Lori Hawthorne

Lori Hawthorne has a diverse and extensive work experience in event management. Lori currently serves as the Managing Director of WBR Connect at Worldwide Business Research (WBR), where they are responsible for the strategic growth and profitability of the Connect event division. Lori oversees various departments and leads the division to exceed goals and drive organizational efficiencies.

Prior to their current role, Lori worked as the Summit Director/Head of US Summits at With Intelligence, where they managed the strategy, value proposition, and budgeting for the Allocator Event Division. Lori also played a key role in aligning event strategies with overall business goals and oversaw measurement and reporting strategies.

Lori also has experience at WBR as a Divisional Director, where they tripled the growth of conferences and events across multiple verticals. Lori managed 30+ annual events and conferences and was responsible for a significant P&L annually.

Before that, Lori worked as a Portfolio Director at WBR, where they were responsible for the growth of large-scale business-to-business conferences and events. Lori launched new events in various verticals and developed innovative event formats.

Additionally, Lori worked as a freelance Event Producer, executing and planning corporate and nonprofit events. Lori leveraged technology to create unique live event environments and managed event budgets and on-site execution.

Earlier in their career, Lori held the role of Special Projects Coordinator at Mason Geller.

Throughout their career, Lori has demonstrated strong leadership, strategic planning, and execution skills in the event management industry.

Lori Hawthorne obtained a CORe Credential of Readiness from Harvard Business School Online in 2021. Lori earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fine/Studio Arts, General from the University of Virginia, where they studied from 1996 to 2000. In 1998, Lori briefly attended the School of Visual Arts, focusing on advertising.