Hillary Smith, CMP, CSEP

Hillary Smith, CMP, CSEP, has a passion and proven track record of leading and cultivating cultures of creative thinkers. She is a multi-published award-winning visionary who has mastered the Design Thinking Process, a method of creative problem solving used by megabrands such as Starbucks, Amazon and Apple, to name a few. Hillary has over two decades of experience leading strategy in the meetings and events creative space. She is a true disruptor and change agent with the ability to follow through with tactical implementations. An entrepreneur at heart, Smith co-founded Koncept Events in 2008, a leading DMC in North America. There, she designed events for many Fortune 500 & 100 companies including McKinsey & Company, Bank of America, Proctor & Gamble, and Nike. A sought-after name in the Business Events industry, Koncept Events was named as one of the INC 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America in both 2018 and 2019. Around that time, PRA acquired Koncept Events and Smith was brought on to establish the centralized function of Strategy and Creative within the organization of over 250 people spanning across 29 destinations. Smith is most proud of the team she assembled and the process, tools and overall methodology that ultimately facilitate a safe space for dreamers, thinkers and doers to make an impact in an industry craving rich human experiences. Smith has an insatiable hunger for new ideas and she brings those ideas to life with the precision and exactness of a surgeon by always leading with the “why”. This ensures, that the Business strategy and objectives are intentionally and unexpectedly woven into the events she designs. With boundless curiosity and as a true ambassador of the creative process, Hillary continues to innovate alongside her team and clients as the Founder of Smith & Stone Creative Leadership & Consulting.