Patricia Kerr, CMP Director, distribution sales support
Manulife Financial Co.
Waterloo, Ontario

PAST Kerr joined Manulife in 1995 as a junior meeting planner after four years in a nonmeeting planning position at another financial services company.

CRED During her tenure, her department has grown from a one-person operation that handled one outsourced annual incentive program to a 15-member department that plans 300 meetings a year. A member of Financial & Insurance Conference Planners since 1995, she was elected to the board of directors in 2005 and is currently the organization's president.

SUCCESS STORY “I spearheaded a project in which we took a look at our annual meetings and tried to cut costs by negotiating multiyear deals,” says Kerr. “I remember sitting with senior management, telling them what I wanted to do, how much money we could save over a three-year period, and having them look at me and ask, ‘We can really do that?’ That was the first time that senior management looked at us as more than glorified party planners. It was a significant moment, and we've been able to build on it.”

FORWARD-THINKING Kerr is working on implementing a long-term, large-conference strategy. “Organizationally, we've gone from one incentive conference 10 years ago to six incentive conferences today. We're looking to see where we can find some synergy, not only from a cost perspective, but from a resource perspective.” For example, senior management staff spend 35 days a year attending the company's incentive programs, and she hopes that by changing the way that these conferences are structured and scheduled, that time can be reduced to seven days.

ADVICE “You need to have a passion for this profession. There are going to be days when you are up at 5 in the morning and don't go to bed until 3 the next morning. So you will either love this business or learn to hate it. And there's nothing wrong with you if do end up hating it, but developing that passion is what will separate the good from the not-so-good planners.”

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