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In 2022, AAE Speakers Bureau celebrates its 20th anniversary. One of the things we’ve learned in the last two decades is that a company is only as good as its people. Our team’s dedication to excellence over the past 20 years is what has allowed us to continue providing best-in-class service to our clients.
Around here, we like to call ourselves “the AAE family.” That’s something we do our best to live out, always keeping our people at the core of every decision we make. In that spirit, and to celebrate #AAE20th, I asked a few of my coworkers to share their reflections with clients like you on what it’s like working at AAE, lessons learned, favorite memories, and more.
In part one of this three-post series, our team describes what AAE Speakers is like as a workplace.
Edie Boan, Director of Event Logistics, has worked at AAE since 2012. She leads a team of logistics superstars who work around the clock to ensure that clients’ events are running smoothly from start to finish. She painted a clear picture of the overall experience of an employee from her perspective.
“AAE’s work environment is the best I’ve experienced in my entire career. Employees are treated with respect, ideas are welcomed, and teams meld together to create ideal workflow and function,” she said. “The company compensates everyone fairly for their skills, and each person truly loves their job and what they do.”
One of Edie’s team members, Logistics Manager Annie Joshua, joined AAE Speakers more recently, coming on board just last year. She explained that she’s already seeing that family environment lived out in her day to day work life.
“I honestly cannot call it a workplace; it is more of a family, where everyone cares and looks out for the other,” Annie said. “It truly is a place where we lift each other up, help each other grow, and provide support and encouragement.”
Before a client’s event can really take shape, perhaps the most important part of the event planning process is selecting the perfect keynote speaker. In her five years since joining AAE, Director of Talent Relations & Product Marketing has helped scores of event producers get it right. She shared what it’s like working in a fast-paced but supportive environment, where the entire team pushes themselves to deliver only the best results for their clients.
“AAE is a fun place to work with supportive colleagues and a ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality,” she said. “Our jobs can be challenging, yet always rewarding and motivating thanks to an environment where teammates and leadership acknowledge and reward individual efforts.”
A big part of what makes that “work hard, play hard” mentality work so well at AAE is that it’s accompanied by synergy. Afterall, hard work without real direction can sometimes feel like banging your head against a wall. Contract Specialist Nova Coker, who works tirelessly to make the complicated world of event contracts simple for our clients, is more qualified than most to speak to the importance of synergy.
“At AAE, every department performs such different tasks, yet they all fit together seamlessly to create an incredible team focused on one goal,” she said.
The sentiments expressed by Edie, Annie, Marly, and Nova are anything but exclusive. A few other members of the AAE family were kind enough to chime in with their unique descriptions of what it’s like working here:
“Fun and inclusive with a family-like atmosphere. The motivation and collaboration within AAE is amazing to be a part of.” – Mandy, Vice President
“Family first.” – Hanna, Account Coordinator
“An extremely close-knit group of colleagues that feel genuine ‘ownership’ in the growth of the company.” – Lisabeth, Sr. Logistics Manager
Speaking as a member of the AAE family myself, I know that it takes every single one of us to create the healthy culture and excellence-driven environment that we’ve built here. It’s also clear that much of that work has to start at the top with our leadership team. Our Chief Operations Officer Margo Dunnigan uses the following words to describe AAE’s company culture over the years.
“AAE is a fun and supportive workplace,” she said. “It’s filled with individuals who have a standard of excellence and push each other to do their best work — but always leaving space to connect and laugh with one another.”
We’ve been a people-first company since the very beginning, and this has allowed us to deliver best in class service to our clients for 20 years. If you’d like to experience for yourself what it’s like to have the AAE team in your corner, contact us today. And be on the lookout for the next installment of this series, where we’ll hear about the lessons our employees have learned over the years.
