What One Thing?—From Six Flags to CEO: The Power of Experience & Connection with Keith Alper

March 20, 2025

In this episode of “What One Thing?”, Smart Meetings’ Vice President and Content Director JT Long interviews Keith Alper, CEO and chairman of Creative Producers Group. Alper is a veteran of marketing, branding, business strategy and event production.

Alper shares his entrepreneurial journey, starting from childhood performances in his basement to launching his first business at 17 while working at Six Flags.

He reflects on the influence of his early experiences in the entertainment industry and the customer-first mentality he was ingrained with from amusement parks and hospitality.

Editor’s note: This episode of What One Thing? was transcribed by Otter.ai and edited lightly.

[Intro Music]

JT Long Welcome back to What One Thing, a Smart Meetings podcast that provides you with a shortcut to the top of the events world by asking successful people what made the difference in their careers and lives. I’m JT Long, vice president and content director with Smart Meetings, and this conversation could be the start of a more productive chapter in your life.

Keith Alper is an expert in marketing, branding, business strategy, and event production. He is the author of From Like to Love, and he’s here to fire us up. Welcome, KA.

KA Well, thank you, JT. I’m so excited to be here with you today. It’s going to be fun.

JT I want to talk a little about how you became Keith Alper, right? It sounds like you were a born entrepreneur, starting your first company when you were 17. Tell me, did you bring a briefcase to kindergarten? What was little KA like?

KA Well, actually, little KA did what a lot of kids do—shows in their parents’ basement.

When I was six or seven, I would ask my parents for Hanukkah gifts like Lite-Brites and extension cords—not what most kids ask for—so I could put on shows in the basement. Most people aren’t born knowing what they want to do, but I’ve always wanted to entertain. From a young age, I was drawn to hospitality and production. Now, I’m just a big kid. The light bulbs got bigger, the speakers got bigger, and the audiences got bigger.

I started my first business when I was about 17 with my then-partner, Steve. We met working in the shows department at Six Flags. Actually, I was 15 when we started working together, even though I wasn’t technically old enough to work there. I may have moved my birthdate over a bit because I really wanted to work in entertainment.

JT That is dedication! We’ve talked to a number of people who started in the Disney training machine and brought that magic out into the rest of the industry. What was it like learning the business at Six Flags? And would you say that the rest of your industry operates like an amusement park? What did you learn from that?

KA Without getting too philosophical, Disney was always number one, but back in 1978, they weren’t as big as they are today. The early Six Flags was owned by a company that aimed to provide a high-quality regional experience on par with Disney but at a more accessible price.

Their philosophy drilled into us that a family might save up for a long time to spend one day at our park, so we had to make that experience unforgettable. That mentality was instilled in me at 15 years old. We couldn’t have beards or sideburns, we wore uniforms, and if we saw trash, we picked it up.

I started as a stagehand at the Palace Theater in St. Louis, which was the closest thing to Broadway at the time. We did 10 shows a day with a 17-person union orchestra, so I learned firsthand how to work hard with a team.

The big lesson? We’re in the business of making people happy. Whether it’s theme parks, concerts, or corporate events, the goal is the same—to create a moment where people forget about everything else and are fully engaged.

That training led us to produce major concerts before Live Nation even existed. By 15, I was working with artists like Dolly Parton and New Kids on the Block. If you start young in this industry, it gets in your blood.

JT I love that! You got bitten by the bug. That service mentality gets ingrained in us. The joke in hospitality is that you know you’re in the business when you’re in an elevator full of hospitality professionals, and everyone says, “You go first. No, you go first.”

KA Exactly! And it’s also a curse because, when you work with clients in hospitality, everything is a show. Whether it’s politics, business, or meetings, every detail matters. In hospitality, every guest’s experience is unique. It may be your hundredth day at work, but for them, it’s their first visit to your hotel or conference. That’s hard to maintain every single day, but if you love what you do, it’s worth it.

I always say, if my clients don’t make money off what we do, then we didn’t do our job. That applies to employee engagement, customer experience, and branding—it’s not just about tablecloths and spotlights.

JT That’s so true. You’ve worked with Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits. How do they operate differently from smaller companies?

KA In the end, big or small, we all put our pants on one leg at a time. The difference is in scale and strategy.

Big companies like L’Oréal, Ulta Beauty, Southwest Airlines, and Carnival Cruise Line expect a higher level of execution. They often rely on us to handle the bigger picture, while smaller companies want to be more involved in production.

But our job remains the same: to make our clients’ jobs easier. The best partnerships are built on trust, and many of our clients have been with us for 10 to 15 years. They see us as partners, not vendors.

JT The dreaded C-word—COVID—changed everything. You’ve worked in both live and virtual events. What has changed the most in your industry, and where do you see events going next?

KA I’ll make some predictions.

Before COVID, virtual events were a niche offering. We actually launched a company called Geniecast in 2015 to bring top-tier speakers to meetings virtually. It was a game-changer—clients could book Steve Wozniak virtually for a fraction of his in-person fee.

Then COVID hit, and suddenly, everyone went virtual. But now? Virtual events have taken a major hit. Most platforms like Hopin didn’t survive, and we’ve seen a massive return to in-person meetings. Why? Because human connection can’t be replaced.

That being said, AI is reshaping the industry. AI won’t replace people, but it will enhance our ability to create better, more personalized experiences. The future of meetings is about real intelligence plus AI—what I call “RI + AI.”

JT So, what is one thing that made all the difference in your career and life? What can our Smart Meetings audience take away?

KA I’m a rule breaker, so I’ll give you three things: