Page 14 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE_Neat

MEMBER PROFILE

"You have to navigate

your challenges"

- Carolina Soares, CEO of The Event Firm
and Gaslight Events Company

Executing the perfect event requires
not only a skill for organization,
but a knack for detail and a high
tolerance for stress.
These are skills that Carolina Soares, CEO of
The Event Firm and Gaslight Events Company,
clearly possesses considering the wide scope of
ventures her company takes on as it continues
to make Cambridge’s Gaslight District a ‘must
visit’ destination thanks to its unique event
spaces, restaurants, art installations and
massive public square.
“It’s one of the most stressful businesses to be
part of,” says Carolina, seated in the company’s
comfortable boardroom on the upper of level
Tapestry Hall located in a former century-old
foundry. “But I love it. It really keeps you on
your toes. There are always things happening
and you’re constantly thinking on your feet.”
She says a big part of the job requires her to
always be ‘on’ and that dealing with clients
and their stresses, especially when it comes to

weddings, can be difficult.

“It’s such a huge day for them,” says Carolina,
who honed her skills working with company
co-founder Kyle Priestley in his former DJ
business several years ago which in turn led
the pair to create The Event Firm and later
Gaslight Events Company.
For the self-proclaimed introvert, who
describes herself as being a shy child in school,

her transformation into a savvy and confident
business leader was a gradual journey that
began when her family immigrated to Hamilton
from Brazil so her father could pursue new
opportunities as a chemical engineer. She
was eight at the time and neither she, nor her
younger sister, spoke English.
“That was a real transition and took us about
two years to adjust,” says Carolina, who arrived
in the region four years later when her father
took a teaching position at the University of
Waterloo.

14 Winter 2024 www.cambridgechamber.com