Sasha Smith

Sasha Smith began her 15-year tenure at meeting and event staffing organization Plannernet from the ground floor. Having previously worked in the hospitality sector, she found the firm’s focus on freelance staffing an intriguing market. “Plannernet was uniquely positioned and the first of its kind in the industry,” she says.

Smith has collaborated with a variety of meeting and event teams within life sciences, technology and financial industries as well as thousands of freelancers, she says. The experience offered a clear lens into the industry’s need for specialized talent, enabling her to drive innovative solutions that ensured the company’s clients and freelancers could thrive. 

The pandemic was especially hard on the meeting and event industry, but it spurred rapid innovation, including at Plannernet, where Smith designed solutions to support the variety of needs with flexibility, ease of use, speed and scalability. 

The proactive approach taken during the pandemic laid a strong foundation for Plannernet’s achievements. Under her leadership, the company had compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 50% over the past three years. Additionally, Smith played a pivotal role in ensuring that Plannernet became both Gender Fair-certified and SOC-II compliant within the last year.

Looking ahead, Smith is eager to partner with industry leaders to cultivate innovative talent solutions. “The value of in-person events has grown post-pandemic, and the 10-year industry outlook shows a considerable [compound annual growth rate] of 12%,” she explains. “This, paired with the current talent deficit and the ongoing broad labor shift toward freelance work, makes us excited to help the industry strategically navigate the path ahead and cultivate agile workforces.”