Andrew Roby is used to adapting, having transitioned from a successful army career with frequent moves and deployments to becoming a leader in event planning through his Washington D.C.-based company, Andrew Roby Events. His resilience was put to the test this past year due to the pandemic, but his efforts to adapt helped him win the “40 Under 40” Award in the corporate events industry.
Roby was nominated by peers as one of the 40 corporate event planners under age 40 who showed the greatest resilience in spite of the limitations introduced by Covid-19. The award was announced by Connect Corporate, a hub for corporate meeting industry news, which dubbed Roby and the other 39 winners “Comeback Kids.” They honored Roby for leading out with innovative hybrid and virtual event planning as the pandemic upended the industry.
“These 40 resilient corporate meeting and event professionals found a way to get through a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and they came back stronger than ever,” said Stephanie Davis Smith of Connect Corporate. “With so many unknowns, these 20- and 30-somethings forged ahead to bring business back to the industry. They absorbed jobs, learned new skills, invented new ways of doing business and are poised for the biggest comeback in history.”
After transitioning out of the Army, Roby started volunteering to help plan small fundraisers and soon discovered his knack for event planning. He decided to start his own firm a decade ago in Washington D.C., planning weddings, micro-weddings, and social and corporate events.
Roby’s reputation has helped him move beyond Washington D.C. to event planning in other U.S. cities, including Los Angeles and Dallas. In all, he has planned events for 1,000 clients who know him as an ‘event storyteller.’
“I love this title because my team and I work very hard to reflect the personality and soul of our clients in the events we create,” said Roby. “We resist the urge to get too big and limit our clients so that we can really get to know them and tell their stories through their big events.”
When the pandemic hit, Roby was determined not to miss a beat, and his team adapted video and other technologies to create meaningful events that allowed people to gather online.
“We’re really proud of our virtual event planning and the way we were able to maintain the momentum and impact of meetings and events in spite of Covid limitations,” said Roby.
In addition to the “40 Under 40 Award,” Andrew Roby Events has been awarded Wedding Wire’s “Couple’s Choice Award” and named a Top Wedding Planner in America by Brides Magazine. The company has also been celebrated on WeddingChicks.com, The Knot, and CBS and FOX news. To learn more about Andrew Roby’s event planning company, visit AndrewRobyEvents.com.
About Andrew Roby Events
Andrew Roby Events is a one-stop-shop that offers a wide array of Event and Wedding planning services. Whether it’s a wedding, a government or corporate event, or any social event, they know what to do and how to make the event perfect and memorable.
