VP, Global Events

Location:
United States / Full-time Remote / Hybrid

Bentley Systems is seeking a Vice President, Global Events to architect, operationalize, and scale a world-class events organization for a global infrastructure engineering-software leader. Bentley software is used by civil engineers to support the design, build, operate and maintain lifecycle of the world’s critical infrastructure. This is a highly strategic leadership role responsible for transforming our events function into a unified, global center of excellence.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned leader with experience leading event teams in best-in-class B2B software. They should be able to showcase success building global, scaled event portfolios that drive brand elevation, thought leadership, customer engagement, and pipeline generation.

They will lead a global team, modernize operations, bring rigor to planning and budgeting, and elevate the strategic impact of events across the entire company.

• Build and lead a multi-year global event strategy that aligns with Bentley’s corporate priorities, go-to-market motions, and revenue targets.
• Transform decentralized events activities into a unified global function with consistent standards, measurement, and operating models.
• Serve as Bentley’s senior expert on event portfolio strategy—hosted, owned, third-party, partner, and virtual events.

You will own end-to-end strategy, planning, operations, and execution for:

• Flagship Hosted Events:
  Annual Going Digital Awards, regional field event series, executive programs, and an expanded Bentley user conference (2027).
• Third-Party Events:
  Tiered global event portfolio across industries, regions, and strategic product areas.
• Virtual Events & Digital Experiences:
  Webinars, digital summits, product-launch events, on-demand libraries, and hybrid extensions of major shows.

• Build a world-class operating model that covers annual planning, quarterly prioritization, vendor management, and a unified production framework.
• Implement scalable systems, processes, and dashboards across planning, design, budgeting, creative, production, measurement, and field enablement.
• Introduce standardized processes across booth design, modular architecture, logistics, content workflows, and attendee experiences.
• Own and manage a global events budget of $10–15M, ensuring optimal allocation of resources to maximize ROI and brand impact.
• Demonstrate fiscal responsibility and accountability, balancing innovation with cost efficiency to deliver world class experiences within financial parameters.
• Establish and monitor financial controls, forecasting, and reporting processes to maintain transparency and alignment with corporate objectives.
• Negotiate vendor contracts and partnerships strategically, driving value while safeguarding profitability.

• Partner deeply with Product Marketing, Brand, Field, Sales Engineering, and Executive Leadership to ensure the events program supports product narratives, customer success storytelling, industry thought leadership, and pipeline goals.
• Act as a trusted advisor to C-level leaders on event strategy, ROI, customer engagement, and executive communications.

• Build, mentor, and scale a global events team (20-30 team members) across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.
• Develop capabilities in strategic planning, program management, creative, production, field coordination, digital event operations, and analytics.
• Foster a culture of excellence, clarity, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Establish clear KPIs for each event type—brand metrics, pipeline metrics, attendance, engagement, customer satisfaction, and cost-per-outcome.
• Build a global event analytics capability to measure impact, optimize investments, and continuously refine the portfolio.
• Partner with Marketing Ops and Sales Ops on attribution, lead capture, follow-up orchestration, and ROI reporting.

• 12+ years of experience in event strategy, corporate events, or experiential marketing, with at least 5+ years leading a global or large…