David Twigger, 53, is the creative director and CEO of Vermilion Events, a Phoenix-based event planning, production, and destination management company. He's also the host and producer of the podcast Twigger Time, which delves into the world of special events, and has served on the local boards for NACE, ILEA, SITE, MPI, and more.
A quote from his nomination: "If you know David, you know he is the most approachable person in the industry. He is known as the 'voice of the little guy,' always trying to to get the small business credit for all of the work."
How I got here: "A roller coaster ride through the hospitality industry—starting with over 20 years on the hotel side; then third-party meeting planning; a dip into DMCs; and running, designing, and opening special event venues in Scottsdale and Las Vegas. I decided to go on it alone and launch my own company, Vermilion Events, in 2015."
Greatest career accomplishment: "Oh, this has changed as I have changed. I had several goals while on the hotel side that changed when I pursued other areas of our industry—but I think the greatest accomplishment was being able to make a difference in my own event industry community during the pandemic. But if we want to talk business, it was having three of the top and largest events in Phoenix under the planning umbrella of Vermilion Events all in the same year."
A specific improvement I’ve made: "I’d like to say that I’ve changed the voice of the 'little guy.' In every organization I am in, I stress to the boards or executives that they also need to listen to the little guy. Those are on the front lines of our industry day to day and have so much insight that often doesn’t get listened to."
The biggest change I've observed in the industry: "This can be summed up by one of my favorite quotes: 'Instant gratification takes too long.' The instant need for information, results, opinions, and feedback has drastically changed our industry—especially due to the fact that we can’t process it all, so our responses aren’t fully developed, and so on… and so on…"
What I do outside of work: "Travel, gaming (yes, even at 53!), and working on our little 1950s brick home. And now enjoying my special events-focused podcast, Twigger Time."
The career advice I'd give my younger self: "Stay in contact with as many as possible! I was told this by one of my first GMs and I didn’t take it to heart until much later."
Connect with Twigger on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
