Event project manager, Viviane Gisler is an intricate and paramount behind the scenes planner to many highly publicized international events. The Swiss-born event strategist has diligently worked with global brands, Coca-Cola, Samsung, and her most recent achievement is with England’s undisputed biggest soccer club, Manchester United.
Founded in 1878, spanning more than 145 years of football history and with over 1.1 billion global fans, Manchester United is by far the most popular team who have won the most titles. Working on an event for a football club of that magnitude full of rich history takes a unique skill to ensure the event represents the brand, its players, and its fans. “An event project manager has many responsibilities,” explained Gisler. “Above all my main responsibility is to make sure that events are flawlessly planned, built, and executed. As an event project manager, you are the center and main contact point for everyone involved with the creation of an event, which means that I often find myself part interior designer, part financial manager, part head of logistics and communication.”
The creation and execution of Manchester United’s lounge at the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland was entrusted to Gisler, “I had to build the Manchester United luxury lounge at the prestigious international political summit earlier this year. It was a very interesting time for this project, because the World Cup in Qatar had put the spotlight on soccer in recent months and the club itself was facing challenges. With the media attention being heightened during WEF, this project was very delicate and had to be executed to absolute perfection to protect the premier league club’s reputation. As their event project manager, this meant there could be no mistakes and I needed to make sure that the lounge we built was synonymous with the soccer club’s longstanding history of success and popularity. I had to create an eye-catching and luxurious lounge for the club’s leaders to meet, a match viewing room, and an exclusive bar and event space.”
Manchester United is the first sports team to partner with the World Economic Forum, and their global community and followers provide powerful opportunities to engage across cultural and geographical boundaries. The five-day meeting, which convenes under the banner of “Cooperation in a Fragmented World,” received over 50 heads of state and government officials including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Creating an impeccable event space for world leaders during the forum was an essential and critical task for the event project manager. Viviane Gisler, “I think what truly makes me unique is my ability to thrive through the most outlandish of requests without ever letting the client sense any struggle. And being fluent in German and English, basic French, and Spanish, give me the edge over my peers.”
For all professional inquiries, please visit Viviane Gisler linkedin.com