Talk about your time in the industry.
I have worked in the events industry for 25 years. Most of that (all but the past five) was spent in and around event venues. My career started at the Forum in Los Angeles, home of the LA Lakers and LA Kings. I then worked with large, live entertainment companies Clear Channel, SFX and AEG, providing content and co-producing large-scale events staged in museums and other non-profit venues. Also prior to joining Ungerboeck, I spent several years at the Saint Louis Science Center, where I oversaw all revenue-generating areas of the institution.
You’ve worked a lot in the events/venue side of the business. Explain how Ungerboeck helps people inside the organizations you now serve?
Because of my time working in and around non-profits and serving on advisory committees and boards for zoos, museums, and other attractions, I’m pretty familiar with the challenges of mission-based organizations. I have a deep passion to address their needs. Non-profit team members have big hearts and do so much for the community – and deserve help accomplishing their mission. Our platform enables event managers, education departments, visitor experience and finance teams to work so much more efficiently by creating visibility across teams, streamlining processes, and deepening internal communication. Ungerboeck also simplifies and professionalizes external communication between our customers and their clients. We help them accurately track expenses and revenue, and comprehensively report on progress. This enables them to save time in communicating with their board, and other stakeholders.
Is there a specific project you’ve worked on in your career that you’re most proud of?
I worked with an impressive team at the Saint Louis Science Center to produce a phenomenal capstone event for a very successful run of Body Worlds. It was a 63-hour marathon that attracted tens of thousands of people, featured live bands, phenomenal food, sold-out timed ticket slots, and jam-packed galleries. We only had a couple hours of sleep during the 2 ½ day event! The detail that went into planning and executing the event was incredible - tireless effort across the organization and amazing teamwork– it was so fun to be a part of. And all for people to see what was, intrinsically, a medical science exhibition! We knew we’d created a sensational event when, at five minutes to midnight in the final moments of the event, a stretch limo pulled up, a guy hopped out of the back with a roll of cash and asked for four tickets to the completely sold-out event.
What has impressed you most about the people you’ve worked with in the events industry?
Executing events successfully requires a diverse skillset. Event pros generally are equally comfortable using the left and right side of their brains – creativity to make an event attractive and interesting, and a detail-orientated and analytical approach to ensure a financially successful event. Those traits, combined with flexibility and passion for their work, are what enable great event professionals to pull off flawless and memorable experiences.
Tell me a bit about what you like most about working for Ungerboeck?
Ungerboeck has the most impressive group of employees of any place I’ve worked. From the top and across the organization, they are smart, hard-working, passionate about helping others, and thoughtful. They are the reason why Ungerboeck is perennially on the Best Places to Work list, both locally in our regional offices, and nationally. It’s a loyal group—dozens among us having worked at Ungerboeck for more than a decade, many who have been here for 20+ years and several who have been on board for 30+ years. Our HR team has a rigorous hiring process designed to maintain that culture even as we grow (exponentially in my five years here). The result is a team of egoless, passionate, driven team members that focus on continually evolving a platform that makes event professionals’ lives easier.
What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?
I love travel – the more adventuresome the better. My professional and personal travel has allowed me to be in a hot air balloon over the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, to hike Inca trails in Bolivia and Peru, to do remote sound production for documentaries on the McNeil River in Alaska and in the rain forest of Costa Rica, to run part of the Great Wall of China, and to be a part of a University of London medical study that hiked to Base Camp Mt Everest. Travel offers a perspective like nothing else – can’t wait to do more!