Candace Montgomery
Senior Vice President and General Manager, AtlanticLIVE
The Atlantic
Candace Montgomery is SVP and GM of AtlanticLIVE, The Atlantic's events division, where she spearheads event strategy and leads the team. She collaborates with Atlantic editorial and stakeholders organization-wide to grow, innovate, and drive audience to the AtlanticLIVE event portfolio, anchored by its main tentpole The Atlantic Festival and its newest flagship, In Pursuit of Happiness. Candace was most recently a VP at Essence Communications, where she ran the day to day growth, revenue, and operations for Experiential.
While at Essence she was instrumental in creating most of Essence's events portfolio and co-leading the Essence Festival of Culture - the nation’s largest culture gathering. She also transitioned Essence to virtual events in 2020. Many of the programs audiences have come to love — Essence Wellness House, Fashion House, Black Women in Hollywood, as well as the accompanying television special on the OWN network, Hollywood House, and Street Style –– were launched and brought to market under her leadership. Prior to her VP role, she held various titles at Essence including Executive Director and Senior Director of Experiential, and Special Events Director where she oversaw Essence’s live experiential strategy and signature programs.
Candace is a noted speaker and has won several awards for her leadership and innovation including the latest 2021 BizBash 500 list of top event professionals in the US. She sits on the boards of The Brooklyn Combine, Harlem Fashion Row, and Hire Black.
While at Essence she was instrumental in creating most of Essence's events portfolio and co-leading the Essence Festival of Culture - the nation’s largest culture gathering. She also transitioned Essence to virtual events in 2020. Many of the programs audiences have come to love — Essence Wellness House, Fashion House, Black Women in Hollywood, as well as the accompanying television special on the OWN network, Hollywood House, and Street Style –– were launched and brought to market under her leadership. Prior to her VP role, she held various titles at Essence including Executive Director and Senior Director of Experiential, and Special Events Director where she oversaw Essence’s live experiential strategy and signature programs.
Candace is a noted speaker and has won several awards for her leadership and innovation including the latest 2021 BizBash 500 list of top event professionals in the US. She sits on the boards of The Brooklyn Combine, Harlem Fashion Row, and Hire Black.
