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Kathy Lieberman

PAST Despite getting her start as a journalism major in college, Lieberman knew early on that she wanted a career in meetings. She has been in the events industry for the past 35 years—28 of which have been at GSK—and has seen the company and her role grow significantly. When SmithKline Beecham merged with Glaxo Wellcome in 2000 to form GSK, Lieberman and her staff of one quickly beca

CRED Lieberman was instrumental in getting an SMMP off the ground at GSK after the merger. She worked closely with the meetings team on the Glaxo Wellcome side to find commonalities and best practices and form a cohesive structure for the program. Now, she is focused on partnering with procurement to manage the supplier base, improve savings, and leverage total spend. The team, working under an outsourcing model, has a preferred hotel program for all meetings conducted in the U.S. and also uses preferred suppliers for group air, event management, and venue sourcing.

A-HA MOMENT One day Lieberman got a call from an admin who had signed a contract for a meeting and was stuck with a huge cancellation fee. It was a defining moment. “That was a real wake-up call for us as a team,” she says. “Even though we handled bigger programs, we could provide help to others with smaller meetings. We needed a higher, more strategic view of our total meeting package—not just the ones we had our hands on.”

FORWARD THINKING The event management team at GSK is taking a hard look at virtual meetings. “New technology will give us opportunities to shorten meetings or have more frequent meetings while minimizing the travel component.” Her team is working with its internal production team and meeting sponsors to integrate virtual components into meetings.

Next Page: Rosemary Mueller
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