4. Reflections Two Decades of Event Experience and New Beginnings with Rae Kauder

Rae Kauder just concluded a 17 year career with Octagon. She was a key member in managing the largest hospitality program in motorsports (NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) and provides hands-on knowledge of motorsports management and negotiation, along with a unique attention to detail and the ability to remain calm under fire. She assisted on Mastercard’s Global Hospitality Team where she has activated high-level programs including business sessions for the Asia-Pacific market in London and Dublin. Other successes include marquee events at the Super Bowl, Final Four, GRAMMY Awards, Latin GRAMMY Awards, UEFA Champions League Finals, Arnold Palmer Invitational, TomorrowLand (Brazil and Belgium) and Copa America. Focused efforts in hosting were divided between high wealth clients, “Priceless Experiences” winners and overseeing the Latin American/Caribbean region. In addition to working with Mastercard, she focused on sponsorship and contract negotiation for Allstate, in which she managed the hospitality for major sponsorship events such as the Allstate Sugar Bowl and National Championship

She is currently the acting co-President of Women in Sports and Events WISE – Charlotte Chapter where she was a founding member.

Rae holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida where her focus was on Journalism and Telecommunication with an area of concentration in Public Relations, Travel and Tourism. She is also fluent in Spanish.

Rae's 4 Key Points are:

1. On management and being the best manager you can be, be patient, listen, be authentic and true. Learn from your best and worst examples. Learn the qualities that will help you to serve your team the best.
   
2. On leadership, trust your team to “get it done” and make the decision to do the work and get the job done together.
   
3. Build relationships. This is the most important thing that you can do in your career. Never underestimate the power of networking.
   
4. Imposter syndrome is real. The single biggest hurdle in Rae’s career was overcoming the fear of failure. Once that was identified, Rae could stand up to failure, look it in the face, and accept the challenge. Raising your had to say, “I’ll take a stab at that”. That’s when you will win!
   

Keep in touch with Rae on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rae-kauder-0833361/