Kelli Livers, CMP
Director, global meeting services
AIG Inc.
Houston

PAST Livers started out as an in-house planner at a small insurance company that was eventually acquired by AIG. She moved up through the ranks, and in January 2005 was chosen from among 60 meeting planners at the company to head a strategic meetings management program for AIG on a global level.

CRED In March 2006, she launched the SMMP for all U.S. offices. Just one year after the initial program rollout, her team was capturing between 80 percent and 85 percent of meeting spend — a huge accomplishment that she attributes in large part to strong support from senior management. Since that time, she has been fine-tuning and enhancing the technology and working to put global preferred-supplier agreements in place. In addition, she serves on the National Business Travel Association's Groups and Meetings Committee, where she participates in speaking engagements and contributes to white papers on strategic meetings management.

FORWARD-THINKING Livers put together a steering committee in the U.S. called the AIG Meeting and Event Travel Counsel, which consists of 15 department heads from each of AIG's major business units. The group gets together to evaluate preferred-supplier agreements domestically and make changes when necessary. “It's a commitment from these people. It gives them a voice in where our programs are going and ensures we have their buy-in and compliance.”

GIVE BACK This self-described animal lover rescues homeless animals and brings them into her family, which includes her three children and many dogs, cats, and horses.
“I won't mention how many animals we have because people would get scared,” she jokes.

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