MPI recently announced that Rachel Benedick would join the organization as chief revenue officer and executive vice president of the MPI Foundation. As she begins this exciting new chapter in her career (exciting for her and for MPI), we sat down with Benedick—who spent the past 25 years with VISIT DENVER, most recently as executive vice president of sales and service—to discuss the traits of great leaders, what the meetings industry should be paying more attention to and what she learned from the pandemic.

What traits define a great leader?

Courage to do the right thing even if it’s not popular. Decisiveness: Value others’ input but have the confidence to make the call. Honesty: People follow leaders because of their principles, not because it’s required. Passion: A leader is responsible for defining the culture; passionate leaders who believe in what they do inspire people. Caring: Listen, have empathy, invest in your team, get to know them; it will make a difference personally AND professionally. Fundamentals: Communicate clear goals, then empower your team with the resources they need and hold them accountable.

Can you tell us about an issue the meeting and event industry should be paying more attention to? 

I think what we all need to be paying attention to is technology and AI. Technology is changing day by day, minute by minute, and I think there are a lot of opportunities for our industry to embrace technology in an effort to help us to meet “better” and create more engaging events. There was a time when we all wondered if virtual meetings would take over and what we found is that they didn’t. However, virtual did and does allow us to access new audiences, engage in different ways and complement our in-person experience. 

The question is what’s next? AI and the metaverse are on the tips of tongues but we’re not yet seeing it being widely incorporated into the meeting and event space. Because this is newer technology now is the time to experiment, to try and learn. I think in the next five years technology is the thing that will continue to change how we meet the most. It won’t replace in-person because we’ve learned that type of connection will indeed stand the test of time, but the question is how can it augment the in-person experience and how can it refresh how we meet?

“There are a lot of opportunities for our industry to embrace technology in an effort to help us to meet ‘better’ and create more engaging events.”

What did the pandemic teach you about the meeting and event industry? 

So much. While the pandemic was devastating to our industry there were, and continue to be, silver linings. We had a chance to slow down, to reprioritize, to make change, to innovate. What made us successful pre-pandemic is not what will make us successful now. We learned things that cannot and should not be unlearned. We made a renewed commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion—our priorities changed. We also learned that our industry had a branding issue and that’s an opportunity for us to embrace.

 Workforce is one of largest issues facing the hospitality industry and so much of that is due to our brand. The people that are in this industry today are in it because they love it, it’s in their blood. Because if you didn’t love it, if it wasn’t in your blood, you got out. There will be other disruptors for sure, that much we know. It’s incumbent upon us to be sure we are better equipped to weather the next storm; we need to tell better stories, we need to build a better pipeline of future team members, we need to start younger with education around what the hospitality industry is and does. We’ve proven we’re here to stay and the future is bright.

What’s the best advice someone gave you?

Richard Scharf (president and CEO of VISIT DENVER) once told me, “The future belongs to those who are flexible.” You have to be willing to zig or zag when necessary. You may have planned and planned, but inevitably something will come up. That is when you have to breathe, pivot and remember that life’s biggest challenges provide the greatest rewards.

What are you passionate about?

The good in people, their stories and learning. I once heard Billie Jean King speak, and she had amazing words to live by: Always keep learning and keep learning how to learn. As a leader, you can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders; but realizing that we are all students of this thing we call life is pretty powerful.