Back to the full list of 20 changemakers

Debbie Andersen: Senior Manager, Americas Meetings & Conventions

PAST Debbie Andersen began her career at Dade Behring in 1997 as an administrative assistant in the sales organization, moved into the meetings department 18 months later, and took the reins of that department in 2005 as manager of meetings and conventions. Two years and one corporate acquisition later, Andersen assumed her current role as senior manager, Americas meetings & conventions, for Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.

CRED Andersen has been instrumental in developing the company’s SMMP, having implemented online registration and centralized sourcing and planning of meetings. She also led the development of a mobile marketing program used throughout the United States and Canada, which has been an invaluable tool for sales reps in demonstrating the company’s equipment.

SUCCESS STORY At Dade Behring, she helped steer her department through bankruptcy and reorganization and then total corporate integration when the company was acquired by Siemens. “Keeping a positive attitude and continuing to move forward as you go through those major changes as a corporation was a big accomplishment,” she says. Through branding changes, integration challenges, and organizational shifts, Andersen has managed to bring her team together and provide a cohesive structure for meetings management within their new division of Siemens.

FORWARD THINKING Andersen and her team have been focusing on a green meetings initiative for the past year that incorporates environmentally and socially conscious efforts while maintaining cost efficiencies. So far, they have worked with hotels to donate excess food, conserve energy, and reduce material use and will be expanding on these efforts in the future. Other goals include creating metrics for the meetings she manages and proving the return on objective for each event.

ADVICE “Regardless of whether you are on the planner or supplier side, take time to create and develop partnerships,” says Andersen. “That is something I pride myself on, and it works to everyone’s benefit. This industry is smaller than you think, and the knowledge out there is unbelievable. Share what you
know with others and be open to
suggestions and improvements.”

Next Page: Craig Ardis
Back to the full list of 20 changemakers