Corey D. Bizzell

Director of Group Sales and Convention Services, Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau
Durham, North Carolina
Age: 35

Corey Bizzell believes it’s important to enter an organization or job from the bottom to learn it all. Potential employers have puzzled over this, but he’s managed to keep climbing upwards every time. More than once, he’s risen from assistant to management. Working behind the scenes for a recording artist, Bizzell discovered he was not only good at putting together events, but he also excelled at last-minute parties and huge conferences. Making the most of his connections, he later became catering assistant for a supplier he’d used. Repeat the scenario several times, and you’ll follow Bizzell’s path through to hotels and a third-party event management group to the Durham CVB. Hired by yet another person he’d worked with previously, Bizzell again started out as sales assistant. In his nine years with the bureau, he’s steadily climbed to sales director. Bizzell also found a way to mix in his love of cooking, offering recipes with homemade bottled sauces like Sara Foster’s sweet pepper jelly as planner incentives. His local MPI chapter recognized his winning recipe in May, naming Bizzell Supplier of the Year. —K. Manfredi