Todd Zint, CPM, CMM Vice president, meeting and event marketing
NFP Insurance Services
Austin, Texas

PAST Three years ago, Zint started at NFP (which is a subsidiary of National Financial Partners Corp., based in New York) with a team of two meeting planners, supporting only the Austin distribution channels. But he had a vision of centralizing an NFP meeting-planning department into one fully integrated shared resource. Today, he heads a team of five who project manage, plan, and implement more than 100 meetings a year for the entire company.

CRED To consolidate the department, Zint drew on past experiences, including his 2001 acquisition of the CMM designation.

“When I first moved into management, one of my greatest challenges was letting go of the meeting logistics and transitioning into thinking and acting strategically,” he says, noting that part of the CMM coursework involved writing an internal SMMP. “Now,” he says, “SMMP is my day-to-day priority, while empowering my team members to do what they do best. My quarterly goals emphasize improved processes and cost saving initiatives.”

FORWARD-THINKING Zint would like eventually to oversee the company's travel management program, which NFP has recently launched companywide. “Meetings and travel are closely tied in many ways,” he says. “For example, integrating online travel and procurement opportunities encompasses both areas. Managing this change is a natural progression for my career.”

ADVICE Always think about what you can bring to the job next. “In each position that I've worked, I would reach a point where I realized that in order to move up, I needed to provide value and demonstrate that value in a strategic manner.”

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