Deacon Spotlight: David Willhoit
David Willhoit (2003, BA in French and Psychology)
Managing Director; Head of Event Marketing for Payments and Latin America, Co-Head of Event Marketing for Global Investment Banking and Global Head of Operations for Event Marketing at J.P. Morgan in New York, NY
Tell us about your current job role and employer. What are you currently working on?
In my current role, I wear a number of hats managing teams of event marketers across the globe who partner with executive stakeholders to deliver end-to-end strategic client engagement portfolios focused on proprietary and third-party events, alongside a team of operations professionals who are streamlining processes, enhancing communication and connectivity and developing technology solutions to realize efficiencies and optimize performance.
My coverage is a matrix of global business, functional and regional so I am juggling between different priorities and strategies every day, but the client is at the core of everything we do so my vision and leadership is grounded in that ethos.
Last year, our Commercial Bank merged with our Investment Bank so I am currently engaged in a number of integration related projects, supporting the heads of the teams and spending lots of time on controls, data, analytics and reporting.
What key personal and/or career experiences led you to where you are today?
My career journey has been a story of driving mobility and embracing opportunity. Upon graduation, I moved to Chicago to work for a company called McMaster-Carr in an operations management program. Little did I know then that large scale warehousing and distribution, transportation analytics and client prospecting would be the beginning of my foundation. But more importantly than the skills I learned, the experience taught me the importance of people and relationships – building networks, connecting and being authentically me.
Fast forward to years later at J.P. Morgan managing a large team in a check processing facility in New York, I decided I needed to make a change to lean in more to my creative side so I found a job in events (events may seem like a pivot but I co-founded Wake Works back in college which some may remember staffed students for events at Adam’s Mark and Graylyn). That then lead to years of learning and honing new skills until I decided that I wanted to focus on marketing.
Just when I thought an MBA was the next step, a senior leader recommended I explore a team supporting Investment Banking event marketing. This move would change everything. My current manager and I spent the next 18 years building out a global team and I was able to shift focus between different business areas (I always liked the ones with an exciting challenge) and even two 5-year assignments in London building out and managing a team across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
When returning to the US in 2022, I came back with global responsibility and a number of teams but also a track record of being able to navigate regional nuance – cultural and regulatory – so when the opportunity for overseeing Latin America presented itself, I was asked to step in. Throughout all the years, I had never lost sight of my operations foundation and when we merged broader businesses last year, I advocated for and offered to build and run a functional support team to focus on people, process and technology.
When I speak to folks about my journey, I always encourage them to get stuck into their roles, become the expert at what they do and build their personal brand so they are the one people want to champion for opportunity – luck or happenstance can land you a role, but hard work and impact are what land you a promotion.
What is the most challenging aspect of your job? How do you navigate that challenge?
For me, the most challenging part of my role is the matrix and managing the numerous (and oftentimes) competing priorities, stakeholders and people. I definitely don’t always get it right and sometimes find myself whirling around trying to keep on top of it, but the discipline I have put in place is around organized to-do lists. Call me old school, but paper is my friend for this career hack. At all times, I keep a running to-do list bucketed by the different groups and functions I oversee and as I go along I cross things off and add to but once a week I re-write the list (challenging my prioritization to make sure I am properly aligned) and rip up the old one. There is something satisfying about the physical act of ripping the old one in that I am taking a pause and coming back to a refreshed plan.
The other challenge for me is travel and integrating work and personal. For that, I again lean into paper in the form of an annual calendar. On my second 5-year assignment in London, my husband and I decided to take on a personal challenge of literally living an ocean apart as his career responsibilities had grown exponentially given a merger with his firm. That meant we had to become very disciplined about scheduling and forward-looking at travel. Now, I am attached at the hip with my calendar and refresh it every couple of months to reflect changes in what is ahead.
What advice would you give to Wake Forest graduates about developing their personal life habits after college (finances, health, values, work/life balance)?
A colleague once said, “it is less about work/life balance and more about work/life integration.” I think that is such an apt way to think about managing personal and professional because as you grow in a career there will inevitably be an intersection, intermingling and trade-offs that have to be made. It will not always be a balance but finding what works for you and your family at the specific times in your life is how I believe you can be most successful.
I would encourage saving for the future as soon as you can so you can achieve your goals within timeframes that bring you a sense of pride and happiness. I would also advocate that everyone be authentic in the workplace and bring their whole selves, every day. We are all human and fostering a culture of respect and inclusion is a force multiplier for business.
We know that relationships are important for any kind of development. How do you build and maintain your network?
Building a network is multi-faceted and frankly, takes effort. I believe the most important aspects of relationships are authenticity, accountability and trust. These are the bedrock that grounds everything and allows for the ups and downs, celebrations and disappointments, which are all part of the journey. I learned early on in my career that you should always follow through on what you say you will do (and if you need to pivot be clear in your communication) and never waste someone’s time or connection.
I triage what type of relationship we need to have or mutually want to have – one-off, shorter-term, long-term, situational, mentor, etc. Then, I figure out the right way to engage – frequency, intensity, level of personal vs professional, etc. I know it might sound very calculated, but in practice it is very logical and helps me ensure I am making the most of interactions and appropriately respecting the other person. This is definitely an area where I am continuing to refine, but I am confident it is energy well spent.
Tell us about your mentoring relationships. What impact have these relationships had on your career and life?
Mentors come in many forms and the impact they have on you can run the gamut. I feel like when I was learning about the concept of mentorship, it was very one dimensional – I ask someone to give me guidance on a problem or my career and that helped shape my decision and direction. As I have gone through my career journey, I have experienced the power of mentorship differently. I realized that it is truly reciprocal and even if you are not giving your mentor advice, the conversation and process can oftentimes be incredibly beneficial for the mentor.
I have also come to be okay with the fact that some mentors are very transactional – one-time guidance, support or advice – and others are truly alongside you on the road…and both are okay and important! Be respectful of mentors and the investment they are making in you and don’t forget, at the end of the day it is your career, your life, your decision, your responsibility.
What advice would you give to current Wake Forest students and/or young alumni who are interested in working in your industry?
The world of finance is vast and the job opportunities are not limited to those in banking, sales or research. Think more about the responsibilities and skills and less about the title (unless you are going into something very specific like quantitative analytics). I never would have imagined 20+ years later I would be at one of the, if not the largest financial institution in the world.
What’s next for your career? What future goals or plans are you pursuing?
Nothing specific on the horizon, but as I have said earlier it is up to each of us to drive our own career. For the time being, I am focusing on continuing to deliver on three events-related fronts and get some big wins under my belt with my new Operations team. We will see what opportunities present themselves as I work through all of that and will always remain open to opportunities!
Story published in April 2025. For current updates about David, visit his LinkedIn.