Location: Dublin / Hybrid
Overview
Bentley Systems is seeking a Vice President, Global Events to architect, operationalize, and scale a world-class events organization for a global infrastructure engineering-software leader. Bentley software is used by civil engineers to support the design, build, operate and maintain lifecycle of the world's critical infrastructure. This is a highly strategic leadership role responsible for transforming our events function into a unified, global center of excellence.
The ideal candidate is a seasoned leader with experience leading event teams in best-in-class B2B software. They should be able to showcase success building global, scaled event portfolios that drive brand elevation, thought leadership, customer engagement, and pipeline generation.
They will lead a global team, modernize operations, bring rigor to planning and budgeting, and elevate the strategic impact of events across the entire company.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Vision
* Build and lead a multi-year global event strategy that aligns with Bentley's corporate priorities, go-to-market motions, and revenue targets.
* Transform decentralized events activities into a unified global function with consistent standards, measurement, and operating models.
* Serve as Bentley's senior expert on event portfolio strategy—hosted, owned, third-party, partner, and virtual events.
* Responsible for
Portfolio Ownership
You will own end-to-end strategy, planning, operations, and execution for:
* Flagship Hosted Events: Annual Going Digital Awards, regional field event series, executive programs, and an expanded Bentley user conference
* Third-Party Events: Tiered global event portfolio across industries, regions, and strategic product areas.
* Virtual Events & Digital Experiences: Webinars, digital summits, product-launch events, on-demand libraries, and hybrid extensions of major shows.
Operational Excellence
* Build a world-class operating model that covers annual planning, quarterly prioritization, vendor management, and a unified production framework.
* Implement scalable systems, processes, and dashboards across planning, design, budgeting, creative, production, measurement, and field enablement.
* Introduce standardized processes across booth design, modular architecture, logistics, content workflows, and attendee experiences.
* Own and manage a global events budget of $10–15M, ensuring optimal allocation of resources to maximize ROI and brand impact.
* Demonstrate fiscal responsibility and accountability, balancing innovation with cost efficiency to deliver world class experiences within financial parameters.
* Establish and monitor financial controls, forecasting, and reporting processes to maintain transparency and alignment with corporate objectives.
* Negotiate vendor contracts and partnerships strategically, driving value while safeguarding profitability.
Cross-Functional Leadership
* Partner deeply with Product Marketing, Brand, Field, Sales Engineering, and Executive Leadership to ensure the events program supports product narratives, customer success storytelling, industry thought leadership, and pipeline goals.
* Act as a trusted advisor to C-level leaders on event strategy, ROI, customer engagement, and executive communications.
Team Building & Talent Development
* Build, mentor, and scale a global events team team members) across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.
* Develop capabilities in strategic planning, program management, creative, production, field coordination, digital event operations, and analytics.
* Foster a culture of excellence, clarity, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Measurement & Impact
* Establish clear KPIs for each event type—brand metrics, pipeline metrics, attendance, engagement, customer satisfaction, and cost-per-outcome.
* Build a global event analytics capability to measure impact, optimize investments, and continuously refine the portfolio.
* Partner with Marketing Ops and Sales Ops on attribution, lead capture, follow-up orchestration, and ROI reporting.
Qualifications
* 12+ years of experience in event strategy, corporate events, or experiential marketing, with at least 5+ years leading a global or large multi-regional team.
* Proven experience in large-scale B2B SaaS or enterprise software environments (Databricks, Salesforce, Cisco, Adobe, Oracle, Qualtrics, or similar).
* Demonstrated experience transforming event organizations through building process, systems, teams, and multi-year strategies at scale.
* Confidence and expertise planning and operational rigor: budgeting, vendor management, multi-program orchestration, and measurement.
* Experience leading multiple event formats: large conferences (5,000+ attendees), executive programs, global roadshows, top-tier trade shows, virtual summits, partner events.
* Strong executive presence and communication skills; comfortable advising C-suite and influencing cross-functional leaders.
* Experience implementing a multi-tier global event portfolio and modular booth architectures is a plus.
* High learning agility, collaborative leadership style, and a builder mindset.
What Success Looks Like
In the first 12–18 months, the VP of Events will:
* Deliver a unified global events strategy with clear tiers, purpose, and investment levels.
* Improve pipeline contribution from third-party events through sharper targeting and follow-up rigor.
* Create scalable operations with consistent forecasting, workflows, vendor strategy, and a flexible booth architecture.
* Integrate virtual experiences into a consistent digital engagement model.
* Build a cohesive, high-performing global events organization that is energized, aligned, and executing with excellence.
Competencies (What "Great" Looks Like)
* Strategic Thinking
* Designs multi-year, multi-tier event portfolio
* Connects events to corporate strategy, GTM, product launches, and pipeline needs
* Prioritizes ruthlessly
* Operational Excellence
* World-class planner
* Implements scalable processes
* Deep experience with logistics, creative, production, budgeting
* Leadership & Team Building
* Builds global teams
* Raises the bar for talent
* Coaches, develops, and creates followership
* Strong culture carrier
* Executive Presence & Influence
* Confident with C-suite
* Synthesizes complex data into clear narratives
* Navigates cross-functional alignment
* Financial Acumen
* Owns large global budgets
* ROI-focused
* Strong understanding of pipeline, measurement, and attribution
* Bias for Clarity and Action
* Brings order to ambiguity
* Moves quickly without sacrificing quality
* Drives accountability across teams
Cultural Match for Bentley
* Thrives in transformation
* Systems thinker
* Highly collaborative across product, brand, campaigns, field, and sales
* Calm operator under pressure