Employee Spotlight

At Shepard, our employees are what makes us different. There are no small jobs here. Every one of our employees is a driving factor of Shepard’s success, whether they are client facing or behind the scenes. You know our story, now we want to tell theirs.

Cory Smith is our Vice President of Strategic Services. He has been with Shepard for almost 5 years, and has brought value to us since day one. Read below to learn more about Cory, both at work and outside of the office. 

How would you summarize your job/day-to-day at Shepard?

My role at Shepard is to align and provide solutions for our clients as it relates to achieving their event strategic objectives. Also, I manage the relationships with several industry partners that make up our integrated services network.Together, we work with our clients to deliver solutions in a few areas like success mapping, digital engagement, experiential design, audience acquisition, retention strategies, etc. 

What is your favorite part about working at Shepard? 

I love working at Shepard because of the culture of caring for each other and our clients. I’m always impressed with our associates and their willingness to support each other when the workload is heavy, and to also go the extra mile to support the needs of our clients. I’m proud to be a part of Team Shepard! 

What is the coolest thing about your job? 

In my position, I am involved with researching and introducing new innovations in our industry that can enhance the experience for our clients and their events. The new technologies like AI matchmaking help connect people and companies that have implied or expressed interests. I get to work with companies that are on the leading edge of things like Augmented Reality and Metaverse for events that may change the future of how our clients exhibit or experience an event. There are many cool things about my job and our culture at Shepard allows me to find ways to support the current and future needs of our clients and their events.  

What is one thing most people don’t know about you? 

I’m an open book so there is not much that people don’t know about me if you’ve spent any time around me. I’m a huge Muhammad Ali fan and have been a collector of Ali memorabilia since I was a kid. I’m very proud of the pennant flag that I have signed by both Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier from their fight at Madison Square Garden in 1971.  

What do you like to do for fun outside of the office? 

I am very involved in sports with my kids – I’m a coach, a volunteer for the local TD Club, and an avid college football fan. I’ve had the opportunity to attend pro and college football games all over the country. I’ve been to the Red River Showdown in Texas, Notre Dame, Green Bay, and the Harvard /Yale game to name a few.  

What’s your favorite Shepard core value and why? 

I have two – Caring and Integrity. I believe that we are a leader in service and that all begins with having associates that truly care about the clients' wants and needs. I also like the fact and have seen first-hand that all of our associates are empowered to do the right thing for the client (all the time, every time).