Donna Swenson
BankAtlantic
What She Does: Swenson plans anything from officer's meetings and luncheons to awards ceremonies and employee appreciation events for one of the leading banks in the state, BankAtlantic. In total, she plans about 20 events a year for over 2,400 employees.
Staff: One assistant
Career Path: After college, Swenson worked in the travel industry selling group tours, and then moved to the hotel business working for Hilton in Chicago. She then began working at Motorola's world headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, where she created an internal event management department and began planning and managing high-level global meetings and events. She has executed meetings and events in more than 30 countries on five continents. Although Swenson has been with BankAtlantic for little over a year, she brings over 15 years' experience to the table.
Biggest Job Challenge: "Managing time is definitely a challenge. This is an extremely fast-paced business and there's a great deal of information to communicate in a short amount of time."
What are the biggest events you do for BankAtlantic?
The company has three major events: Red Carpet Night, an appreciation event for all the employees (over 2,400); the Wow! Support Gala for about 1,000 employees who support the bank's branch locations; and the Chairman's Club event for about 1,400 associates who have direct contact with bank customers and for other sales employees.
Where do you draw your inspiration and ideas?
I get ideas from many resources such as surfing the Internet, researching trade articles, and renewing earlier experiences and successes. Sharing with friends in the business and building new relationships within the industry are also excellent ways to keep abreast of what's new. As a member of Meeting Professionals International, I attend several educational conferences and meetings each year, which are a great source for learning.
How have corporate events changed?
Hospitality budgets were high in the 90's but have leveled off since 2000. Ironically, with lower budgets come companies with higher expectations. The event wow factor is extremely important along with an agenda of purpose, focus, fun, and education. As planners, we are accountable to be more creative and maintain a consistent track record for producing successful, quality, and on-budget events.
What are your main goals when putting an event together?
To produce the best experience and stay within the budget. To make an event work, you learn to expand [the budget] in some areas while cutting it in others. But you can't let it drive what you do. Small things, such as making sure parking is complimentary, is just as important to ensuring your guests have a great time.
BankAtlantic recently acquired its own arena, formerly the Office Depot Center. How has that benefited your job?
It's wonderful to have our own venue. Employees are very proud of the arena and the visibility of the BankAtlantic name. It's the only other venue, besides the Broward County Convention Center, that can accommodate the entire company.
For this year's Red Carpet Night, the CEO's presentation featured a unique entertainment element involving ice. How was that conceived?
"The theme this year was Mission Possible, and we wanted a creative way to introduce our C.E.O. Alan Levan, transporting him from a video piece that was shown earlier, to the live stage. I worked with Mona Meretsky of COMCOR Event and Meeting Production Inc., who proposed that we "freeze" Levan in a chamber of ice on stage and then have him carved out of it to go with the theme", she says. They hired a company of ice sculptors called Fear No Ice that use chain saws to sculpt and carve to the beat of high-energy music. "After ensuring Levan's safety, we went ahead with the presentation, which added an element of surprise to the evening. Everyone was standing, clapping and cheering, as he stepped out of the block of ice to greet everyone."
—Vanessa Goyanes
Posted 02.16.06
BankAtlantic
What She Does: Swenson plans anything from officer's meetings and luncheons to awards ceremonies and employee appreciation events for one of the leading banks in the state, BankAtlantic. In total, she plans about 20 events a year for over 2,400 employees.
Staff: One assistant
Career Path: After college, Swenson worked in the travel industry selling group tours, and then moved to the hotel business working for Hilton in Chicago. She then began working at Motorola's world headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois, where she created an internal event management department and began planning and managing high-level global meetings and events. She has executed meetings and events in more than 30 countries on five continents. Although Swenson has been with BankAtlantic for little over a year, she brings over 15 years' experience to the table.
Biggest Job Challenge: "Managing time is definitely a challenge. This is an extremely fast-paced business and there's a great deal of information to communicate in a short amount of time."
What are the biggest events you do for BankAtlantic?
The company has three major events: Red Carpet Night, an appreciation event for all the employees (over 2,400); the Wow! Support Gala for about 1,000 employees who support the bank's branch locations; and the Chairman's Club event for about 1,400 associates who have direct contact with bank customers and for other sales employees.
Where do you draw your inspiration and ideas?
I get ideas from many resources such as surfing the Internet, researching trade articles, and renewing earlier experiences and successes. Sharing with friends in the business and building new relationships within the industry are also excellent ways to keep abreast of what's new. As a member of Meeting Professionals International, I attend several educational conferences and meetings each year, which are a great source for learning.
How have corporate events changed?
Hospitality budgets were high in the 90's but have leveled off since 2000. Ironically, with lower budgets come companies with higher expectations. The event wow factor is extremely important along with an agenda of purpose, focus, fun, and education. As planners, we are accountable to be more creative and maintain a consistent track record for producing successful, quality, and on-budget events.
What are your main goals when putting an event together?
To produce the best experience and stay within the budget. To make an event work, you learn to expand [the budget] in some areas while cutting it in others. But you can't let it drive what you do. Small things, such as making sure parking is complimentary, is just as important to ensuring your guests have a great time.
BankAtlantic recently acquired its own arena, formerly the Office Depot Center. How has that benefited your job?
It's wonderful to have our own venue. Employees are very proud of the arena and the visibility of the BankAtlantic name. It's the only other venue, besides the Broward County Convention Center, that can accommodate the entire company.
For this year's Red Carpet Night, the CEO's presentation featured a unique entertainment element involving ice. How was that conceived?
"The theme this year was Mission Possible, and we wanted a creative way to introduce our C.E.O. Alan Levan, transporting him from a video piece that was shown earlier, to the live stage. I worked with Mona Meretsky of COMCOR Event and Meeting Production Inc., who proposed that we "freeze" Levan in a chamber of ice on stage and then have him carved out of it to go with the theme", she says. They hired a company of ice sculptors called Fear No Ice that use chain saws to sculpt and carve to the beat of high-energy music. "After ensuring Levan's safety, we went ahead with the presentation, which added an element of surprise to the evening. Everyone was standing, clapping and cheering, as he stepped out of the block of ice to greet everyone."
—Vanessa Goyanes
Posted 02.16.06
