Anika Jackson

Experience

• 

  Wheaton Park District

  Oct 2010 - Oct 2011

  Corporate Event Manager

  • Directed 10-member team to plan & execute corporate meetings, events & golf tournaments • Built event strategy and directed activities related to sales, budgeting, contract negotiations, vendor management, marketing & social media• Grew sales by 30% in less than 12 months, securing 75% of corporate business via solicitations

• 

  Sodexo

  Oct 2011 - Sept 2014

  Director Of Catering

  • Managed end-to-end catering operations for $3M annual campus event planning & catering dept.• Administered annual operating budgets of $1M and supervised 22 employees• Directed events for fundraising, promotional, and commencement events attended by 5K+ guests• Facilitated meetings to review event orders, specialty menus, dietary restrictions & floor plans • Coordinated 3rd-party vendors; floral, linen & AV equipment to prioritize VIP events• Spearheaded Fueling Innovation fundraising campaign that generated $250M in donations for the university Show less

• 

  The Boss Network

  May 2014 - May 2017

  Director Of Conference Services (Independent Consultant)

  • Directed 5-person event teams in each city; led strategy, staffing, programming, timelines, $250K annual budget, venue & speaker selection• Managed catering, vendors, corporate sponsorships, marketing, and social media• Designed & directed annual 4-city professional women’s conference, The Ladies That Lead Tour with ~300 guests per city • Curated in-person events such as receptions, panels, one-on-ones, meet-and-greets, and keynote presentations from Tina Knowles & Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child that averaged 200 guests• Partnered with Caterers in each city to develop unique food menus based on the culture of each locale• Negotiated lower pricing while remaining on brand, which reduced tour budget by 8% Show less

• 

  Aramark

  May 2014 - May 2016

  Director of Events and Catering

  • Promoted to lead 23-person team, $1M annual operating budget, VIP event strategy• Created brand messaging that supported new $2M catering & events operations • Managed full event lifecycle; strategy, event planning, public relations, and promotions, partnering with 10 Exec. Assistants at the Office of the President to ensure seamless event planning & execution• Designed, planned, and hosted 3K annual events for faculty and students, including conferences, university recruiting programs, upscale events for donor galas, and The Office of the President & Board of Trustees Show less

• 

  Flik Hospitality Group at Blue Cross Blue Shield

  Mar 2017 - Nov 2021

  Director of Events and Catering

  • Managed all catering & event operations & oversaw team of 20 to execute 5K+ events annually, including in-person and digital business & board meetings• Oversaw $5M budget, timelines, staffing, and communications• Hired, led & scaled team of 13 Event Planners & Exec. Assistants to execute 40+ meetings & events per day, acting as mentor for internal teams, resulting in world-class customer engagement• Revitalized client’s vision & turned around previously struggling event operations and catering department, increasing on premise-catering sales by 300% from $1.7M to over $5M• Implemented new EMS reservation software as company’s primary source for Conference center and Catering reservations that reduced planning time & aligned communication between each department• Created innovative event strategies & best practices for regional Event planning & Catering depts.• Established FLIK as training center for catering, leadership, ops. management & client satisfaction• Presented budgets to Blue Cross C-suite & sales presentations to Sr. leaders, earning approvals• Designed trade shows & fundraisers for Affordability Cures; owned $2M budget & vendor relations for linen, floral, furniture, soft seating, lounge furniture, staging, banner hangs & lighting Show less

• 

  Compass Group at MSFT

  Nov 2021 - now

  Regional Director of Events & Experiences

  • Manage team of 200 event professionals, including Co-Directors of Operations, Director of Event Planning & Executive Chef to oversee 21K regional events as key member of Executive leadership• Direct event management processes, vendor relationships, and a $18M annual budget to produce in-person meetings, virtual conferences & trade shows to optimize customer experience for 3,000+ guests• Reduce operational spend to 2% of budget (subsidy) in Q2 ’23 and decreased overall subsidy by 80%• Partner with key stakeholders to build, execute & analyze event metrics to drive event improvements • Scale event operations by integrating Momentus & Enterprise EMS that have consolidated department’s catering, décor, and A/V communications and reduced client response time by 70%• Recipient, Seattle Emerald City Applause Award for creative events, 2022 & 2023• Oversee events that earned 99% success rate based on attendee feedback during tenure Show less