SAEM Alumna Promoted to Lead Position at Event Management Software Company Alumni Profile
Meet Megan Mussomeli
- Job Title & Employer
- Lead, Strategic Projects & Project Management Office, Cvent
- Major/Program
- Sports, Arts & Entertainment Management
- Minor
- Dance and Business Management
- Graduation
- December 2009
- College Activities
- SAEM Club and Apprenticeship at the Pittsburgh Playhouse
- Scholarships
- Community & Leadership Scholarship
- Hometown
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- High School
- Sycamore High School
- Now Living In
- Rockville, Md.
- Hobbies & Interests
- Hiking, craft beer, yoga and hanging out with my son and husband!
"My sports, arts and entertainment management degree helped me apply business practices to an industry that I am passionate about. Not only this, but the willingness that the professors had in helping us network and navigate our way into the industry was outstanding."
Tell us about your latest promotion with Cvent and the type of work you do.
I began as an analyst at Cvent working on the implementation of CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) into Salesforce. This implementation impacted over 800 sales and finance users and consisted of one and a half years of support, conducting trainings and managing enhancements.
In 2019, my role shifted into a lead position working on our Quote to Cash program. The Quote to Cash program encompasses projects which enhance technologies and cross-functional processes used across sales and finance teams. As a project lead, I collaborate with project stakeholders to outline problems and desired states, as well as to write business requirements, document user stories with IT business analysts and manage overall timelines.
What role has your SAEM degree played in helping you achieve where you are today?
My sports, arts and entertainment management degree helped me apply business practices to an industry that I am passionate about. Not only this, but the willingness that the professors had in helping us network and navigate our way into the industry was outstanding.
I continue to credit Professor Ed Traversari who helped initiate my career, which began in Pittsburgh doing facility and event management at the Mellon Arena/CONSOL Energy Center (‘10-‘11) and then Heinz Field (‘12-‘14). Although I loved what I did, I was ready for a change when I relocated to the Washington D.C. area in 2014.
At that time, I was very thankful that I had a strong educational core that was compatible with a variety of career paths. Cvent stood out to me as the industry-leading event management SAAS software company. They acknowledged value in both my business degree as well as my professional experience. I began working in the client services department for Hospitality Cloud users — which are hotel and special event venue professionals using Cvent technology to market themselves to event planners. This was the perfect next step for me as I could easily relate to my clients' day-to-day roles, as well as learn about corporate operations of a SAAS company.
Over the course of my three years with client services, my skill set quickly grew towards project-based work. I knew that the Strategic Projects & PMO team was where I saw my long-term future, and with the support of my leadership team, I was able to achieve this goal in 2017.
What are your favorite Point Park memories?
My favorite memories are working my front-of-house apprenticeship at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. It was during this time that it “clicked” that this is where I saw my future. I was given the confidence and level of comfort to follow this path and apply it to a larger scale while managing events in the arena and stadium.
What career advice do you have for our SAEM students?
Always dream big while also being open minded. Take the time to participate in various types of internships in order to find your ideal niche. After you graduate, continue to be involved in your career field in whatever way possible. By doing this, eventually a door will open, it just may not always be exactly what you expect.