About Ali Hooks
I turn strategy into something people can feel.
What people feel is what moves them. What moves them moves the business.
I start with two things: where the business needs to go and where the audience is today. Then I find the hook that connects the two.
That means looking beyond the event itself. Understanding the business. Listening for what isn't in the brief. Meeting people where they are instead of expecting them to come to us. Then bringing together strategy, creativity, storytelling, and experience to make something click.
The experience is the output. The connection is the point.
How I think
I don't take the brief at face value.
Someone asks for an event. I'm usually asking why.
What's happening in the business? What are we trying to change? Where is the audience right now? What do they need to understand, feel, or believe? And is what we've been asked to build actually the best way to get there?
Some of my best work has started by hearing something in a leadership meeting that had nothing to do with events and thinking, we can help solve that.
That's how I've built partnerships with C-suite and senior leaders throughout my career: by understanding the business well enough to see where experience can help move it forward.
Understand the business. Meet the audience. Find the hook. Build what moves them.
The road here
A few chapters. One throughline.
CRGSlalomExpedia GroupHookline Creative
I learned how to make ambitious ideas real at CRG. At Slalom, I learned to connect those ideas to business strategy. Then at Expedia Group, everything came together.
I joined EG's Brand Experience team in a newly created role with an open question: How do we make 17,000+ employees around the world actually feel the brand? There was no playbook. I got to help build it.
Then a global pandemic stopped travel and in-person experiences almost overnight. Weirdly, that's when the work became more important than ever. As EG transformed, my role grew with it: understanding where the business needed to go, where our people actually were, and creating the experiences that connected the two.
Today, through Hookline Creative, I bring that same thinking to different businesses, audiences, and problems. Different challenge, same starting point: understand what actually needs to move.
How I lead
A leader who builds leaders.
I'm passionate about developing people and building high-performing teams where individuals can grow in confidence, creativity, and capability.
I believe in setting a clear direction and a high bar, then giving people the trust, context, and ownership to do great work. I want people to bring ideas I haven't thought of, challenge the thinking, and grow into leaders in their own right.
When we create space for trust, collaboration, and belonging, the results speak for themselves: stronger teams, elevated ideas, and meaningful impact for the business.
Off the clock
Okay, but really. Who am I?
Former college athlete. Pacific Northwest through and through. Dog mom to Rascal, a 17-year-old rescue mutt who has opinions about pretty much everything.
I'm endlessly curious, which is probably why I love to travel. Not just go somewhere, but really explore it. Wander the neighborhoods. Eat the food. Learn the history. Meet people. Immerse myself in the culture and understand what makes a place feel like that place. Some of my favorite memories have come from getting a little lost somewhere I've never been before.
At home, give me really good coffee, live sports, a farmers market, dinner with friends, a game night I will inevitably take too seriously, or a reason to get outside.
I'm fascinated by people, culture, food, design, experiences, and why certain things just feel different.
Basically, I really like experiences. Turns out I picked the right career.
In their words
Don't take my word for it.
“Ali understands what people need, and she pays attention to the things others miss.”
Rathi Murthy
Former CTO, Expedia Group | CTO, Varo Bank
“Ali is not someone I would only trust to execute a complex event. I trust her to determine how the work should be structured in the first place.”
Deanne Bryan
Former Vice President, Event Management, CRG Events
“She had a real talent for absorbing competing priorities, translating conflicting asks into a clear direction, and giving her team room to do good work instead of just fast work.”
Joey Song
Production Lead, Live Event and Video Production, Expedia Group
“What makes Ali rare is that she pairs that heart with real vision. She sees around corners in a way I genuinely have not seen from anyone else I've worked with.”
Molly Martin
Former Art Direction Manager, Expedia Group | Creative Lead, Product Storytelling, Zendesk
“She took our ideas seriously, understood what we needed to execute them, and knew how to make the case to senior leadership. I did some of the best work of my career alongside Ali.”
Kyle Hogan
Former Sr. Manager, Event Production & Executive IT Support, Expedia Group | Creative Technology Manager, Procore Technologies
“Ali consistently starts with why and pushes beyond surface-level solutions. She creates space for creative exploration, encouraging teams to break the mold while staying grounded in the goal.”
Annie Mullins
Senior Creative Program Manager, Expedia Group