Andrea Michaels is driven to succeed. Her intense desire to create events at the highest level possible has never waned in the 20 years since she began and named her company, Extraordinary Events. It is what has made her a leader in the field of international event production. And as she rose in stature, she brought many other professionals up with her. Even with her busy schedule of travel to produce events worldwide, Andrea always takes the time to educate and mentor other event professionals.

She’s a woman with a clear direction and endless resources. We asked her...

What Drives You?

“I want my client to turn to me and say ‘That was exactly what we wanted, what we needed. It totally delivered.’ And I always try to find creative ways of doing that; to get them to look beyond normal experiences and engage them.

“I’m a sucker to hear the audience gasp, laugh and applaud, stand up and cheer and even cry. Realistically, do I know if they sold more cars because of the event? Probably not, but when the event happens, I know if they are having a good time, if it is serving its purpose, if the message has been delivered. I want to see their responses and know that they’ve been completely engaged. I want every experience (and I call events ‘experiences’) to be great. I don’t want to do anything that isn’t great.

“And to be great means taking risks. At the last Special Event Gala Award that I produced [Los Angeles, 2007], I took every risk possible under impossible circumstances, knowing that nothing I had dreamt up might work. What fuels me is taking those risks anyway.”

Note from Fuel: Every risk she took with that event paid off in full and then some! Here is a photo from that event -- an awards show interspersed with full production numbers. This one introduced the wedding categories. Is that a horse on stage?!

To learn more about Andrea and Extraordinary Events, www.extraordinaryevents.net