Global Ready Conference is one of my favorite days of the year. I love telling stories, bringing people together, and showcasing a vision for the future in creative ways.
And since joining the company nearly six years ago, I’ve played a role in bringing our industry events to life.
Our first user conference in 2016 was on one of the top floors of the Grand Hyatt San Francisco with sweeping views of the bay. My role was to work in partnership with one of our customers to build out the keynote.

Register for Smartling’s Global Ready Conference on April 14, 2021 at smartling.com/conference. It’s 100% free and will be available on-demand.
In the second installment, I led a fireside chat to close out the event with my company’s CEO, Jack Welde. (Yes, we made the bad joke about having a fireside chat without a fireplace.)

The third year was where things started to heat up. We were drastically expanding the footprint of our event and had rebranded it as Global Ready Conference. My contribution this year were two brand films used to kick off the event and to convey a message to our customers about the quality of work they can expect from our company. We also expanded the event to London to get closer to our European customers.

2019 didn’t disappoint, either. It was the year we introduced Move the World with Words, our battle cry that succinctly exemplifies why we exist – and, it also revealed stories about the people behind global commerce: language translators. This brand promise lives on today and is integral to everything we do.


For obvious reasons, we put Global Ready Conference aside last year and put all of our energy into making our customers successful with short form content and thought leadership, all of which you can learn more about at smartling.com/globalready.
But this year, we’re back. And we’re really excited to introduce you to our first online conference that brings together a global audience representing 56 countries (and counting!).
April 14, 2021 is Global Ready Conference online. The livestream starts at 11am ET and starting the day after it will also be available on-demand. And boy do we have a tremendous show in store for you to enjoy from the comfort of your living room.
The event kicks off with a keynote address by Minette Norman. If you haven’t met Minette or heard her speak, you’re in for a treat. Minette is the former VP of Engineering at Autodesk. Her 3,000 person team, which included the localization team, thrived under her leadership. Her story – and the guidance she will offer about how to set targets, navigate change and collaborate with others – is an empowering message for all, and I sincerely couldn’t think of a better way to start the day.
Here is a list of the other fantastic sessions you can expect following Minette’s keynote:
- Smartling keynote and product announcements led by Jack Welde, Smartling’s CEO
- Dogs vs. Terminology, a presentation by Facebook’s Uwe Muegge on the business value of terminology programs
- A fireside chat with investors from ICONIQ Capital, Venrock and Ridge Ventures on how they approach global growth
- A conversation moderated by Gavin Grimes with Nancy Ferreira (FedEx) and Emil Atanassov (ServiceNow) on what they look for from translation providers
- And Aisling Nolan, Smartling’s Director of Customer Success, unpacks her perspective on Scott Galloway’s Thermometer Model, and what it has to do with localization
There’s more to this agenda.
Lots more.
Like live-networking, can’t-miss entertainment and our closing all-star keynote speaker. All of this is to be announced via LinkedIn and Twitter in the coming days.
Each show brings a different flavor, experience, and set of memories. While I will miss seeing each and every one of you in person, I am enormously excited to welcome more people to the event, and believe strongly that the format we have selected will not only help you to achieve a greater perspective on translation and localization right now, but it will also be a ton of fun (this will feel more like a Netflix binge than attending a translation event). The only way to find out for yourself is to register for the event right now, and show up ready to watch, chat, video conference and be one with your global colleagues on April 14, 2021.
See you there!
Register for Smartling’s Global Ready Conference on April 14, 2021 at smartling.com/conference. It’s 100% free and will be available on demand.