Michele Snock, CMM
Manager, finance learning and development programs
Cisco Systems Inc.
San Jose, Calif.

PAST Snock transitioned out of the meetings industry in late April while this article was under way, but her recognition as a CMI Changemaker comes from 20 years in meetings management, most recently as Cisco's global manager, meeting services. Before Cisco, she spent six years with Advanced Micro Devices, four years with Conference Planners (now part of George P. Johnson Co.), and started her career in the hotel industry.

CRED At Cisco, Snock is credited with restructuring the meetings department as a strategic organization, with consistent processes across the globe, and tracked cost savings in 2007 of $10 million. She was a member of the Meeting Competitive Advantage Forum and served on NBTA's Groups and Meetings Committee.

SUCCESS STORY Snock recalls a 1999 speaking invitation from the Northern California chapter of Meeting Professionals International. “They wanted someone to talk about the perspective of a finance organization in relation to meetings. I thought, ‘Wow, someone thinks I have something to say.’” While that first invitation led to many more — about 20, she estimates, since 1999 — she'll always remember that initial time at the podium. “People asked a lot of questions. It was exciting.”

GIVING BACK Snock plans to use her hospitality training (before she worked as a meeting planner, she spent 10 years in the hotel industry) as a volunteer for a three-day walk for breast cancer coming up in September. She'll be working in the food service area, sleeping in a tent, helping to support the walkers. “I love to serve,” she says.

ADVICE Snock advises anyone starting a strategic meetings management program to make a business plan and get an executive sponsor. “Without it, you're really dead in the water. You have to align your initiatives with those of your company. It's about saving money.”

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