Meet Brock Bradley, Convention & Conference Center Industry Expert

I have worked in the events industry for 25 years.

My passion has always been bringing people together to solve problems and create positive change. There are so many powerful, unique perspectives out there. Human beings thrive in community. We are by nature social creatures. When we have the opportunity to share our essential creativity, a couple really cool things happen:

1. Individuals realize they are not alone in trying to accomplish something.
2. Good ideas are examined and improved in the crucible of group discussion and become great ideas.
   

The goal of my work is to solve problems, remove obstacles, and improve work processes so events professionals can focus on what they do best: bringing people together.

I’ll never forget the day I joined the events industry. The year was 1997. I was a broke college student studying Radio-TV, thankful to have been hired for a competitive internship at (then) MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. I was learning everything about production from sound recording to lighting, videography, and post-production. I was asked to deliver a piece of equipment to the audio-visual department of the neighboring Swan Resort. When I handed the equipment to the AV manager, he said “Hey, do you need a job? You’d get to set up and operate projectors, microphones, lighting, and other equipment and it pays $12 an hour.” I thought, “This is my dream job.” $12 may not sound like much, but to a college student in 1997 it was a fortune. I accepted and the rest, as they say, is history. My history spans from Florida to New York City to Los Angeles, and is thankfully still being written from my current homebase of Seattle.

There are so many events and projects I’m proud to have been part of—it’s hard to zero in on one. In my former role as a convention center sales manager, I had the privilege of booking the American College of Medical Genetics & Genomics for their annual meeting. In conjunction with their conference each year, ACMG donates specially adapted bicycles and helmets to children living with genetic conditions. The event is called Day of Caring. All these wonderful children line up, a ribbon is cut, and they all run to a special bike with their name on it. It is truly magical. Not to be melodramatic, but even writing about it now brings a tear of joy to my eye. It’s a magical day and I feel most events professionals would agree that creating moments like that are why we work in the events industry.

I have learned many invaluable lessons from 25 years in the events industry, but one big lesson stands out: Consider the big picture. As event professionals, we can get mired down in the everyday grind—setting up tables and chairs, prepping food, setting up AV equipment, making sure the event goes well, then taking down tables, chairs, empty food trays, and AV equipment—rinsing and repeating, day in, day out. But if you zoom out a bit, there’s a bigger story at play: The events we create bring people together who are trying with all their might to do miraculous things such as finding a cure to cancer, helping people live happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives, and raising funds for all sorts of inspiring, crucially important causes. I bet the last time you pushed that chair into place or repositioned that easel outside a meeting room you didn’t think “I’m saving someone’s life right now.” Well, smile, because you are playing a very important part.

I’m thankful for former managers who have looked past the superficial to see my real abilities and passions, and who, through our work together, became true friends. Also, in my former role as Director of Event Technology, I was fortunate to supervise some of the brightest, hardest working people I’ve ever met. Spending time with them, both at work and at play, I was inspired while helping them learn, grow, and succeed, and learned a ton from them during our time together.

What I like most about working for Ungerboeck is two-fold: I appreciate the wonderful variety of customers we work with. I can have a conversation with a manager at a 2-million-square-foot mega convention center one day, then turn around and connect with the team from a 24,000 square foot conference center the next. Internally, I’m profoundly grateful for the brilliant, experienced, passionate and compassionate team I get to interact with every day, not only during work hours, but after I punch out as well. These are my people and it’s hard to articulate how much I appreciate them, so I guess you just have to take my word for it or come work with us!

Curious. Flexible. Driven.

This is an exciting time at Ungerboeck. Joining forces with VenueOps, ShoWorks, and Priava represents a global paradigm shift in event management software. This revolutionary union is empowering Ungerboeck to hyperfocus on the unique needs of our customers in different market segments. Recent mergers are also changing the landscape of the global venue management business. My wish list for the next 10 years includes partnerships with key convention centers and venue management organizations who, for varying reasons, are not yet powered by Ungerboeck. Also, I haven’t forgotten my roots in convention center sales and am excited to see Ungerboeck’s suite of CRM & Sales Management tools continue to expand and innovate to serve the ever-changing world of convention center sales.

The term “bleisure” combining the terms “business” and “leisure” isn’t new. However, I think meeting planners hosting programs in popular leisure destinations and offering spouse and family-friendly activations to drive attendance will become much more prominent and commonplace in the future of the events industry.

Speak up and share what you believe. Your perspective is unique, valuable, and absolutely critical to the improvement and continued success of the events industry.

My first name is Matthew. I go by my middle name, “Brock,” which was my grandmother’s maiden name.

It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by R.E.M.