Principal Event Marketing Manager, Data + AI World Tour

MKTQ327R36

Databricks' Data + AI World Tour is one of the company's largest global demand-generation and brand engines — a 20 stop series of flagship, city-by-city events that bring the Data + AI Summit experience directly to customers, prospects, and partners around the world.  

Reporting to the VP, Global Events, the Principal Event Marketing Manager at Databricks will act as the head of Data + AI World Tour to drive the strategy, execution, and business outcomes of this program: the single person who ensures global alignment of the vision, drives the roadmap, and pulls together regional marketers, agencies, and cross-functional partners to make each stop successful. This person will work closely with cross-functional stakeholders from HQ and across the globe to establish our playbook and identify opportunities for improved best practices, scalability, and brand presence that enhances Databricks market leadership across regions.

This is a high-visibility leadership role for someone who can operate as both a strategic architect and a hands-on operator — comfortable setting a global vision while also being in the room (or backstage) making sure a 5,000-person event in London or New York runs flawlessly.

What You'll Do

• Define and drive alignment of the end-to-end strategy for the Data + AI World Tour globally — city/market selection, format, content vision, and annual calendar — in close partnership with HQ leadership, regional marketing, and sales stakeholders.
• Partner cross-functionally with Field Marketing, Product & Solutions Marketing, Corporate Marketing, and Field Sales to ensure each event reflects Databricks' latest platform narrative, content strategy, and drives qualified pipeline for the region.
• Orchestrate and roll out the World Tour budget model and sponsorship/partner revenue strategy with Finance and Sponsorship Sales team
• Build and maintain the measurement framework for the program — pipeline influence, pipeline on investment, attendee satisfaction, executive/customer engagement — and report out on performance.
• Serve as the primary point of expertise and escalation for the program, mentoring regional marketers and agency partners on best practices without direct reporting lines.
• Represent the World Tour program to executive stakeholders, delivering regular readouts and strategic recommendations to sales and marketing leadership.
• Act as the connective tissue across a network of regional field marketers, event agencies, and vendors, setting standards and a repeatable playbook that others execute against
• Continuously evolve the event format based on customer feedback, competitive landscape, and shifts in the data/AI market to keep the World Tour the must-attend event in each region.

Outcomes this role will achieve

1. A globally consistent, regionally relevant event calendar — deliver 15–25 World Tour stops across key markets on time and on budget, with a repeatable playbook that regional teams and agencies can execute independently.
2. Content strategy: Within the first 6-12 months, establish a content strategy that reinforces key thought leadership and product messages from the Data + AI Summit. Execution against this strategy shall be streamlined to save subject matter expert time from content to creation to enablement by at least 30% year over year. 
3. Measurable pipeline impact — drive a defined percentage increase in influenced pipeline attributable to World Tour events, with clean attribution reporting sales trusts and uses.
4. Stronger sales-marketing alignment — establish a joint planning process with regional marketing/sales leaders so each stop's content, audience, and follow-up are tied directly to territory pipeline goals.
5. A scalable sponsorship/partner revenue model — grow sponsor and partner participation and revenue year-over-year while improving the on-site value delivered to those partners.
6. Improved attendee experience and NPS — raise attendee satisfaction/NPS scores across the tour through better content curation, speaker quality, and event logistics.
7. Operational efficiency at scale — implementation of AI tools to speed up operations across our global teams, ultimately reducing cost-per-attendee and cost-per-qualified-lead year-over-year through vendor consolidation, process standardization, and smarter format choices (e.g., city-tier segmentation).
8. A trusted, self-sufficient extended network — establish clear playbooks, documentation, and coaching so regional marketers and agency partners can run high-quality events with minimal day-to-day oversight from you.

What we look for:

• 10+ years of event marketing experience, of which 3+ years experience leading large scale world tours 
• Experience driving alignment and managing complex, multi-stakeholder global programs
• Metrics-driven, analytical thinker with ability to utilize data to drive the success and evolution of the program
• Excellent communication skills, including strong executive presence
• Proven success in achieving or exceeding pipeline targets 
• Experience with Google suite, Salesforce, Swoogo, Asana, and Rainfocus (building emails, lists and landing pages)