BCD Meetings & Events’ Jennifer La Fuente on the economic case for face-to-face events as growth accelerators—and how the smartest organizations are measuring and multiplying the return
Too many executives still file meetings and events under overhead. But they are so much more than that, especially in today’s climate of tightening budgets where every line item faces scrutiny. In fact, the data now seems to increasingly point to the exact opposite: that strategic, well-designed meetings actually can serve as economic engines that can accelerate decisions, open new markets and generate measurable business outcomes that are hard to replicate virtually.
Prevue recently asked Jennifer La Fuente, Senior Vice President, US of BCD Meetings & Events, how leading organizations are proving that case with data, where meeting budgets are actually headed in 2026, and why the next five years could position meetings as one of the most strategic tools a business has.
Prevue: How do you see meetings and events contributing to business growth in ways that are often overlooked by executives outside the industry?
La Fuente: Many leaders still view meetings and events as a cost center when they serve as business accelerators. The most successful organizations use meetings to drive outcomes that are difficult to achieve through digital channels alone. This includes building trust, aligning strategy, accelerating decision-making, strengthening customer relationships and inspiring employees around a common vision. What is often overlooked is the speed at which face-to-face interaction can move a business forward. A leadership summit can accelerate a transformation initiative, a customer event can advance sales opportunities, and a product launch can energize both internal and external stakeholders. When organizations bring the right people together with a clear purpose, meetings become catalysts for growth, innovation and execution rather than simple gatherings.
Prevue: In today’s economic environment, how are organizations measuring the return on investment from meetings and events?
La Fuente: Organizations are taking a much more sophisticated approach to measurement than they did a few years ago. Financial metrics remain important, but increasingly we’re seeing clients evaluate meetings through a broader lens that includes business outcomes, attendee engagement, compliance, sustainability and long-term impact. Many organizations are measuring factors such as sales pipeline influence, employee engagement and retention, stakeholder engagement, adoption of strategic initiatives, event satisfaction and overall program effectiveness. Data and analytics platforms allow organizations to connect meeting performance with business objectives and make more informed decisions about future investment.
Prevue: What trends are you seeing in meeting budgets, attendance and business outcomes compared with a few years ago?
La Fuente: Organizations are seeing meeting budgets stabilize but shift toward high-impact, experience-driven events, with spend being allocated more intentionally to engagements that deliver measurable business value. Attendance continues to rise as companies reaffirm the importance of in-person connection, and overall meeting volume is growing across industries. At the same time, business outcomes are under sharper scrutiny. Organizations are expanding strategic meetings management programs, strengthening governance, managing risk and demanding clearer visibility into spend. According to the BCD M&E’s Global Client Survey, there is an increased appetite for immersive, creativity-led formats reflected in offerings like The Collective, and heightened expectations for richer attendee experiences and more robust data-driven insights. Strategic meetings management programs are evolving, adding human experience to their traditional strategic pillars. Meetings today are more purposeful, more engaging and more tightly aligned to business goals than they were just a few years ago.
Prevue: Can you share an example where a meeting or event directly contributed to revenue growth, business expansion or a major strategic initiative?
La Fuente: One example we often see is when organizations use global meetings programs to support expansion into new markets. Through strategic meetings management, clients gain visibility into spend, improve supplier leverage, reduce risk and create a more consistent attendee experience worldwide. That operational efficiency frees resources that can be invested elsewhere in the business. Internally, the organization has also seen major growth driven by large-scale program expansions.
Prevue: What types of events are generating the strongest business results for your clients right now?
La Fuente: Leadership meetings, sales kickoffs, customer engagement programs, congresses, product launches and strategically designed experiential events are delivering particularly strong results. We’re also seeing increased demand for events that combine education, networking and experience design. Organizations want attendees to leave not only informed, but inspired and ready to act. Those are the events that tend to drive the greatest business impact because they create both emotional connection and measurable outcomes.
Prevue: How are companies balancing cost controls with the need to bring people together in person?
La Fuente: Rather than cutting meetings altogether, companies are becoming smarter about where and how they invest. They are using data to determine which events deliver the strongest outcomes, optimizing venue sourcing, consolidating suppliers and using technology to improve efficiency across the event lifecycle. Organizations are also putting more focus on meeting design. When the objective is clearly defined from the outset, companies can make better decisions about format, audience, destination and spend. The goal is to maximize business value rather than simply minimize costs.
Prevue: What economic arguments are most persuasive when event professionals need to justify investment in face-to-face meetings?
La Fuente: Meetings create outcomes that are difficult to replicate elsewhere. Research and client experience consistently show that trust-building, collaboration, relationship development and strategic alignment happen faster and more effectively in person. Organizations that invest strategically in face-to-face engagement often see benefits in employee engagement, customer retention, sales effectiveness, organizational alignment and innovation. Those outcomes have a direct impact on business performance and are increasingly recognized at the executive level.
Prevue: Where do you see the greatest opportunities for meetings and events to create business value over the next five years?
La Fuente: The greatest opportunities for meetings and events to create business value will come from deeper strategic integration of meetings programs with experience design, data and AI. As organizations become more intentional with their meeting strategy, they’re looking for engagements that directly support enterprise priorities and deliver measurable outcomes. This creates significant potential for meetings to serve as engines for innovation, culture building, sustainability leadership and talent engagement, especially as companies navigate increasingly complex environments. There is also rising demand for richer attendee experiences, stronger governance and more robust data-driven insights, all of which position meetings as strategic platforms and drivers rather than isolated events. As AI accelerates predictive analytics and operational efficiency, and as experience-led formats continue to expand, this will bring people together with purpose.
Prevue: When people think about meetings and events, they often focus on logistics or travel. What’s the bigger story about the industry’s impact on business growth, innovation, communities and global progress that you think deserves more attention?
La Fuente: Meetings and events are catalysts for business and economic growth. They bring people together to make decisions faster, build relationships, share knowledge, drive innovation and turn strategy into action. In many cases, a few days of face-to-face engagement can achieve what would otherwise take months of virtual conversation. Beyond business outcomes, meetings support local economies, create jobs, attract investment and provide a platform for advancing sustainability, education and social impact initiatives. At their core, meetings and events are about human connection, and that remains one of the most powerful drivers of progress in business and society.
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