Connect Corporate has recently released their 2017 40 Under 40 list of Meeting Architects and PCMA Canada West member, Alexis Kereuk, has made the list of honourees. Connect Corporate describes those recognized as individuals “in a class of their own dreaming up, designing and building a new future for corporate meetings and events”.
40 Under 40: Alexis Kereluk, ConnectSeven Group
Alexis Kereluk, BBA, 32, works in Vancouver, British Columbia, as partner of ConnectSeven Group. As a 2017 40 Under 40 honoree, Kereluk discusses her passion for the events industry.
*Connect with Kereluk on Twitter.
What I do: I am a partner in ConnectSeven Group, a new age, unconventional firm focusing on regional and national development. We provide event management, research, strategies, and consulting for tourism and socio-economic organizations. I am in charge of strategy and research for all of our clients. Every event we do starts with a foundation built on strategic research; best practices; trends in tourism, meetings and our client’s specific industry; and thorough stakeholder collaboration through surveys and interviews.
How I got here: My career path took me from event promotions to hotels through the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, when I finally discovered meetings and conferences. It was through the next five years when I started to realize meetings and events were a lot less about a fancy pillow to sleep on and much more about economic and global development. This realization resparked my passion for the industry and drove me toward destination consulting where I could lead projects that worked to enhance MICE and leisure tourism globally. Being a partner in an organization finally came to fruition after attending PCMA 2016 where I ran into an old colleague who was focusing on events related to tourism and economic development.
My greatest career accomplishment: There is no doubt that my greatest business achievement is the formation of ConnectSeven Group. I am so excited to be focusing all of my time in industries I am passionate about: tourism, economic development and socio-economic issues. I wish I could say starting a business is simple, but it has been a challenging year with roadblocks, speed bumps and unexpected turns. However, I have a great business partner who I am proud to work with, and along with our challenges we have had great successes for year one. I look forward to growing this business and hopefully incorporating a nonprofit foundation in the future.
Impressive stats: I brought in more than $750,000 to my organization as an account manager in a previous position, and I was recognized as meeting planner of the year at another organization.
