Prevue September-October 2017 - 13

planner'spick

Monterey, California
Cisco's executive leadership meeting called for "all hands on deck"
April Ferguson, CMP, CMM
Senior Event Logistics Manager
BCD M&E Onsite at Cisco
Systems Inc.

C

isco Systems Inc.'s recent three-day
executive leadership meeting took
over the Monterey Bay Aquarium's
Open Sea Wing on its final night, where 130
attendees, broken into teams of 10 to 15,
donned costumes that were in line with the
event's "All Hands on Deck" theme. That
included jellyfish, lifeguards, a sushi roll and
even a shipwrecked group. The costumed
teams competed to win the giant inflatable
Katsoudas Cup (named after Cisco's
Chief People Officer and Senior VP Francine
Katsoudas) by wooing aquarium staff judges.
"[The company] basically viewed the
location and primarily the aquarium as
its theme for the entire event," says April
Ferguson, CMP, CMM, senior event logistics
manager for BCD M&E onsite at Cisco
Systems Inc. "At the hotel, we used sea
creature centerpieces to assign seating
and to split attendees into groups such

as dolphins, starfish and otters for their
breakout sessions."
Attendees enjoyed ahi poke nori
canapes and tomato bisque shooters while
wandering past illuminated tanks of moon
jellies and getting their photos taken in front
of sea-themed photo backdrops. Coq au
vin filet of beef was served in the Open Sea
Galleries in front of the 90-ft aquarium wall,
through which attendees could spot tunas
and sharks swimming past glittering schools
of sardines, and a dance party with a local
DJ ended the night with the energy of hits
from the 80s, 90s and today.

Made for Team Building
The 550-room Hyatt Regency Monterey
Hotel & Spa hosted the leadership
meeting, its team building emphasis coming
into focus on day one in the hotel's garden
terrace courtyard during a bike-build
competition that ultimately donated bicycles
to a local organization.
"[The company] was looking for
somewhere in the Bay Area but far enough
that local folks (about a third of the group)

could get away from the daily traffic and
stay in a hotel together," says Ferguson.
"They felt this would help the group focus
more on being a collaborative team."
Team building continued into the
evening, as attendees met for a reception at
A Taste of Monterey on Cannery Row. The
wine market and bistro features a selection
of more than 90 Monterey-area wineries
and doubles as an event space at night. A
former sardine cannery like the Monterey
Bay Aquarium, the 4,000-sf facility features
360-degree views of Monterey Bay, which
served as an idyllic backdrop for the group
to enjoy local wines and nosh on regional
fare. The facility even offers winemaking and
viticulture exhibits that made the event that
much more memorable.

"At the hotel, we
used sea creature
Picture caption
centerpieces to
assign
seating and to split
attendees into groups
such as dolphins, starfish
and otters for their
breakout sessions."
That Tuesday consisted of meetings
at the Hyatt Regency during the day and
an evening for attendees to have on their
own to experience some of the area's local
seafood. Ferguson adds that the Hyatt
Regency was the perfect fit for the group
because it has a conference center with all
of the hotel's 40,000 sf of meeting space
located in one building (with the exception
of one ballroom). The group used the hotel's
breakout space as well as a balcony and
terrace that played host to several meals.
-Jessie Fetterling

Monterey Bay Aquarium (photo credit: seemonterey)

12 | prevuemeetings.com

seemonterey.com; monterey.regency.
hyatt.com; montereybayaquarium.org
http://www.seemonterey.com http://www.hyatt.com http://www.montereybayaquarium.org http://www.prevuemeetings.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue September-October 2017
