Lead Director, Strategic Planning, Commercial Events

Lead Director, Strategic Planning, Commercial Events

We're building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you'll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.

The Lead Director, Strategic Planning, Commercial Events is responsible for shaping and executing Aetna Commercial & Specialty Markets' event strategy, leveraging a portfolio of high-impact experiences to advance business priorities, strengthen client and consultant relationships, activate sales and account teams, and deliver measurable business outcomes.

This role leads the Commercial Events team and oversees a diverse portfolio of internal sales meetings, client and consultant events, advisory councils, and industry conferences. Partnering closely with Commercial leadership and cross-functional stakeholders across Strategy, Sales, Retention, Product, Marketing, and Communications, the Lead Director translates organizational priorities into compelling event experiences that accelerate go-to-market objectives, reinforce Aetna's value story, drive field engagement, and influence business results.

As a strategic leader, the Lead Director is accountable for event governance, content strategy and curation, experience design, vendor and budget management, and the continuous evolution of the event portfolio. This individual challenges traditional approaches, identifies innovative ways to engage audiences, and ensures every event is designed with a clear business purpose and measurable impact.

This is a highly visible leadership role with direct engagement across enterprise and Commercial leadership teams. The successful candidate will regularly partner with senior executives, business leaders, clients, consultants, brokers, and strategic stakeholders to shape experiences that inform, inspire, and influence key business decisions. The role oversees a portfolio of marquee events that serve as critical platforms for advancing Commercial strategy, strengthening relationships, and driving organizational performance.

What you will do:

• Lead the Commercial & Specialty Markets event portfolio strategy, ensuring alignment with business priorities, growth objectives, and target audiences.
• Own event governance, prioritization, investment decisions, and success measures that maximize business impact and return on investment.
• Own the content strategy and curation for the Commercial event portfolio, ensuring each event delivers a consistent narrative, advances key business priorities, and creates meaningful experiences for attendees.
• Partner with executive leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to shape event messaging, content, speakers, and audience engagement strategies that influence behavior, drive sales activation, and support organizational goals.
• Manage an event portfolio budget, ensuring effective stewardship of resources and measurable business value.
• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing team by establishing clear expectations, driving accountability, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Define and track event success metrics, leveraging attendee feedback, business outcomes, and performance data to evaluate effectiveness.
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance event experiences, operational efficiency, and portfolio impact.

Leadership & Strategic Influence

• You will have 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in corporate events, event marketing, sales enablement, communications, sales strategy, or related functions, with a demonstrated ability to leverage events as a platform to advance business priorities and drive measurable outcomes.

• Proven success leading high-performing teams and delivering results in complex, highly matrixed organizations.
• Exceptional executive communication, interpersonal, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and…