Mall of America hosts some 400 events every year, and Group Sales Manager Sarah Anderson has a hand in all of them. The Rochester native came to the Twin Cities in 2007 to attend the University of Minnesota, and she got her first taste of working at the mall as a tourism intern. After graduation in 2011, she landed a job as events and marketing assistant at the mall and switched to sales—where she found her home—a few months later. Over the next few years, she held multiple sales roles with progressively increasing responsibility before landing in her current role as group sales manager in 2019.
And the seemingly endless offerings for groups help the mall sell itself with ease. “Mall of America is a great place to hold meetings and events because we have a variety of spaces within the building,” Anderson says. “We’re only 10 minutes from the airport. … There’s also so much to do under one roof … which is really unique.”
Growing up in Rochester with a mother who worked at Mayo Clinic, Anderson credits her mom as the strongest influence on her life. “She raised three children while working full-time and really taught me the importance of getting a good education, working on your own, but also still being able to have a family,” she notes. Anderson keeps busy alongside her work at the mall, too, adding that she’s planning her wedding for this September, as well as upcoming trips to Croatia and Greece next year with her partner. In the meantime, she’s jazzed about her job and looks forward to connecting visitors with the opportunities available at the mall.
“I get to sell fun experiences, which makes my job exciting and never dull,” she says. “We get to work with a wide variety of groups on a daily basis, and it’s fun to help them plan different events.”
