Natalie Okonkwo

Profile

Senior Event Planner with 9 years of experience producing corporate conferences, nonprofit galas, and multi-day trade shows across the Midwest and East Coast. Specializes in end-to-end event logistics, vendor contract negotiation, and on-site production management for audiences of 50 to 4,000. Reduced average per-attendee costs by 18% over three years while consistently achieving post-event satisfaction scores above 94%.

Work Experience

Senior Event PlannerMar 2020 - Present

Meridian Collective, Chicago, IL

Orchestrated 22 corporate conferences and product launches annually, managing budgets totaling $3.2M and delivering all events on time and within 2% of projected spend.
Negotiated multi-year contracts with 14 preferred vendors — including AV, catering, and venue partners — securing an average 23% cost reduction compared to prior single-event rates.
Built and led a 6-person event coordinator team, introducing a project-management workflow in Asana that cut internal planning cycle time from 11 weeks to 7 weeks.

Event PlannerJun 2016 - Feb 2020

Brightstone Hospitality Group, Milwaukee, WI

Planned and executed 35+ events per year — including annual galas, client appreciation dinners, and regional trade shows — for a client roster spanning healthcare, finance, and tech sectors.
Grew repeat client revenue by 41% over two years by introducing post-event debrief reports and a 90-day follow-up engagement cadence.
Managed a $1.1M annual event portfolio, identifying sponsorship opportunities that offset client costs by an average of $62,000 per flagship event.

Event CoordinatorAug 2014 - May 2016

Lakeview Conference Center, Evanston, IL

Coordinated logistics for 120+ on-site events annually, including room setup, catering orders, and AV configuration for groups of 20 to 800 attendees.
Streamlined vendor check-in procedures, reducing average setup time by 35 minutes per event and eliminating $8,400 in annual overtime charges.
Assisted senior planners in sourcing and evaluating 3 new catering vendors, resulting in a 17% improvement in post-event food-and-beverage satisfaction scores.

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