Manager, Global Tradeshows & Sponsorship Strategy

Okta Okta · Enterprise · Bellevue, WA +1 · Corporate Events-461

Manager, Global Tradeshows & Sponsorship Strategy at Okta, focusing on leading a team and developing strategy for global tradeshows and sponsorships to support the company's mission of securing AI and identity.

What you'd actually do

  1. Lead, mentor, and manage a team of tradeshow marketing professionals, fostering their growth and ensuring executional excellence.
  2. Develop and execute the overarching strategy for Okta’s global Tier 1 tradeshows (AMER, EMEA, APAC), ensuring alignment with corporate and marketing goals and looking for opportunities to expand our presence.
  3. Build and own a comprehensive sponsorship strategy for our core event portfolio, including Oktane and Tier 1 tradeshows (e.g., RSAC, Gartner, AWS). You will also collaborate with other marketing teams to extend this sponsorship framework to programs like Oktane on the Road and our Identity Summits.
  4. Act as a "player-coach" by directly managing key aspects of our most complex tradeshows, from pre-event planning and agency management to on-site execution and post-event reporting.
  5. Partner closely with key stakeholders across our global partner and alliances team, regional teams, marketing, and partner marketing to define event goals, messaging, and audience generation strategies.

Skills

Required

  • 7+ years in event marketing, with a focus on large-scale tradeshows and conferences within the B2B tech/SaaS industry.
  • 4+ years of experience in people management or a team leadership role with a passion for mentoring and developing talent.
  • Demonstrated experience creating and executing successful, revenue-generating sponsorship strategies across a portfolio of events.
  • Proven ability to operate as a player-coach, balancing strategic planning with hands-on execution and a willingness to roll up your sleeves.
  • Exceptional project management, prioritization, and organizational skills with a proven track record of managing complex events with multiple stakeholders.
  • Strong executive presence and excellent communication skills, with the ability to articulate strategies and results to leaders and cross-functional partners.

Nice to have

  • Experience running large-scale programs and sponsorship presence at major tech conferences (e.g., AWS re:Invent, RSAC Conference, Gartner events) is a significant plus.
  • Thrives in a rapid-growth, fast-paced environment and adapts well to change.
  • Able to travel up to 25% of the time.

What the JD emphasized

  • global tradeshow portfolio
  • sponsorship program from the ground up
  • player-coach
  • global tradeshow strategy
  • sponsorship strategy
  • Tier 1 tradeshows
  • major tech conferences