David J. Leist

David J. Leist Email and Phone Number

VP / Director of Corporate Hospitality Services and Vendor Management
David J. Leist's Location
Plainsboro, New Jersey, United States, United States
David J. Leist's Contact Details

David J. Leist work email

David J. Leist personal email

About David J. Leist

Enterprising, reliable hospitality services and vendor management leader who can be counted on to deliver MORE than what is required.Known for managing multiple corporate conference center campuses with integrity, collaboration, and savvy diplomacy, I have secured high customer satisfaction ratings and staff approval ratings year after year without sacrificing profitability. My proven strengths in trust-building and facilitating, combined with my perspective of approaching every situation as an opportunity to achieve, has resulted in consistent team-driven success.Whether leading complex hospitality and business-to-business conference services operations for a Fortune 500 company over multiple states or re-negotiating vendor services agreements, my goal is excellence. Having successfully managed regional facilities with more than 5,000 special events per month and 25,000 guest nights annually, my dependability and ability to build and develop top-performing, cohesive teams is a fact. My key assets include: PEOPLE MANAGEMENT that focuses on solid relationships and motivating buy-in when supervising, negotiating, delegating, mediating, collaborating, training, or facilitating groups.PROJECT MANAGEMENT that embraces challenges and change as doorways to excellence in employee and guest relations and services, with no adverse impact on the bottom-line.ANALYTICAL PROBLEM-SOLVING that enables cost-saving measures through profit-and-loss analysis, budget forecasting based on trends and historical data, and accountability for tactical implementation.EMPOWERMENT of others that leverages a business’s most valuable asset – its employees – into integrated, loyal teams attaining top-ranked recognition from customers.Specialties: Corporate Services, Vendor Management, Conference Center Management, Guest Relations, Special Events Management, Project Management, Food & Beverage F&B Operations, Operations Management, Change Management, Facility Management, Facility Disposition, Facility Upgrades, Staff Development, Team Building, Staffing & Training, Financial Analysis, Budgeting, Capital Improvement, Strategic Planning.

David J. Leist's Current Company Details

VP / Director of Corporate Hospitality Services and Vendor Management
David J. Leist Work Experience Details
  • Merrill Lynch
    Vice President, New Jersey Campus Services Manager
    Merrill Lynch 2005 - Jun 2008
    EXECUTIVE IMPACT: Oversaw $10 million in vendor contracts for Conference, Dining, Distribution, Audio-Visual (AV), and Reception Services for 7,000 employees on 20-building corporate campus.Budget / Vendor Management: Attained budget reduction of 10% by re-negotiating vendor services, modifying facilities, and adjusting dining hall services.Hospitality Management: Developed and launched semi-annual campus survey that revealed consistent 95% approval ratings for corporate campus services, events, conferences, F&B, AV, distribution, and amenities.Change Initiative: Introduced value-added option menu to dining services that increased F&B sales by 20% in 2008.Project Management: Led conversion from Event Management System to online reservation system (Hospitality Suite), which saved 500 staff hours annually.Supervision & Training: Improved staff approval ratings by 20% year-over-year. Supervised 2 managers and 115 vendor management employees.
  • Merrill Lynch
    Vice President, Services Manager - New York / New Jersey / Florida
    Merrill Lynch 2004 - 2006
    EXECUTIVE IMPACT: Promoted to manage AV and Conference Services for 2 regions with 5,500 employees and full P&L for multi-million services budget. Supervised 4 direct and 70 indirect reports.Operations Management: Successfully orchestrated 5,200 special events, Annual Stockholder meetings, fundraisers, and conferences per month, with multi-million dollar internal charges. Staff Development & Customer Satisfaction: Championed focus on quality that resulted in 10% increase in staff approval ratings and 95% customer satisfaction ratings year-over-year.Cost Reductions: Lowered budget 5% year-over-year and oversaw multi-million dollar vendor services agreements.
  • Merrill Lynch
    Vice President, Property Manager, Merrill Lynch Conference Services
    Merrill Lynch 2000 - 2004
    EXECUTIVE IMPACT: Directed asset management of Conference & Training Center with 365 guest rooms and 37 conference rooms. P&L oversight for 25,000 guest nights. Managed 6 direct reports and 300 vendor management staff, and multi-million dollar budgets. Operations Management: Won Pinnacle Award and maintained 95% customer satisfaction rating, despite transition from Harrison Conference to Hilton to Aramark management.AV Renovation: Delivered multi-million dollar AV upgrade for Conference Center on time and on budget. Staffing: Built customer-centric staff and garnered 10% year-over-year staff approval ratings.Special Events: Directed smooth-running events such as employee recognition events, stockholder meetings, and fundraisers for 2000+ attendees.Facility Disposition: Reduced staff by 30% without any adverse impact on services and achieved budget reductions. Managed sales of $35 million Conference Center in 2004
  • Merrill Lynch
    Assistant Vp, Merrill Lynch Conference Services
    Merrill Lynch 1996 - 2000
    IMPACT: Oversaw employee and new-hire training for 75 branch offices. Developed 150 new training programs. Successfully led project management of $6.5 million AV renovation.

David J. Leist Education Details

Frequently Asked Questions about David J. Leist

What is David J. Leist's role at the current company?

David J. Leist's current role is VP / Director of Corporate Hospitality Services and Vendor Management.

What is David J. Leist's email address?

David J. Leist's email address is david.leist@ml.com

What schools did David J. Leist attend?

David J. Leist attended Depaul University.

Free Chrome Extension

Find emails, phones & company data instantly

Find verified emails from LinkedIn profiles
Get direct phone numbers & mobile contacts
Access company data & employee information
Works directly on LinkedIn - no copy/paste needed
Get Chrome Extension - Free

Aero Online

Your AI prospecting assistant

Download 750 million emails and 100 million phone numbers

Access emails and phone numbers of over 750 million business users. Instantly download verified profiles using 20+ filters, including location, job title, company, function, and industry.