PAUL WENTZEL, CMM

**W*** Herrington Blvd Unit K-*, Geneva IL 60134

Phone: 623-***-**** Email: adjcbr@r.postjobfree.com

PROVEN MEETING & EVENT PLANNING PROFESSIONAL

Accomplished, creative, results-driven meeting professional with a successful record of directing virtual, educational, incentivized, revenue generating, and meaningful experiences on an intimate or large-scale level both domestically and internationally. Demonstrated success in all aspects of meeting management and event production. Strong ability to cultivate relationships with internal and external clients. Demonstrated progressive responsibility and a respected leader and manager with a strong commitment to team development and goal attainment. Well connected with an extensive network of event vendors and meeting professionals. PROFESSIONAL CHRONOLOGY

2019-2019 Meetings & Incentives Worldwide, Caledonia, WI (virtual office) Account Lead

• Oversee and consult on over 100 yearly meetings for one of the top five accounting firms in the world

• Responsible for a meeting planning budget that exceeded ten million dollars

• Work, train, manage and consult with a team of over 20 planners, coordinators, web designers, and program managers

• Offered ideas and solutions for revenue generating virtual meetings on platforms such as On24, WebEx, Cvent, Microsoft Teams and Beacon Live

• Analyze and Improve operational systems and processes both with M&IW and Client(s)

• Participate in program operations turnovers, program briefings, and program debriefings to ensure account continuity

2018-2019 Residential Real Estate Council (RRC), Chicago, IL Director, Meetings and Events

• Support and oversee all meetings; including but not limited to Sell-a-bration, Annual & Mid-Year Meetings, Regional Meeting and Summit Meetings

• Lead and worked with vendors and internal teams on all virtual meetings associated with the RRCs education and social meetings and events.

• Researched and worked on virtual meeting platforms such as Cvent, Aptify, Personify, Zoom, WebEx, and Adobe.

• Held responsible for proposals, budgets, goals, objectives, planning, managing, and supporting all aspects of the meetings and events

• Travel both international and domestic to ensure success in all aspects of the meetings

• Oversee a team of eight and responsible for three annual conferences, two trade shows, six regional meetings, fifty webinars and sixty one-day education courses

• Work with and lead the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and their Officers on all meetings 2012-2018 American Bar Association (ABA), Chicago, IL Meetings Manager, Litigation

• Direct all meetings and events for the ABA’s largest section

• Managed, operated, and lead virtual meeting and events including educational, leadership and social meetings using platforms such as Beacon Live, Cvent, Webex Meetings and Events, Bluejeans, or Adobe Connect

• Manage twelve large meetings annually, five trade shows, twenty regional meetings and twenty webinars with budgets exceeding $6,000,000

• Develop, monitor, and maintain the meetings department annual budget as well as contracts with all vendors to ensure budget compliance

• Create, send, and evaluate requests for proposals (RFPs) for vendors including audio visual, destination management, catering, décor, transportation, and restaurants

• Travel domestically and internationally for site visits and meetings. Conduct contract negotiations, maintain budgets, deadlines, oversee marketing initiatives, and all on-site meeting management including staffing, vendor communications, group activities and catered events

• Pre-event communication with delegates as well as speakers and high-level attendees including politicians, celebrities and Supreme Court Justices and their staff and security

• Manage meetings team of six senior meeting planners and coordinators. Establish and recommend meeting-related policies and procedures to staff and members 2009-2012 Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), Chicago, IL Meetings Manager

• Researched, evaluated, and recommend future meeting locations. Negotiated hotel contracts, managed housing, catering, function space, audio visual, social events, and education

• Responsible for all aspects of housing management for all meetings. Main liaison with hotels and housing management companies and bureaus to ensure seamless reservation processes for attendees while monitoring attrition and possible financial liabilities

• Responsible for space allocation and management as well as assigning and adjusting space needs for all programs

• Conducted and assisted with all aspects of on-site management; including special events, room, A/V food

& beverage, trade shows, set up and handling issues as they arise, acting as the main contact with vendors and hotel staff

• Introduced, managed, and operated virtual education meetings using platforms such as GoToMeetings, Cvent, and Webex

• Live streamed our annual meetings sponsored tradeshow, where we produced and scheduled sponsors product in short live clips moving from booth to booth

• Created, sent, and evaluated requests for proposals (RFPs) for vendors including audio visual, destination management, décor, transportation, catering companies, and restaurants

• Managed meetings team of four planners and assistants. Established and recommended meeting related policies and procedures for staff and members

2006-2009 Show Me Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ Senior Account Executive

• Sold, planned, and managed meetings, special events, spouse programs, dine-arounds and incentive trips ranging in size from 10 to 5,000 guests with budgets ranging over $1,000,000

• Worked with production companies, clients, and internal teams to provide virtual experiences during meetings and events through live simulcast and pre and post-recorded messaging

• Supervise and direct a team of five associates to ensure proper execution of events

• Responsible for proposal writing, theme and décor development, site selection, budget development and management, menu selection, entertainment procurement, audio visual coordination, event staffing including labor union management, and transportation coordination

• Solicited bids and negotiated all vendor contracts

• Managed event onsite to ensure proper execution and adherence to timelines and company standards Managed client relationships, including maintaining and growing client base

• Represented company domestically and internationally at trade shows and industry functions PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

• PGI / TBA Global Events, Scottsdale, AZ, Senior Sales and Operations Manager 2005-2006

• Pointe South Mountain Resort, Phoenix, AZ Director of Operations (In-House DMC) 2003-2005

• The Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI Special Events Manager, 2000-2003

• Maritz Travel Company, Dearborn, MI Program Coordinator 1996-2000 CERTIFICATIONS AND EDUCATION

• Certified Meetings Manager, (CMM), Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, April 2017

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