Patty Reger, CMM Manager, meetings and conventions
Johnson & Johnson Sales & Logistics Co.
Skillman, N.J.

PAST Reger developed an SMMP at her former company, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, which was purchased in 2006 by Johnson & Johnson, and the two companies' departments were integrated into one. “Every corporation has its own processes in place, and it makes sense that the group we joined had its own way of doing things,” she says. And an SMMP wasn't part of that way.

Back in 2004, with Pfizer, Reger was the epitome of the SMMP advocate. “I wrote my business plan for my CMM on creating an SMMP in my former company. Then I sold the plan up through senior management and gained approval to develop and lead a cross-functional team to develop the plan into reality,” she says. “We launched the team, and in its first year, we achieved 15 percent savings over the previous year.”

SUCCESS STORY She applied for and was accepted to Meeting Professionals International's board of directors and became involved in public speaking and teaching. “Taking control of my destiny and finding a way to remain relevant in my career and life has been my greatest career achievement.”

FORWARD-THINKING Reger is working on employing some SMMP elements when it makes sense. “I feel we're making progress again, moving forward, and gaining some traction,” she says. She also requested and was granted an active role in the development of content for an 800-person national sales meeting as a way to “employ the strategy part of my skill set.” Not only did the end result lead to “an incredible sense of personal satisfaction,” but kudos that couldn't be matched when her vice president said to her, “You have just completely redefined the role of meeting planning as we know it.”

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