{"id":22896,"date":"2022-08-09T10:02:54","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T14:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/?p=22896"},"modified":"2022-08-09T10:02:55","modified_gmt":"2022-08-09T14:02:55","slug":"aaes-founder-reflects-on-20th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/aaes-founder-reflects-on-20th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"AAE’s Founder & CEO Reflects on Company’s 20th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In August of 2022, AAE Speakers Bureau celebrates its 20th anniversary<\/a>. As we look back on the past two decades, I wanted to share a clear picture of what makes our company unique and how we got to where we are today. To do that, I spoke to our CEO, Greg Friedlander<\/a>, to get his reflections on AAE\u2019s journey: how it all started, timeless core values, favorite memories, and where the company is heading in the future. Here\u2019s what I learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting our start<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From the beginning, it\u2019s always been about making a positive impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2002, Greg was working as a sports agent in New York City. He was working closely with the top speakers’ bureaus, advertising agencies, and public relations firms. That\u2019s when he realized there was a power disparity between the talent booking agents and the organizations wanting to work with high profile talent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognizing this opportunity to fill a need, Greg decided to start a booking agency that exclusively focused on representing the interests of talent buyers, largely companies, associations, and universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total initial investment in the company was $10,000, the bulk of which was dedicated to getting the All American Speakers website up and running. We\u2019ve come a very long way since then. Today, AAE has grown into a full-service booking agency \u2014 including a logistics, marketing, and contracts team \u2014 able to assist event organizers<\/a> at every step along the way in the event planning process. As one of the largest global talent buyers, AAE has booked well over $245M of celebrity talent on behalf of thousands of the most respected companies and organizations in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guiding principles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For any business, making it to a milestone like a 20 year anniversary is no easy feat. This is especially notable after the public health crisis over the past few years upended the events industry, making this achievement all the more significant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies that successfully navigate their industries tend to have a set of core values that guide them throughout the years, like a rudder keeps a ship on course through the storms. From the very start, Greg and AAE\u2019s leadership team have made it a point to keep these principles in mind whenever decisions are being made:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always <\/em>listen to our customers<\/em><\/a> and strive to provide them with the level of service and <\/em>resources <\/em><\/a>they deserve.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operate on a merit-based system internally, putting people in a position to be successful and providing them with the tools they need.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t take anything for granted or become complacent. Always look for ways to be better, continuing to learn and evolve.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And lastly, Greg shared a key principle that he has carried with him throughout the years \u2014 being humble enough to recognize that none of this \u2014 the success AAE has had \u2014 would be possible without others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI may have started the company, but I don\u2019t view it as my company,\u201d he said. \u201cI view my role as a steward and captain guiding the ship, but there is no ship and there is no company without the individuals that make up this company both on the front lines and behind the scenes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best part of the job<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Greg told me that it\u2019s all about putting people first. That means serving our clients and partners and supporting their event goals<\/a>, as well as setting up internal employees for success and building a culture that encourages them to take a vested interest in the well-being of their fellow staff members. Seeing this in action is the best part of the job, Greg said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWatching our staff develop personally and professionally, watching them gain confidence, build their careers, and learn new skills,\u201d he said. \u201cI love seeing how people treat each other, support each other, care about each other, embrace new team members, and reinforce our culture. For me, this place is about the people, not about what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next 20 years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the past 20 years, AAE has seen monumental growth. We\u2019ve worked with incredible clients, booked extraordinary talent, and played a role in creating unforgettable event experiences with our many partners that have impacted the lives of thousands and thousands of event attendees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we look ahead to AAE\u2019s next 20 years, Greg said that the company will continue to remember why we got started and use our core values as our guide. AAE will rise to meet the needs of our clients and adapt alongside the evolution of our industry, but our identity will stay the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy hope is that we continue to grow as a company and as individuals, that our work has a positive impact on others, that our employees continue to feel supported and valued and achieve their personal and professional goals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To our many clients, talent, and other partners we\u2019ve worked with over the years, AAE would not be here celebrating our 20th anniversary if it was not for all of you. We would like to sincerely thank you for trusting us with your business. Here\u2019s to the next 20 years!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I spoke to our CEO, Greg Friedlander, to get his reflections on AAE\u2019s journey: how it all started, timeless core values, favorite memories, and where the company is heading in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":22898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1901,270],"tags":[576,1864,613],"class_list":{"0":"post-22896","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news-aae-speakers-bureau","8":"category-in-the-news","9":"tag-all-american-entertainment","10":"tag-all-american-speakers","11":"tag-all-american-speakers-bureau"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Greg20yearsblog.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22896"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22902,"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22896\/revisions\/22902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.allamericanspeakers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}