Sean Ducey
Director of Conferences and Special Projects @University Of Portland
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WORK HISTORY
Director of Conferences and Special Projects @University Of Portland
Portland, OR, US
Referred into initial role by industry contact to work in fast-paced department handling 14,500 events per year that range in size from attendees and in annual spend. Proposed then was accepted into new role handling development of summer programming and conferences. Supervise 13 part-time employees, direct budget, and manage 20-client portfolio including 75 events / summer. Set up dedicated revenue pipeline that fills facility space vacancies during summer break. Currently plan, manage, implement, and execute events for clients including intern housing program, on-campus lectures, dining, rooming, classes, graduation, pre-college program, and reunions. Provide direction to teams including championing event operations best practices, efficiency, and customer service while also managing / overseeing all vendor operations / contracts.* Increased revenues 102% YOY growth by recruiting new business clients during summer months that booked empty facilities; signed the university’s largest client for summer conferences.* Saved over 5 years by sourcing a developer to create proprietary name pronunciation software; avoided having to source new provider after previous vendor went out of business.* Created opportunity set to launch in 2024 that showcases university to prospective students; realized value in providing on-site experience allowing potential students to explore campus during summer months, and won leadership approval.* Generated in Y1 of new internship housing program which enabled students from other institutions who have internships within Portland area to reside on campus.* Slashed inefficient and ineffective staff time spent in meetings and duplicate phone calls by creating a shared document system and structure where all team members can access accurate and up-to-date information.
EDUCATION
University of Portland
Bachelor of Science, Organizational Communication
University of Portland
Master of Business Administration - MBA, Operations and Entrepeneurship
ABOUT SEAN DUCEY
I got my career start in the events industry while still in college when I joined the Campus Program Board, which planned events for undergraduate students. During my freshman year, I planned the school’s largest dance in a downtown venue and fell in love with coordinating details. Nothing beats the thrill of seeing all of the vision and planning come to life during the event!Now, I plan events both big and small, and one of the best parts of my work is using my skills as a critical thinker to quickly strategize solutions to immediate event needs or in anticipating future potential roadblocks. Because I work on projects and look at ways to make things more efficient and effective, my career “superpower” has become creating long-term, strategic, and sustainable fixes that deliver events that meet or exceed client expectations.For me, I want to impress my clients so I want to do all I can to wow them. As a result, I have worked hard to create a very customer-centric approach that puts my clients at the center of all the work. This requires leveraging resources to come up with unconventional ideas that thrill and delight stakeholders.Additionally, through collaboration, I communicate with people involved in the project to understand how we can best work together to solve the problem or plan the event. I remember things about people and their story so that we can best work together in the future.But part of this job of being an event operations leader means making sure that things are done the right way the first time. This is the fruition of my years of experience acting as a process improvement and efficiency champion finding ways to standardize processes, eliminate redundancies, and boost the bottom line.Personally, I enjoy connecting project details and meeting new people on each project. Where I really thrive is when I get to figure out how all the puzzle pieces fit together to make it happen. Ilove connecting with people to hear their story and how they best work within the current project / event.
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