Dean Armintrout (Martin)

Senior Global Experiential Marketing Leader | Transforming Corporate Events into Data-Driven Growth Engines | ELX Advisory Committee

Missoula, Montana, United States

About

Senior Global Experiential Marketing Leader | Transforming Corporate Events into Data-Driven Growth Engines I am a builder of modern, high-impact experiential marketing programs that sit at the intersection of brand strategy, customer journey design, and data intelligence. My core philosophy is that experiential marketing should never rely on hunches. I champion leveraging data to capture behavioral patterns that shape product positioning, reframe our competitive edge, and fuel global demand generation. Beyond my current role at Zendesk, I serve on the Advisory Committee for the Event Leaders Exchange (ELX), collaborating with global corporate event leaders to push the boundaries of what experiential marketing can achieve at scale.

Experience

  • Sr. Director, Experiential Marketing at Zendesk
    Jan 2025 - Present · 1 yr 6 mos

    - Architect and oversee the end-to-end strategy, budget, and execution of Zendesk’s global experiential marketing portfolio, including flagship events (e.g., Zendesk Relate), regional roadshows, third-party events, digital experiences, and executive programs. - Leverage data insights across our in-person and digital experiences to map and guide attendee behavior. By shifting focus from basic post-event surveys to real-time engagement data, we actively shape the customer journey, optimize content relevance, and provide demand gen and leadership teams with actionable insights that prove business impact. - Partner closely with Global Demand Gen, Product Marketing, and Sales leadership to ensure our experiential strategy isn't operating in a vacuum but rather acting as a high-velocity engine for pipeline acceleration and brand equity. - Scaled Centers of Excellence playbooks and best practices for global event delivery to guarantee uncompromising quality, brand alignment, and operational consistency that aligns with Zendesk’s premium experiential standards. - Lead and mentor a high-performing, agile team of experiential marketers and event producers, establishing scalable global playbooks and fostering a culture that balances creativity, innovation, and operational discipline.

  • Advisory Committee Member at Event Leaders Exchange (ELX)
    Jun 2022 - Present · 4 yrs 1 mo

    ELX is an invitation-only community for Global Heads of Events from the world's largest corporations. - Serve alongside a curated group of senior level event and experiential leaders from global brands to share best practices, benchmark operational frameworks, and drive innovation within the corporate events industry. - Contribute to industry-wide insights regarding event technology, vendor curation, data intelligence, and the evolving landscape of B2B attendee engagement.

  • Sr. Director, Global Event Marketing at TransUnion
    Apr 2023 - Dec 2024 · 1 yr 9 mos

    Led the global event strategy and operations of TransUnion’s events, implemented new event strategies and organizational redesign, and streamlined event management operations. - Led a global team of event marketers who planned and executed TransUnion’s 250+ customer events, tradeshows, executive leadership, domestic and international sales kick-offs, and employee incentive events. - Drove growth in event team resources in the U.S. and Canada, and expanded resources in cost effective labor markets. - Evaluated event support model and onboarded new suppliers to increase quality and capabilities of events. - Collaborated with internal partners to overhaul and simplify event management processes across legal, finance, procurement, risk, and compliance. - Partnered with brand to standardize event creative assets globally, driving consistency in design and messaging. - Built and managed multi-million-dollar budgets across event portfolio. - Partnered with digital teams to streamline event data collection and reporting to enable effective evaluation of event ROI.

  • Director of Events at T-Mobile
    Sep 2017 - Apr 2023 · 5 yrs 8 mos

    Led T-Mobile’s U.S. event strategy and operations across a diverse, multi-million-dollar portfolio spanning B2B, B2C, media activations, product launches, sales readiness, and internal employee programs. - Directed the design and execution of high-profile consumer stunts, product launches, and brand experiences that consistently exceeded lead generation and earned media targets while driving breakthrough social buzz. - Tripled the scope and headcount of the event marketing team to support expanding corporate investment. Successfully navigated the high-stakes Sprint merger, integrating team members and unifying operational cultures seamlessly. - Formulated and pitched comprehensive event strategies to C-level leadership, while sourcing and managing tier-one creative, production, and logistics agency partners. - Pivoted the enterprise to virtual event frameworks during the pandemic, authored T-Mobile’s corporate health/safety protocols, and championed the development of the organization's event sustainability policy.

  • Director, Partner Marketing & Events (3/2017-9/2017); Sr. Partner Marketing Manager (9/2015-3/2017) at Microsoft
    Mar 2017 - Sep 2017 · 7 mos

    Served as the end-to-end Business Owner for Microsoft Inspire and directed the experiential marketing discipline for Microsoft’s global partner-facing event portfolio. - Led the comprehensive strategy, brand management, digital demand generation, and execution for Microsoft Inspire, ensuring all content architectures and experiences aligned precisely with core corporate business priorities. - Orchestrated the Partner Advisory Council (PAC) program, directing high-touch, biannual strategic events for 200+ of Microsoft's top global C-level partners to capture feedback on product and field roadmaps. - Managed a complex ecosystem of $200+ external suppliers and agencies (covering logistics, creative, registration, and sales) alongside the execution of the Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards program. - Maintained full accountability for a multi-million-dollar event budget, consistently meeting revenue and expense targets while aligning key stakeholders across executive, corporate, and field teams.