Leading with Legacy: Celebrating 35 Years of Innovation and Impact

This year, we have celebrated 35 years of creating experiences that move people and shape communities. Since 1990, we’ve had the honor of producing unforgettable events, building powerful brands, and helping clients tell their stories in ways that inspire connection and pride.
But while the projects are what people see, the real story lies behind the scenes in the people, values, and purpose that have carried us forward for three and a half decades.

A Legacy Built on People and Possibility

From day one, our vision has been to build more than an agency. We’ve built a launchpad, a place where ideas and people alike can take flight. Under the leadership of our President & CEO, Janet Holliday, we’ve created a culture that prioritizes flexibility, family, and growth, and a space where interns and newcomers can bring their ideas to life and grow into leadership roles. Most of our current leaders began exactly this way.

Two examples of this “homegrown leadership” are Viviana Durand and Lesley Travis; both of whom started as interns more than a decade ago and recently have been promoted to Managing Directors over our Events team. With years of experience shaping unforgettable experiences for the city, Viviana has overseen large-scale projects for partners like Pearl and H-E-B, while Lesley has produced landmark events including the 1724 Alamo Gala and the 2018 visit of the King and Queen of Spain during San Antonio’s Tricentennial. Together, they co-led U.S. Travel Association’s IPW 2023, hosting more than 5,000 global tourism leaders and shining a spotlight on San Antonio’s hospitality and creativity.

Today, Viviana and Lesley lead a talented group of more than 20 Events team members, continuing to nurture growth, innovation, and excellence at every turn.

Expanding Our Vision: Strategic Consulting

As we celebrate this milestone, we’re also looking ahead. This year marks the launch of our newest service — Strategic Consulting — an evolution of our Venue Consulting offering and a reflection of what the CE Group does best: help clients think boldly and bring ideas to life.

Over the years, we’ve seen a clear need in the marketplace — a gap between vision and execution. Many organizations have incredible ideas but need a partner to help shape, refine, and activate them. That’s where we come in. Strategic Consulting was created to fill that space, to step in at the very beginning of an idea and help clients build it with clarity, creativity, and purpose through a phased approach.

From project management and marketing strategy to creative design and venue consulting, this service weaves our decades of expertise into one seamless process. We’re not here to take the spotlight, our role is to be the thought partner in the background, helping clients uncover what’s possible and guiding them toward solutions that make them the hero of their own story.

This approach isn’t new to us; it’s been part of our DNA for decades. From partnering with the early team at Pearl, where we helped bring early activation ideas like Tamales at Pearl to life on asphalt, to helping Natural Bridge Caverns imagine how to transform their remarkable setting into an unforgettable venue, we’ve always believed in the power of collaboration from the ground up.

Strategic Consulting is simply the next step — a formalized way to do what we’ve always done best: think alongside our clients, turn big ideas into actionable plans, and help bring visions to life that shape communities, brands, and experiences.

Our Leadership, Our Legacy

We’re proud to be guided by an incredible group of leaders, including Managing Directors Viviana Durand, Lesley Travis, and Shane Kyle, who also leads the Communications and Creative team; Controller and Managing Director Grecia Garza; Communications Director Shelbi Young; and DMC Director Julie Trevino, who was recently promoted after years of success in destination management. Together, we’re united by the values Janet has instilled from the start: integrity, inclusion, and a commitment to always go above and beyond for our clients, our community, and one another.

Looking Ahead

As we celebrate 35 years and look forward to 2026, we’re more energized than ever. Our legacy is one of collaboration, growth, and impact, and we’re just getting started.

“With a robust leadership team and expanded services, we’re well-positioned to deliver even greater results for our clients and our community,” says Holliday. We’re proud of where we’ve been, but even more excited for where we’re headed because our story has always been about more than events and experiences. It’s about people, purpose, and the power of connection.

Here's to the next 35 years of leading with legacy.

Learn more about the CE Group’s new Strategic Consulting service by clicking the button below.