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Our Team
| Mary Carvotta, Partner |
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 Mary brings the perfect resume of experience, relationships and personality to Perfect World Events. Her background includes over 15 years of national event, meeting planning and destination management experience. Most recently, Mary served as president of a San Francisco destination management company, where she was responsible for leading a staff of up to 28 and directing the company's sales and implementation activities. Her client list of hundreds includes Mervyn's, General Electric, Jim Moran & Associates and Amgen to name just a few.
Prior to joining the professional world of destination management, Mary was planning more than 200 meetings and events annually in the role of vice president of marketing for Insurance Marketing & Management Services.
Mary's diverse background and unmatched experience is partnered with an enormous amount of creativity, knowledge and professionalism. A Bay Area resident since 1995, her hands-on knowledge of the region and its unique and diverse offerings enables her to develop customized programs tailored toward her clients' individual needs.
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| Dan Houdek, Partner |
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 Dan Houdek has spent the last 20 years servicing the most discriminating clientele. His experience includes all sides of the business, including over 14 years delivering on the exceptionally high standards of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. In the demanding luxury market, Dan has delivered hundreds of successful group programs by tailoring unique and exciting itineraries for his clients, many in the Fortune 500. Never satisfied with anything but the best, Dan helped build The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, into the only AAA Five Diamond resort in the Bay Area.
His broad experience includes a deep and intimate understanding of what the San Mateo Coast and Greater Bay Area (San Francisco, Wine Country, Silicon Valley) have to offer. His knowledge, exclusive arrangements and contacts offer many options that other destination experts don't know or can't offer - the result of years of research and an unceasing desire to create unforgettable experiences.
Valuing continual improvement and best practices, Dan continues to expand his expertise through his hospitality-related board and committee work. Dan is known in the industry for his integrity, his ability to listen carefully, research extensively and then deliver the right solution that matches the unique needs of the client.
Dan's enthusiasm for the uniqueness of the San Mateo Coast spills over into his personal life. A resident for many years, Dan supports the community through sports coaching, scouting, school fundraising and beach clean-ups.
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| Bob Elliott, Partner |
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 Bob brings more than 20 years of domestic and international event management experience to Perfect World Events. His credentials include having directed event management and implementation activities for a blue chip roster of clients including NBC Sports, Nike, National Basketball Association, Heineken, National Football League, AT&T, PGA Tour, Southwest Airlines, Major League Baseball, MasterCard, National Hockey League, Taylor Made, Toyota, Gatorade, American Airlines, Isuzu, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, and many others.
Bob has also played a key role in the creation and production of numerous made-for-television events including the PGA Touršs EMC Golf Skills Challenge (NBC), Compaq College Football All-Star Challenge (FOX), NFL Lineman Challenge (ESPN), First Plus Financial Celebrity Golf Invitational (FOX), and the Toyota Golf Skills Challenge National Championships (Syndication).
Bob has extensive business experience, serving as managing director of a joint venture between the NBA and Host Communications in Geneva, Switzerland, as well as establishing Pamplona Marketing and Events, a Dallas-based lifestyle marketing company. He has also served as president of Sport and Social Clubs of the U.S., an $18 million lifestyle marketing company with offices in 18 cities.
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| Marilee Sonneman, CMP, DMCP, Managing Director |
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 The consummate industry professional with over 15 years of event planning and sales experience, Marilee has a hand in all Perfect World Events programs from conceptualization through operations.
Marilee has more than nine years of San Francisco destination management experience and is considered one of the Bay Area's top event producers. Marilee is driven by an unswerving dedication to service and by an unwavering commitment to excellence.
A native and lifelong resident, Marilee has an unmatched knowledge of the beauty and bounty of Northern California. An alumna of San Francisco State University, Marilee pursued graduate and undergraduate studies in Classical Archaeology. She now applies her passion for excavating antiquities abroad to creating exceptional experiences at home for PWE's clients and guests.
Marilee is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and a Destination Management Certified Professional (DMCP). She is actively involved in Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the Association of Destination Management Executives (ADME), the Contact DMC Group, and other industry organizations.
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| Lisa Anderson, Director of Finance |
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Lisa brings more than 20 years of accounting and auditing experience to Perfect World Events. Prior to joining the PWE team, Lisa served as the chief financial officer of a $50 million company that owned and operated multi-facility continuing care retirement communities. In this capacity Lisa directed the firm's accounting, finance and human resources departments.
Before that she was an auditor for the FDIC, a corporation that insures bank deposits and PACCAR, Inc., a diversified, multi-national company engaged in the manufacturing and financing of heavy duty vehicles.
Lisa's extensive experience provides our valued clients with strong financial and reporting mechanisms designed to work in concert with our event operations department.
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Kaitlyn Winkler, Creative Services Manager |
 Kaitlyn comes to Perfect World Events from a DMC background where she gained intensive experience in special event planning and tour management. Kaitlyn’s encyclopedic knowledge of Bay Area venues, restaurants, attractions and vendors plays a key role in PWE’s ability to create uniquely customized experiences for our clients and their guests.
One of her passions is furthering the Green Movement. She is considered on of the foremost DMC experts in developing environmentally friendly tours, activities and events.
Kaitlyn received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication from San Francisco State, graduating cum laude. On her free time, Kaitlyn likes to pursue her hobby in photography and exploring all of the Bay Area’s outstanding offerings.
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| Isabella Blass, Senior Operations Manager |
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 Isabella brings to Perfect World Events more than 12 years of progressive experience in marketing and event planning and has extensive experience working with biotech and technology companies.
Before joining PWE, Isabella worked for a major Bay Area incentive company where she planned and implemented comprehensive programs throughout the United States.
Prior to living in San Francisco, Isabella lived in Washington DC; she was born and raised in beautiful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In her spare time Isabella loves to travel, enjoys cooking and wine and is interested in world affairs and is an advocate of the green movement.
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| Jordan Le Boeuf, Senior Operations Manager |
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 Jordan brings to Perfect World Events over 18 years of comprehensive operational hospitality experience, including nine years of San Francisco DMC experience. While proficient in all aspects of program planning and special event implementation, Jordan’s is considered on of the nation’s top transportation experts, having flawlessly executed complex transportation services for groups as large as 15,000 guests.
Through his distinguished career, Jordan has worked to bring to life exceptional special events for some of the world’s top corporate, incentive and association clients. Jordan's easy going personality, client-focused orientation, and unmatched attention to detail, make him one of the most sought-after program managers in Northern California.
Born and raised in Northern California, Jordan enjoys sharing the unique history of the area with visiting clients. When he’s not directing flawless programs for Perfect World Events’ top clients, Jordan enjoys road trips throughout the back roads of the Bay Area, as well as traveling to hard to reach countries around the world and a passionate love of professional sports.
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| Andi Wilkie, Consultant |
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 Andi brings over 7 years of meeting and event planning experience to Perfect World Events. Andi worked for Fortune 100 Wachovia and Bank of America executing their many meetings and incentive programs. Most recently, Andi worked for a San Francisco-based destination management company where she worked with clients to develop creative and exciting events and activities. Some of her major clients included BMW, Mary Kay and Wachovia Securities.
Andi has a wealth of knowledge of what clients are looking for and how to obtain the extraordinary. Her natural Southern hospitality combines well with her in-depth knowledge of Northern California locations and venues. Andi strives for perfection and will bring that to each Perfect World Events program.
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| Katy Grant, Consultant, Event Alchemy |
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Katy Grant is one of the Bay Area's most experienced and sought-after event planners. Katy brings a unique energy and commitment to successful events down to the last detail. Her excellent communication skills and extremely energetic spirit singles her out as one of the best event planners you will find in this business.
After graduating Cum Laude from California Polytechnic University, Katy began her career as the event lead on the Microsoft Office and Windows 95 launch with a 76-city road show across the U.S. At McGettigan Meetings Plus in the Bay Area, she served as a Director of Operations after producing and successfully maintaining up to 25 accounts per year. Katy expanded her experience by joining the high tech firm, Commerce One, as Senior Manager of Marketing Events where Katy and her team produced multiple worldwide user conferences and dozens of seminars, sponsorships, web programs and internal events. Katy began her own event planning consultancy in 2003 and is a partner in Event Alchemy, an event planning company which specializes in strategy, planning and implementation of corporate meetings and events
Katy is active in triathlon competitions and fundraising campaigns for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Katy lives in Walnut Creek with her husband and is the proud parent of a new baby daughter, Morgan.
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| Kenny Watanabe, Consultant, kdub, inc. |
Kenny has worked with Perfect World Events since our inception and handles all our client-related creative services and IT needs. Kenny has created every imaginable printed piece including thousands of logos, invitations, customized menus and comprehensive conference materials for our clients.
He has also creates customized websites for conference and activity registration and serves as a liaison between our clients and venues with regard to IT-related services such as wireless access, computer networks, printing, remote server access and other technology related issues.
With over 20 years of graphic design work and 15 years of IT related work experience, Kenny has helped both Perfect World Events and our clients in both areas. Kenny graduated from the University of Utah and is an active alumni at their sporting events around the country.
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