Hillary Smith, CMP, CSEP, founder of Smith + Stone Creative Leadership and Consulting, is a driving force behind high-performing creative cultures and strategic business transformations in the meetings and events industry. She empowers organizations to innovate, applying methodologies from giants like Starbucks, Amazon and Apple to integrate design thinking into impactful business solutions and strategies.

Her entrepreneurial journey began in 2008 when she co-founded Koncept Events, an events marketing and design agency where she collaborated globally with powerhouses including Proctor & Gamble, Bank of America, McKinsey & Company and Nike. Under her leadership, Koncept Events garnered numerous industry awards and earned repeat recognition on the INC 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list. After selling her company to PRA in 2019, Hillary joined as SVP, Strategy & Creative, where she was instrumental in developing a system-wide design thinking process and establishing their first centralized strategy and creative function, fundamentally reshaping their approach to innovation.

Fueled by a curiosity and passion for enriching human experiences, Hillary's leadership is centered on translating strategic business insights into innovative design. She is a highly sought-after expert in the meetings and events industry, guiding businesses on scalable creative teams, robust creative processes, transformative experience design and pivotal cultural shifts. Hillary lives in South Florida where she loves nothing more than to recharge her battery with her husband and three young children.