Event Business Manager

Fullsight•Troy, MI

23d•Hybrid

About The Position

SAE Industry Technologies Consortia (ITC), Performance Review Institute (PRI), and SAE International (SAE) deliver shared solutions to industry's common challenges. SAE International's engineering events bring together mobility professionals to explore ideas and address industry challenges. These events include WCX, COMVEC, AeroTech, and other conferences and expos. The Event Business Manager is an entrepreneurial-minded manager who works with conference production, marketing, and sales teams to elevate key events and shape their future growth. The role owns the financial and business performance of assigned events or portfolios, develops strategies for attendance and revenue growth, and leads event planning and program strategy. It builds relationships with industry stakeholders, speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors; coordinates with internal teams on marketing and onsite execution; and uses market intelligence and post-event feedback to guide future plans.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, communications, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
At least 6 years of experience in event production or management with direct revenue accountability.
Demonstrated success growing event attendance and revenue.
Strong commercial instincts and the ability to consider audience experience and long-term brand health.
Experience managing budgets, forecasts, and margin analysis.
Ability to build trust with sponsors, partners, speakers, and internal teams.
Ability to drive change and continuous improvement without always having direct authority over every involved function.

Nice To Haves

Experience with engineering- or technology-focused events.

Responsibilities

Own the profit and loss for an assigned event or portfolio, including budgets, revenue targets, and profit margins.
Work with sales and marketing managers to set attendance and revenue targets, develop promotion and sales strategies, and personally manage relationships with key accounts and speakers.
Research and develop each event's plan and go-to-market strategy, evaluating opportunities such as new tracks, co-located events, industry partnerships, geographic expansion, and format changes.
Partner with content developers and advisory groups to shape keynote and panel strategies that keep events differentiated and relevant to target industries.
Establish session topics and themes, recruit key speakers, and write sales and marketing briefs that support sponsorship and paid-attendance sales while meeting production schedules.
Track competitor events, industry trends, and attendee and exhibitor feedback to identify risks and opportunities.
Set attendee acquisition and retention goals and priorities with the marketing team, monitor registration pacing, and adjust tactics as needed.
Serve as the primary relationship owner for industry stakeholders, advisory committees, tentpole speakers, and key exhibitors and sponsors.
Coordinate with operations teams to align the onsite experience with the event's strategic vision and attend onsite to manage VIP relationships.
Use onsite focus-group feedback, post-event survey data, and advisory-group recommendations to inform the following year's strategy.