A can-do attitude and ready sense of humor have helped Kathleen Moore build her career as a special event professional. These traits stand her in good stead in her current role as vice president/global event manager for JPMorgan Treasury Services in New York.
Like many in special events, her career path has followed no master plan. Armed with a bachelor's degree in speech with a major in acting from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., Moore first waded into the job market. But, “As was the case for many women of my generation, I had a difficult time getting a meaningful job” fresh out of school, she notes. She spent the first ten years of her career working as a secretary, winding up as research assistant to the speechwriter for the chairman of Citibank. She found she liked banking and invested five years in night school to earn her MBA. Eventually she moved into marketing communications, which led to her current employer and her work in special events. “Event management comes naturally out of marketing,” she says. “It's just another tool, and one that can be very effective in a business where you have a relatively small number of specific clients for whom ‘relationships’ are very important.”
She now oversees from 30 to 40 events annually for her 6,500-member division, with a budget of $2 million. She has been a member of MPI for more than 10 years and attends at least one conference a year, taking advantage of all the “networking/learning from your peers and superiors opportunities those conferences provide,” she says.
Moore singles out two trends shaping special events: globalization and new technology.
Globalization affects “everything,” she says. “I see our clients being more willing to travel to attend conferences and trade shows globally because they perceive real value in global networking — our Asian clients traveling to San Francisco, our European and U.S.-based clients traveling to Asia, etc. This means we must be even more aware of the cultural differences and sensitivities of our clients.”
And powerful new technology “is certainly extending our communications reach: We now regularly webcast our internal meetings, sometimes live, sometimes for subsequent viewing,” she notes. “We create Web sites for invitations and RSVPs and as ‘collateral equivalents’ for trade shows. Hotels and convention facilities are beginning to get on the bandwagon vis-à-vis technology, and those that do will get more business.”
The secret of her success? “The fact that I truly enjoy doing what I do, and love being in the middle of it all.”
JPMorgan Treasury Services
JPMorgan
1 Chase Manhattan Plaza,
Seventh Floor
New York, NY 10005
212/552-2348
E-mail: [email protected]
UP NEXT FOR CORPORATE EVENTS…
“I think there is a move away from splashy ‘presentational-style’ events towards the more experiential and interactive. That's definitely good news for me, since I don't have the budget for the big splashy stuff and get a lot more satisfaction out of seeing people be part of what's going on, rather than just being ‘wowed’ by something they are watching. I also see a movement among the big players in my particular industry — financial/treasury management — … toward more intimate exchanges with clients, coupled with sponsorship and more high-level support of our associations.”
BOONDOGGLE DAYS ARE DONE
“The days of the ‘corporate boondoggle’ are absolutely over. No one will take even one hour away from his or her office to attend anything unless there is perceived content and value — golf for golf's sake no longer has much appeal — although everyone does continue to value networking.”
I WISH I'D LEARNED SOONER…
“I wish I'd learned the power of teams earlier. When people are part of the process, they are much more willing to support you — and you can delegate lots of the jobs you don't like!”
