Casi Maynard, CASE, 37, works in Phoenix, Arizona, as senior director of global accounts at HelmsBriscoe. As a 2018 40 Under 40 honoree, Maynard discusses her passion for the events industry.
Connect with Maynard on Twitter and Instagram.How I got here: I’ve been in love with traveling since I was a kid. A monthlong trip to New Zealand and Australia at age 17 only cemented the fact that I knew I wanted travel to be a major part of the rest of my life. Majoring in hospitality management at Arizona State allowed me to experience multiple aspects of the meetings and travel industry, including DMC, CVB and hotel operations, and eventually led me to site selection and HelmsBriscoe by the time I was 24.
What I do: I assist my clients in finding the perfect venue and location for each of their different types of meetings and events. In addition, I also support my clients with negotiating contracts, and keeping them up to date on the latest industry trends and news. In a nutshell, I do my best to become a part of their team, so that we can work together as seamlessly as possible, and as if I’m right there in their own office.Greatest career accomplishment: I’m proud of the fact that I have achieved top producer status within HelmsBriscoe for the last eight years.
Impressive stats: One of my large national associations books their annual conference out about five years in advance. Like many other organizations, complimentary internet access in the meeting space has become a necessity for them for their future meetings. I’ve successfully been able to go back to those hotels that we already signed contracts with four and five years ago, when it wasn’t necessarily relevant at the time, to renegotiate on the association’s behalf the complimentary internet access they need. This savings has added up to about $30,000 for each year we renegotiated.What I do outside of work: If my husband and I aren’t traveling for fun, you’ll likely find me hanging out with our three rescue boxers. They are 5, 10 and 14 and each from a different rescue. The 10-year-old is deaf; the 14-year-old has pretty much lost all of her hearing; and the 5-year-old only had one ear when he came to us. Among the three, they’ve got one working ear! We love to help out with our local boxer rescue and other area animal rescue events and fundraisers when we get the chance. And yes, my dogs have their own Instagram too!
