By Mary Tucker | Senior Communications and Content Manager | IAEE
When it comes to demonstrating the economic impact B2B events bring to their host cities, few professionals can match the prowess of Leslie Johnson. As Vice President of Sales and Event Experience at Visit Milwaukee, Leslie has just been honored with the IAEE Outstanding Marketing & Sales Award, a prestigious recognition that celebrates exceptional achievement in event revenue, attendance growth, sponsorship development, and customer service excellence.
Leslie’s award-winning performance speaks for itself: she shattered her 2024 goal by securing 287,000 hotel room nights – a staggering 117 percent of her target and the highest booking performance in Visit Milwaukee’s history. Her strategic vision helped launch the newly expanded $456 million Baird Center with 192 events and over 420,000 attendees in its inaugural year. Perhaps most impressively, she was instrumental in delivering the 2024 Republican National Convention, an event that generated $216.3 million in direct spending, $321.5 million in total economic impact.
But Leslie’s success extends far beyond impressive numbers. She has secured transformative legacy events including ASAE’s 2034 Annual Meeting (known as the “Super Bowl of Meetings”), Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2026 and TEAMS Conference & Expo 2027, creating a sustainable pipeline of business that will fuel Milwaukee’s hospitality economy for years to come.
Recognized as a Milwaukee Business Journal “Woman of Influence,” Leslie is celebrated for her collaborative leadership style and relationship-building mastery, earning a remarkable 4.95 out of 5 rating from meeting planners, with 100 percent indicating they would return to Milwaukee.
Leslie was presented the 2025 IAEE Outstanding Marketing & Sales Award this past December at Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Houston, Texas.
We sat down with Leslie to discuss her award-winning strategies, her approach to building lasting partnerships and what’s next for Milwaukee as a premier meetings destination.
You exceeded your 2024 hotel room night goal by 117 percent – the highest performance in Visit Milwaukee’s history! What strategic shifts or key decisions made this breakthrough possible?
Leslie: The biggest shift was committing fully to a long-term vision and then building a short-term plan that matched it. We didn’t just chase business. We identified the kinds of meetings that would elevate Milwaukee’s reputation, fill need dates and build momentum for years, then we aligned every sales and marketing decision to that strategy.
A huge part of this breakthrough was our sales team and the intentional relationships they built over time. This kind of record setting performance doesn’t happen through one big win. It happens through consistent trust building, being present, listening and showing planners that Milwaukee will support their event at every level. We also recognized that to meet our goals and keep pace with demand, we needed to invest in the right people. Adding additional talent to our sales team allowed us to deepen those relationships, broaden our outreach and pursue more opportunities with the level of attention each client deserves.
We also made a strategic commitment to increase our presence at major industry trade shows and show up in a way planners couldn’t miss. Working closely with our marketing team, we ensured our activations stood out, whether through bold visuals, immersive storytelling or experiences that gave planners a fresh look at what Milwaukee offers. In a competitive marketplace, visibility matters, and we wanted planners leaving those shows thinking, “I have to take a closer look at Milwaukee.”
The expansion of the Baird Center gave us a once in a generation story, and we treated it like one. We invested in tools that helped planners see what was new and possible, whether through immersive drone tours, refreshed messaging or more intentional storytelling around Milwaukee’s walkability, cultural energy and value.
Ultimately, breaking the record was about alignment: alignment around goals, alignment around message and alignment around how we show up consistently for planners. And once planners experience Milwaukee, we hear it all the time: Milwaukee surprises people in the best possible way. When those pieces click, results follow.
The 2024 Republican National Convention was a massive undertaking that delivered over $321 million in total economic impact. Can you walk us through your role in securing and executing this landmark event, and what lessons you learned that will shape future bids?
Leslie: The RNC was the ultimate example of what happens when a destination commits to something bigger than itself. My role was rooted in the sales and positioning side: ensuring Milwaukee’s value proposition was clear, competitive and compelling, and that the partners behind the bid were aligned and confident.
Securing an event of that size requires more than facilities and hotel inventory. It requires proof of capacity, community commitment and operational readiness. The most important work happens before the contract is signed: building the trust that Milwaukee can deliver on everything promised, even under the highest visibility and scrutiny.
One of the most powerful parts of the RNC experience was seeing the level of support from our local community, residents and business leaders, especially around the fundraising efforts required to host an event of this scale. It takes an extraordinary amount of coordination and investment to bring something like the RNC to a city, and Milwaukee showed up in a big way. The hospitality community, corporate partners, and residents all played an important role in creating the foundation needed for success and demonstrating to decision makers that Milwaukee would rally behind the event.
Executing the RNC reinforced several lessons I’ll carry into every major bid moving forward. First, transparency is power. Planners need clarity, and so do city partners. Second, preparation must be layered. You plan for the plan, and then you plan for what could disrupt the plan. Third, success is built on relationships, not transactions. This event required unity across local government, security, hospitality and community leaders, and the strength of those relationships is what made it possible.
The biggest takeaway is this: legacy is not automatic. You have to design it. And when you do, the ripple effect is enormous.
Your marketing approach is so creative. How do you balance innovation with proven tactics, and how do you decide which creative risks are worth taking?
Leslie: For me, creativity is not about being flashy. It’s about being memorable, intentional and making the planner’s job easier. The balance comes from understanding what never changes and what must evolve. Proven tactics like consistent sales outreach, credible data and strong partner collaboration will always matter. Innovation is how we deliver those fundamentals in a way that cuts through the noise and makes Milwaukee stand out in a crowded marketplace.
When we take creative risks, it’s always tied to strategy and audience. I ask three questions before we move forward:
- Does this support our positioning and messaging?
- Will it create a clear takeaway for planners?
- Can we execute it at the level our brand deserves?
If the answer is yes to all three, it’s worth pursuing.
A big part of our success is working closely with our marketing team to ensure every activation has a purpose, whether it’s showcasing the Baird Center expansion through immersive visuals, creating sponsor experiences that add energy and authenticity or finding unique ways to bring Milwaukee’s personality to life. In many cases, the goal is to make planners stop, engage and walk away thinking, “I didn’t expect that from Milwaukee.”
That’s also how we make innovation scalable. We test ideas, measure response and then repeat what works while continuing to evolve the experience. Creativity paired with strategy becomes a competitive advantage and that’s how we’ve been able to build momentum and make Milwaukee a destination planners can’t ignore.
You’ve secured incredible legacy events, like Expo! Expo! 2026, that will benefit Milwaukee for years to come. What is your strategy for winning these long-term commitments, and how do you convince decision-makers to choose Milwaukee over competing cities?
Leslie: Legacy events are won through patience, persistence and positioning. The strategy starts years before the bid is due. We build relationships early, understand what success looks like for the organization and then design a proposal that meets their objectives, not just ours.
For long-term commitments, trust is everything. Decision makers want confidence that the destination will not only deliver a successful event but will also support their organization’s goals year after year. So, we focus on being consultative and consistent. We listen carefully, we anticipate needs and we show up as true partners throughout the process.
We also lean into Milwaukee’s strengths in a way that feels tangible, not generic. We highlight the walkable downtown, the award-winning Baird Center, the affordability that protects attendance and exhibitor participation, and the authentic experiences that make meetings feel rewarding. But what often seals the deal is the feeling planners get when they engage with our team and our partners. Milwaukee delivers a level of service and hospitality that makes people feel supported.
And once decision makers come here and experience the city firsthand, we hear it constantly: Milwaukee surprises people. That element of unexpected delight, combined with strong logistics and strong relationships, gives us an edge against larger, more established destinations.
Ultimately, we win legacy events by proving that Milwaukee is not just a host city. We’re a committed partner and that’s what creates long term confidence.
Your Event Experience Team achieved a 4.95 out of 5 rating with 100 percent of planners saying they’d return to Milwaukee. In an industry where customer service can make or break a destination’s reputation, what specific practices or philosophies guide your approach to building these lasting relationships?
Leslie: Our philosophy is simple: planners should feel like we’re an extension of their team. Customer service isn’t a department. It’s a mindset. And it’s one of the most powerful differentiators a destination can have.
We focus on three core practices: responsiveness, consistency and care. Responsiveness means we don’t let questions sit. Consistency means planners receive the same high level of service regardless of their size and no matter who they interact with. And care means we pay attention to the details that matter to them, not just the ones that matter to us.
We also prioritize proactive support. We don’t wait for a problem. We anticipate needs, check in at the right moments and create an experience where planners feel confident that Milwaukee has their back.
The result is trust. And when trust is established, planners return. Not because it’s convenient, but because they know they’ll be supported, respected and set up to succeed.
