Suzanne Hackman, CDME, works in St. Petersburg, Florida, as vice president of business development at Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater. As a 2019 15 Over 50 honoree, Hackman discusses her passion for the events industry.
What I do: I support and motivate a team of incredible sales managers that work hard to make sure St. Petersburg and Clearwater are at the top of meeting and event planners minds when they start to work on their next conference or event.
How I got here: I started my career working in room service while going to college at USF. I guess you could say I got bit by the “hospitality bug” and decided I wanted to be in sales. After graduation, I got a job as a catering sales manager and, from there, on to a sales manager. When I started at the CVB I was hired as a senior sales manager in 2005. In 2007, I was promoted to director and then, in 2018, vice president of business development.
Greatest career accomplishment: I am proud to have served on two Super Bowl bid committees and was also on the committee that secured the 2012 RNC in Tampa Bay. Partnering with Visit Tampa Bay and presenting a united destination was both fun and educational
Specific improvement I’ve made: I like to believe that I helped put St. Pete/Clearwater on the map as a meetings destination. When I first started at the CVB in 2005, the meetings team consisted of three people. Now, we are a team of nine with a satellite office in Washington, D.C. Our sports and events team has seven amazing managers and our Latin American sales team has three managers.
What I am working on now: One of our main goals is to focus on soliciting RFPs for industry events that we typically attend yearly and securing them to come to our destination in future years. We will host Connect Florida in 2019 and Connect Med/Tech in 2020. You can travel to 100 shows a year, meet with clients, and show them pictures and videos of your destination, but there is no better way to feature your destination than getting the planners in your destination for an event!
What I do outside of work: We are renovating our home slowly so that, when we retire, it is our dream home. I enjoy working out and have a boot-camp gym I love, and I also enjoy biking with my husband downtown on weekends, hiking when we are on vacation, and walking around new destinations I travel to.
