events industry and how Yahoo has started to track metrics on DE&I, sustainability, and accessibility at events. DE&I in event planning goes beyond surface-level diversity and actively addresses systemic barriers, promoting equitable opportunities for underrepresented groups. By incorporating DE&I principles into every aspect of event planning, from vendor selection to program design, event organizers can create enriching experiences that celebrate diversity, foster inclusivity, and drive positive change.

Sales, marketing, and operations teams are integral to the success of any event. Their collaboration is crucial in creating engaging experiences that resonate with attendees and sponsors alike. By working together and leveraging their respective strengths, these teams can orchestrate seamless logistics, attract sponsors, drive attendance, and ultimately deliver exceptional events that leave a lasting impression. So how can one harmoniously converge the efforts of these different departments to create engaging, impactful experiences that resonate with attendees and sponsors alike? 

In this episode of “The Kennedy Events Podcast,” host Paige Buck is joined by special guest Dan Rubinetti, a seasoned events industry veteran with over 30 years of experience working with leading B2B firms in the US. In his role as Director of Business Development and Head of Wealth Management Event Sales at Informa, Dan is responsible for building relationships, setting up direct sales teams, and identifying unique marketing opportunities. And he's widely respected for his leadership and expertise in these critical areas. He delves into his strategies for building reciprocal relationships in the industry, unifying teams to deliver exceptional events, and the challenge of working with a shrinking marketing budget from sponsors who've had negative experiences with events. 

In today's fast-paced digital age, distractions are a common enemy of productivity. For entrepreneurs and small business owners, staying focused on their most important work can be a challenge, especially with the added pressures of running a business. In this episode of “The Kennedy Events Podcast,” we’re joined by Megan Flatt, founder of Let’s Collective, a business growth strategy firm devoted to making entrepreneurship easier, and Focus Sessions, a brand dedicated to providing dedicated, distraction-free virtual co-working to get your most important work done. 

Megan identified that entrepreneurs and small business owners have their focus pulled in a million directions all at once which makes it difficult to move the needle on any one project, let alone top-priority initiatives. Her solution? Focus Sessions. A virtual co-working service designed to help entrepreneurs and small businesses, Focus Sessions help leaders stay on track and eliminate distractions while working from home. The program uses brain science, neuroscience, and research around accountability to provide a structured environment that helps entrepreneurs and small businesses focus and accomplish their work in less time. With Focus Sessions, entrepreneurs don't have to struggle alone, as they can join virtual co-working sessions where they can connect with like-minded individuals and work in a supportive environment. By offering a proven methodology of virtual co-working sessions, entrepreneurs and small businesses can bring back accountability and structure to their workdays, enabling them to optimize productivity, stay on top of their most important work, and find time for the important things in life.

Get your hands on Megan's new book Focused!

Alyssa leads Revenue Enablement for Recharge, a platform that helps the leading direct-to-consumer brands grow and retain a loyal customer base. Alyssa's enablement experience spans across Fintech, working with companies in payments, blockchain, and traditional SaaS sales. Alyssa works remotely from her home in San Francisco and loves to spend time with her family and friends.

In this episode of The Kennedy Events Podcast, our guest Alyssa Glassman, Director of Revenue Enablement at Recharge, shares her experience in the Fintech industry scaling companies by building out executive briefing programs and enablement functions. Revenue enablement is a high-impact, low-headcount function that unites teams and creates a system to aggregate feedback so that all functions have the right training and content to effectively deliver. Alyssa emphasizes the importance of consistency in brand messaging, communication audits, and identifying communication gaps in a remote environment.

Meg Fasy is the Founder of eventsGIG, the talent marketplace for the events industry, and FazeFWD a premier sponsorship management company that works with clients to reveal opportunities and develop forward-thinking solutions to their sponsorship marketing. She has 30 years under her belt in the meeting industry, and in addition to her two businesses which she’s owned for 7 yrs and one for 2 yrs respectively, she’s a competitive dragon boat racer.

In this episode of The Kennedy Events Podcast, Paige Buck hosts Meg Fasy, Founder of eventsGI and FazeFWD a premier sponsorship management company that works with clients to reveal opportunities and develop forward-thinking solutions to their sponsorship marketing. Meg shares her extensive expertise on how she and her team elevate sponsorships into impactful marketing opportunities for organizations. She dives into the effective content opportunities that connect sponsors with their customers, how she helps organizations create a prospectus of value, and the unlocked data potential that will set winning organizations apart from the rest. 

Marti Grimminck is a global business executive, social entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and digital/interactive designer. As the Founder and CEO of International Connector, Marti designs the future of work, education, and communities for corporations and governments. She brings a deep knowledge of emerging global trends through the cultivation of an unparalleled network of GenZs and Millennials across 190 countries.

In this episode of The Kennedy Events Podcast, Paige Buck hosts Marti Grimminck, a global business executive, social entrepreneur, keynote speaker, digital/interactive designer, and the CEO and Founder of International Connector to discuss how she takes businesses to new horizons in technology, global markets, and the next generation workforce. Marti and her team leverage a multi-platform approach, creating virtual engagements for young people and co-designing programs that stimulate and empower them. As Marti says, if you can find a better solution or a new approach to it, you might just end up with a better path forward. The programs she’s developed also focus on the future of work, communities, and education, bringing diversity together to spark new creative ideas and ways of thinking that will pave the way toward the future. 

Cara Rose DeFabio is a writer, artist, and producer who is proud to serve as the Cultural Strategy Director for the Economic Security Project. In this role, she has invited artists into policy fights, foregrounded storytelling alongside data in changing minds, and produced events that organize people and ideas towards a more just economy. She is passionate about unwinding the deeply rooted myths of American culture through conversation and creativity and draws on her background in theater and journalism to push new narratives forward.

In this episode of The Kennedy Events Podcast, Paige Buck hosts Cara Rose DeFabio, writer, artist, producer, and Cultural Strategy Director for the Economic Security Project to discuss events as a platform to shift the zeitgeist and social thinking around an idea. As Cara believes, when you change the story, you change the system. Events are powerful tools to shift ideas, change minds, impact policies, and make the world a more just place. Cara shares her strategies for narrative change work that makes an impact on social issues like economic security, events, and projects she’s produced in the progressive organizing space to shift conversations and the use of events to change minds, change policies, and make the world a more just place.