As Women’s History Month draws to a close, we’re proud to spotlight nine extraordinary women who are reshaping the corporate events landscape—leading with innovation, integrity, and unstoppable energy. 

Not so long ago, the view of leadership in our industry looked different. Women were fewer at the top, often working twice as hard for a seat at the table. Today, that table is full of bold voices, visionary thinkers, and compassionate leaders who are not just in the room—they’re shaping the future of the room itself. 

From global conferences to intimate leadership gatherings, these women are orchestrating powerful moments of connection, driving business impact, and elevating the attendee experience on a world-class level. Their stories reflect grit, grace, and the kind of leadership that lifts others while climbing. 

Whether they’re building inclusive teams, designing unforgettable experiences, mentoring the next generation, or redefining event strategy on a global scale—each of these women is one to watch. 

We celebrate their journeys, their achievements, and the inspiring ways they’re shaping what’s next in corporate events. 

1. Liz Perout, Global Events, Americas Lead, DHL 

Corporate events she and her team will produce in 2025:   

• Innovation that Moves, April 8 – 10 | Sao Paulo, Brazil. Innovation That Moves >> Brazil is an initiative by the DHL Innovation Center to bring our Innovation Center experience to customers across the region. The company seeks to create an open platform to discuss the topic of innovation with customers, share DHL’s thought leadership, and identify possible areas of collaboration.  
• Era of Sustainable Logistics - DHL - United States of America, Oct 13 – 14 | Austin, TX. The Era of Sustainable Logistics is characterized by several core themes, which are updated and adapted per region. At DHL events, these themes take the shape of interactive zones to intrigue, educate, and enrich attendee sustainability knowledge.  

What inspires you?   

What inspires me most is the opportunity to work in a global environment, where I get to connect with people from various cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. Navigating a mix of languages, cultural differences, and unique perspectives helps me foster meaningful relationships and build bridges across borders. This dynamic setting has pushed me to adapt, think creatively, and communicate with more empathy and understanding. 

Every interaction is a chance to learn and grow, both personally and professionally, and it’s a reminder of how powerful connection can be in today’s global world. 
 

Describe your leadership style.   

My leadership style is all about collaboration, flexibility, and inclusion. The best results come from working together as a team, where everyone’s ideas are valued, and everyone feels encouraged to contribute. I try to create an open environment where my team feels comfortable sharing ideas, taking initiative, and pushing boundaries, knowing that their voices matter. 

What’s your ideal day OOO?   

My ideal OOO would be traveling with my family, ticking off another city on our bucket list. We’d spend the day exploring, trying new foods (all the foods!), and taking in everything the city has to offer. My husband and I love introducing our two little girls to new cities and cultures, and it’s always amazing to see the lasting memories they create along the way. 

 

2. Minal Shah, Manager, Global Strategic Events, Salesforce 

Corporate events you have/will produce in 2025: “This is a moving target,” she said.  
 
Tell us about your career journey.  

My background is in marketing, interior design, and event planning. At Salesforce, I've worked on the SMB team using metrics to steer strategy for executive events, worked on industry trade shows, and currently is on the pipeline-driving programs at Global Salesforce Events. 

Previously, I was an associate manager for brand activation and event design at Benjamin Moore a Berkshire Hathaway company, where I created customer-centric experiences at trade shows and events.  Prior to joining the Benjamin Moore team, I worked for Kallman Worldwide, a leader in the aerospace, defense, security, maritime, oil and gas, and health sectors for the international trade show industry and previously interned for Michelle Obama in the Office of the First Lady in the White House.  
 
What advice would you give your younger self?  

Lean into curiousity. Don't let your role define you. Learn as much as you can about the various functions of marketing. Ask why to get a clear vision of the bigger picture, then use that vision to influence your stakeholders to help deliver on the strategy.  

What’s your ideal day OOO?  

After a busy event, it’s important to refill your cup in ways that rejuvenate you. I do that by treating myself to a massage, a delicious meal, and if I am lucky, there’s also a beach nearby.  
 

3. Karen Hartline, Executive Producer, Live Content, Zillow Group 

Corporate events she and her team will produce in 2025: “This year I’ll be working on Sales Kick Off, multiple team retreats, Sales Champion Circle, Industry Forum, Hack Week, Senior Leadership meetings, and our Unlock flagship events happening in Austin in October and Las Vegas in November,” she said. “The calendar is full!” 

What’s your day-to-day like? 
I’m an early bird, so mornings start with coffee, Wordle with my husband, and snuggles with my dog, Gary. I’ll sometimes squeeze in a workout before diving into my day. I’m big on planning, so I start by jotting down my top priorities, checking Asana, and queuing up the perfect playlist to motivate me during the day. 

Most days are packed with meetings—aligning on event strategy, chatting with vendors, and connecting with teammates, as well as digging into AI with various prompts. Working from home, I make a point to take breaks with my dog Gary and (ideally) eat lunch away from my desk. I wrap up by prepping for the next day and taking an end-of-day walk to decompress. Evenings are a mix of coaching groups, dance classes, or whatever’s going on around the condo—bonus points if I remembered to start the crockpot for a nice dinner! 

Tell us about your career journey. 
My path has been anything but traditional—and I love that! I studied Sports & Recreation Management with dreams of being a resort activities director but found myself organizing sports leagues instead. After a job loss, I landed in an executive assistant role where I took on planning two annual conferences. And just like that, I was all-in on events. I completed a Meeting & Event Management program and never looked back. 

From volunteering at a tech event in Silicon Valley to producing events for Mashable, my journey took me from city to city, client to client, and eventually into launching my own production agency—Reinventing Events. Running a remote team across the U.S. while working with amazing brands like Twilio, SaaStr, and TaskRabbit was a wild ride. But eventually, I missed being deep in strategy and made my way back into corporate events. I joined Zillow in May 2023, where I now lead live content and technical production across both internal and external events. It's been an incredible journey—and I’m still just getting started. 

Describe your leadership style. 
I lead with presence, empathy, and curiosity. I’ve mentored many event pros over the years, and I believe the most important thing you can do is make time for people—especially when things get busy. 

I ask questions to help others think through challenges and encourage them to come up with their own solutions. I try not to jump in with “my way,” because often, the best growth happens when someone works it out on their own—with support along the way. 

I also love getting to know what people enjoy about events, what they’d rather avoid, and what they’re eager to learn. It helps me shape roles and responsibilities in a way that plays to their strengths, steers clear of energy-drainers, and creates space for growth. 

 

4. Amanda Solon, Senior Manager, Global Events, Epicor Software  

Corporate events she and her team will produce in 2025:   

• Incentive:  Circle of Excellence 
• Customer Events: Insights, Insights Australia, Insights Europe, Insights for Building Supply, Asia Connect, Customer Advisory Boards (2 - 3) 
• SKO: Ignite 
• Partner Conference: Momentum 

What inspires you?  

Personally, what inspires me is anything that is new, different, and challenging. I am an enneagram 7 and am always looking to do something fun!  I’m that friend that rarely says no to anything. 

Professionally, I love helping people (very close to an enneagram 2!) and event planning allows me to lean on that original desire to be a teacher – always educating our sales teams, or customers on events.  What I adore most working on events is putting all the pieces of the puzzle together and seeing it come to life onsite.  You cannot beat the feeling of visually getting to see your work come to life and impact the customers and attendees.  

Tell us about one of your greatest career achievements.  

Something that stands out to me was earlier in my career, when I had just accepted a position as Senior Manager, Events at a prior company, but had just taken the position to run their customer conference and tradeshow program as well.  I got married in May of that year, took the position in June and the event was in October. Essentially no planning had happened yet for it, and my direct boss was about to go on maternity leave.  It was a large task that I wasn’t ready for, but I will always remember stepping up and stepping out of my comfort zone in that planning process – presenting to the executive leadership team, speaking publicly, and becoming the face of an event I didn’t even know yet.  The event happened. Was it perfect? No,  but it had record-breaking attendance, and I have never learned so much or built so many relationships in my life. 

What advice would you give your younger self?  

Calm down.  Nothing is worth negative emotional energy for yourself, especially not work. I used to fixate on other people’s words or decisions.  Now I can let things go and move on, and I’m so much happier for it. 

What’s your most memorable event?  

Hosting about 20 employees, customers and partners at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix weekend in 2022.  It was filled with amazing Paddock experiences, beautiful hotels and venues, a driver meet-and-greet, a tour of the team’s factory, hilarious dinners and more.  I’ll always remember the joy on the faces of attendees to do something so elite and one of a kind. I will add the logistics were flawless!  It was a ton of work and set a bar within my elf for attendee experience.  

What are some impressive stats you’re responsible for?  

• Increased event revenue for a nonprofit organization by 59% year over year 
• Two years in a row, exceeded sponsorship revenue goal by 5% year over year  
• Successfully executed (with a team) more than 200 events annually  
• Over the course of four years, increased attendance at a customer conference by 88% 

What’s your ideal day OOO?  

Being at a beach would be great. But if that is not possible, I would love to start by cleaning my house, walking my doggy, going shopping, cooking dinner with my husband, drinking a great glass of wine and going to bed early!  

 

5. Alex Perica, Senior Director of Events, Keller Williams Realty, LLC 
 

Corporate events she and her team will produce in 2025:  46 in-person events, not inclusive of the digital events they manage. 
 
Tell us about one of your greatest career achievements.  

One of my greatest career achievements was in August 2017. We were planning our annual citywide event called Mega Camp in Austin.  The event was scheduled to take place from August 11-15, and 16 days before prior to the event, Category 4 Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast.  The decision was made to pivot our event to support our associates who had been devastated by this natural disaster.  We invited the attendees to still come to Austin to participate in a clean-up effort. For those who didn't want to participate, we offered a full refund or they could choose to donate their registration fee to the cause.  We had more than 6,000 people show up.  We arranged to have them transported to Southeast Texas to de-muck homes everyday of the event.  We provided box lunches for their journey and included real estate business coaches to "mastermind" on their journey each way.  We set up several fundraising events and a donation drive. For attendees who couldn't physically participate in manual labor, they had the opportunity to make cleaning kits. We raised more than $5.3 million dollars for hurricane victims.  
 
What’s your most memorable event?  

My most memorable event was an incentive trip for 15 attendees to Vancouver, BC.  We arranged to have hotel drops delivered each evening while they were at dinner to hint at the next day’s excursion.  On day 1, we did a bike ride through Stanley Park and then boarded a ferry boat to Granville Island.  On day 2, we boarded a sea plane to Victoria Island, where we went whale watching, had lunch at the Fairmont Empress hotel and then visited Butchart Gardens before flying back to Vancouver.  On the final day, we visited Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.  We had planned on taking a helicopter ride to picnic on a glacier but due to weather constraints we had to pivot the plan.  Instead, we flew over the glacier and had a private chef cater lunch on the Squamish River.  We wrapped the evening with a farewell dinner at the hotel.  

Describe your leadership style.  

I would say my leadership style is best described as servant leadership.  I serve not only my stakeholders/clients but also my team.  I believe in transparency, collaboration and that no one succeeds alone.  I take joy in creating other leaders and investing in their career journey.  
 

6. Lynn Hochrine, Manager, Events & Operations, REI 

Corporate events she and her will produce in 2025: REI Stores Leader Gathering, HQ Leader Gathering, signature award events honoring leader and employee award recipients, town halls, Vendor partner of the year, and many internal cultural events. 

What is your day to day like?   

I sit on the Community, Communications & Inclusion team within Public Affairs & Impact. While the day is mostly filled with project and team meetings, there is almost always a walk on topic or request that comes in each day. I am a mobile HQ employee, which practically means I am either at home, at one of our satellite offices or on the road. I’m a working mom with two girls, 5 and 7 years old, so remote work has benefited me in a way that when I am home I can start and end my day with the whole family sooner. 

Tell us about your career journey.     

Experiential events have almost always been at the core of much of my career -- from an early start in professional sports working for an NHL team and a professional men's tennis tournament to a transportation company managing the Waste Management Open then some years in hotels. While those jobs were all very different, they had marketing, customer- focus and experiences at the center. They also helped shape my experience today, especially my time in hotels, which not only helps with sourcing and contracting but also in driving successful relationships since I have a deeper understanding of sales, as well as front and back of house operations. I just celebrated 10 years with REI and have had events as a main focus but have gotten to work with so many inspiring external partners and deliver some fantastic one-of-a-kind events. 

 Tell us about one of your greatest career achievements.    

Almost all of our events at REI involve some stewardship or CSR component and sometimes finding something that aligns with our values, works for one of our partners and is feasible to execute for a large number of people is a tall order. In 2018, we hosted a conference in Lake Tahoe for more than 250 leaders and wanted to partner with local organizations on trail building. That area, however, is one of the most heavily recreated beautiful spaces with a short season to maintain the trails and lands. In meeting with the forest service, they graciously appreciated our idea to build a new trail but proposed an alternative to restore a section of the Pacific Crest Trail on Donner Summit that is one of the most popular confluences for climbing and hiking. They told us that they had it on their road map for five years and thought someday someone will come and provide funding and human power to restore the trail. The project involved many months of paperwork, funding trail prep work, natural rock delivery and finally culminating with leaders hauling rock and filling in a 1/4 mile section eroded by use and weather. This is one of the reasons I love my job, the very special things I get to be a part of and things I count not only as major accomplishments but also as a bit of legacy. 

Describe your leadership style.    

If our team is succeeding and getting credit for work that they are doing, I am doing my job. I believe in building a team of individuals who bring expertise to things I am not excellent at and who can teach each other. I am a hands-on leader when I need to be and encourage the team to tell me to get out of the way when that is more helpful. I always make space to make sure my team has the answers and support they need to get the job done. I do have what they call a "whole brain," which definitely helps in the events industry to address needs top to bottom so I ask a lot of questions and poke holes in scenarios. My team knows to expect me gap spotting and taking our objectives and audience into account with planning and decisions. I try, not always in a perfect manner, to support people bringing their whole selves to work -- virtually, in the office and onsite at events. I give my all to my job, rally our team to work long and hard but take time away any and all times they can get it. I am known for saying I am the worst boss because "this job is not the most important thing in your life." So when life happens, I see that my job as a leader is to support my team to find a way to take the time they need. 

 

7. Heidi Carlisle, 2nd Vice President, Travel, Meetings & Incentives, Aflac 

Corporate events she and her team will produce in 2025:  500+ events and incentives 

Tell us about your career journey.

My journey in this industry started in the early 1990s on the hotel side. I worked most every position in the hotel--starting as a concierge and leaving as the Director of catering and convention services. Having the experience on the hotel side helped me in my current role. Knowing the ins and outs of what it truly takes to set up a banquet room, as well as what the back of the house does to make a hotel run, has helped me in planning and negotiating with hotels now. It has made me a better partner all around.  In the final few years in the hotel industry, Aflac was my client ,and they ended up recruiting me to come and be an assistant meeting coordinator. Now 28 years later, I oversee the corporate travel, meetings and incentive teams with 500+ events, transient travel, and many incentive meetings. I have worked my way up the old fashion way – with determination, hard work and a lot of amazing mentors. 

What’s your most memorable event? 

I think back on 2016 in New Orleans.  We brought our National Convention to that location for the first time in more than 20 years, and the team worked very hard to create a long-lasting memory.  We hosted all the main events at the Mercedes Benz Superdome. It was the Gala night.  We had dinner and awards on the turf, so the stage was centered on the 50-yard line. The night started when we left our hotel, we had a police escort for the 32 motorcoaches all the way to the dome. The people entered through a red-carpeted tunnel and came into the endzone to see a massive set-up of glitzy tables and our stage. We had a marching band get the night started.  We dined and celebrated with everyone in awe throughout the night.  We ended up on the cover of Insurance & Financial Meetings Management magazine. We still get kudos from that event.   

 

What advice would you give your younger self? 

I think about this a good bit as I am a type-A person and stress on every detail and every word  - don’t sweat the small stuff.  I say that, but the small stuff is what has made me so good at what I do now.  So, I will pivot and say that you have to take time and enjoy the journey.  Along the way, you will make mistakes. Don’t let them define you. Let them define that moment, and there is a lesson learned in everything.   

I tell my team that it’s OK to make mistakes and learn from them, but you cannot make those same mistakes again. Planning events is something you learn from with every event you do. As mundane as it can be, there is always room to make things better and do things differently for lasting memories for all attendees, or to be more efficient and save money and time. 

 

8. Mia Monroe, Senior Program Manager, Events, Amazon 

Corporate events you have/will produce in 2025:  Various events targeting Amazon Small Business Selling Partners across North America. 

What inspires you?   

It’s cliché, but my daughter inspires me. She watches everything I do, whether I realize it or not. I do my best to be the best example for her as I can. When she tells me she’s proud of me…that’s all I need. 

Describe your leadership style.   

I’m a combination of servant and coaching leader with a little bit of visionary sprinkled in. I’ve always focused on ensuring my team has a safe and inclusive space to be authentic to themselves and to their career goals. We’re always having to push the envelope in innovation and “wow” while still delivering tangible data proving our events and experiences deliver on company objectives. That has often created opportunities to position teammates to stretch in their roles, challenging them – and us all -- to accomplish something that hasn’t been done before. As I continue to grow as a leader, I try to push forward those opportunities and encourage the team members to learn, grow, and shine. 

What are some impressive stats you’re responsible for?    

Most recently at Amazon: 

• Led a cross-functional team, managing a $5.5 million budget and collaborated with senior executives, creative teams, and marketing to deliver experiential learning programs that enhanced third-party carrier development. 
• Achieved significant cost savings, including $400,000+ on a flagship event through strategic negotiations and process improvements. Eliminated room block attrition for Amazon RelayCon 2024 (compared to RelayCon 2022), saving $160,000+. 
• Developed event marketing strategies, KPIs, and execution plan for RelayCon 2024, showcasing brand activations and an immersive expo hall resulting in a 129% registration percentage to goal and a 105% increase in attendance. Consistently achieved high customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores with an average of 93% and net promoter score (NPS) of +75. 
• Launched the Amazon Relay Roadway Series (quarterly virtual event) and Relay Carrier Roundtables (in-person), engaging 56,000+ third-party carriers and driving a 190% increase in overall registrations through consistent marketing messaging and engagement. Roadway Series achieved an average 40% registration-to-attendance conversion and 82% CSAT. Roundtables achieved a 42% conversion, 85% CSAT, and yielded an average of eight actionable items for Amazon leadership. 
• Partnered with a national consultancy to establish a comprehensive sustainability program for carriers, including the Amazon FASTforward Sustainability Summit. Launched clean fleet funding workshops, resulting in a 53% registration-to-attendance conversion, 95% CSAT, and seven pending grant applications in Q3 2024 alone. 

9. Megan Smith, Corporate Events Manager, HD Supply 

Corporate events she and her team will produce in 2025:  

• Annual Leadership Meeting - where 250 company leaders come together at the company’s Leadership Development Center in Atlanta for a three-day program with offsite networking events taking place. “We are lucky that our building has a great meeting space where we can all gather with built in AV, stage, Webex capabilities, catering, and more,” she said. 
• Circle of Excellence – the annual sales incentive trip takes place internationally with more than 400 attendees, celebrating associates’ achievements, offering them the opportunity to network, and spend time with our leaders.  
• Annual Recognition Week – A week-long celebration across our organization where leaders celebrate the company’s 12,000 associates through virtual and in-person associate engagement. “Named ‘Big Deal Week,’ this values-driven event is an opportunity to creatively express our values and show our appreciation for associates, particularly those on the front line,” she said.  

Tell us about your career journey.   

My intentions starting out were to build a career in public relations, earning my bachelor’s degree in PR with a minor in Entrepreneurship from Georgia Southern University. My path took a turn when I joined Juice Studios, an Atlanta-based DMC, as a creative services proposal Writer. My time at Juice Studios gave me the space to expand on my passion for all things creative. Born and raised in Savannah, Ga., this experience was the perfect way to immerse myself in Atlanta’s events industry and build life-long vendor relationships.  

From there, I accepted a role on The Home Depot’s Corporate Events team. This experience not only expanded my expertise in corporate events but also gave me the appreciation for working within a values-driven company. At Home Depot, I had the privilege to impact associate experiences through events, like the annual Store Managers Meeting, field recognition programs, board of directors’ meetings, and senior leadership initiatives ranging from 10–2,500 attendees. The company’s value-based culture profoundly influenced me and reinforced the impact that a well-crafted event can have on people.  

After nearly six years at Home Depot, I decided to trade in my orange apron for a black one, with a new opportunity as corporate event Manager at HD Supply, a subsidiary of The Home Depot. Any corporate event planner knows you are only as good as your cross-functional partners: communications. I’m now a part of the communications & corporate affairs team, which has been the perfect blend of corporate events and strategic messaging. I’ve had a blast learning from seasoned communicators, which is helping me strengthen my ability to craft events that not only engage but also align with company storytelling. I know how to manage internal, functional meetings and events, as well as our international sales incentive trip.  

With a foundation in creativity, cross-functional collaboration, and corporate event strategy, I’m passionate about bringing impactful experiences to life—ones that connect, inspire, and drive purpose. 

What inspires you?   

Inspiration for events - anything out of the norm! I am an artist on the side and love the challenge to create something beautiful out of nothing. Art and design have truly helped me to think outside of the box--whether it’s your basic meeting or an evening event where you want to wow your attendees. 

Inspiration for career – women in leadership. There is nothing better than seeing a working mom climb the ladder and expand her career while balancing after school activities and weekend birthday parties. As a mom of two girls under the age of four, it’s so refreshing and reassuring to see women who’ve come before me and paved the path, reminding me to still chase my dreams.  

What advice would you give your younger self?   

Take the leap. If you fail, you’re better off going for it then regretting never trying.   

What’s your most memorable event?  

Out of all the beautiful venues, cities, and décor I’ve had the chance to see, my most memorable event is the field associate recognition program from The Home Depot. We were able to bring store associates to the Store Support Center and shower them with gifts, tours, and a sit-down meal with the entire executive leadership team. It was such an incredible experience seeing the gratitude on attendees’ faces--and knowing they were going back to their stores with a refreshed appreciation and pride for the company.