TravelCom’s 2010 Advisory Board is made up of hand-picked individuals who represent each industry in the travel world. These leaders in industry are using a hands-on approach to make this years conference stronger than ever. Their shared insights and constant involvement has proven to be a great asset to TravelCom 2010.
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David Pavelko (Chairman)
Head of Travel, Eastern Region
Google, Inc.
David Pavelko is the Head of Travel for the Eastern Region at Google and manages marketing and advertising campaigns for airlines, hotel chains, cruise lines, car rental companies, tourism groups, OTA's, meta, and travel publishers across Google search, display, YouTube and television advertising platforms. Prior to joining Google, David spent 6 years at Cendant Corporation where he was Vice President of Business Development and was responsible for developing and managing marketing programs for Fortune 500 organizations for the purposes of leveraging Cendant's travel (Orbitz, CheapTickets, Galileo), hospitality (Ramada Inn, Days Inn, Super 8), car rental (Avis/Budget), real estate and financial services distribution channels. David also spent time at Choice Hotels in a similar business development capacity as well as a few years in the sports marketing industry primarily managing sponsorship programs in IndyCar racing. David is a graduate of Princeton University. |
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Eric Bader
President
BrandinHand, Inc.
Eric Bader is a partner in BrandInHand, a full-service mobile marketing and media company that serves global brand marketers, partners with agencies and consults emerging media companies. Bader was formerly Managing Director of Digital, at MediaVest Worldwide. Under his leadership, Advertising Age named MediaVest its Digital Media Agency of the Year in 2006. In 2007 Eric was named Mediaweek’s Digital Media All-Star. Before his tenure at MediaVest he was the head of online enterprises at CSTV Networks (now CBS College Sports) and prior to that, Eric served for seven years as Executive Director of Interactive Marketing at Ogilvy Worldwide. Eric, a native and current New Yorker, earned a B.A. from The University of Colorado at Boulder. |
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Alisa L. Bailey
President & CEO
Virginia Tourism Corporation
Since 2003, Alisa Bailey has served as President and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corporation. As such, she oversees the agency’s $16 million budget and its 73 employees, including the state’s 10 Highway Welcome Centers. VTC is charged with increasing Virginia’s tax base through tourism expenditures by marketing Virginia as premier travel destination. Currently, tourism in Virginia is a $19 billion industry, employing 210,000 and generating $1.2 billion in state and local taxes.Prior to assuming the position in Virginia, Ms. Bailey was West Virginia’s first woman Bureau Chief of Commerce and State Tourism Commissioner.Ms. Bailey serves on the United State’s Travel Association Board of Directors and the board of the National Council of State Tourism Directors. Under her leadership, VTC has won several national awards for excellence in marketing. Ms. Bailey is also a member of boards of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, Capital Region USA, Travel South USA, Southeast Tourism Society, the Richmond Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Cultural Heritage Commission and Virginia Civil War Trails. A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Ms. Bailey earned a B.S. in Journalism from West Virginia University. She is married and the mother of two adult children. |
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Susan Black
Co-Founder/Partner
The Black & Wright Group
Susan Black is co-founder of the 9-year old strategy firm, The Black & Wright Group, www.blackandwright.com. Susan is also Senior Advisor at Bentley Associates Investment Bank’s Travel & Leisure Group www.bentleylp.com, where she leads the Strategic Advisory Practice. Clients include leading online travel brands, traditional travel distributors and suppliers, and travel industry start-ups. She serves on several corporate advisory boards, and was elected to ATME's Executive Committee (Association of Travel Marketing Executives) and USTravel's eCommerce Committee. An experienced travel marketer, Susan recently served as Chief Marketing Officer of CheapCaribbean.com, a top ranked website dedicated to Caribbean and Mexico vacations. Her previous posts include Executive Vice President, Marketing for $2B Liberty Travel/GOGO Worldwide Vacations; Founder, TravelCom Conference & Expo and the Executive Women’s Forum; Chairman of eTravelWorld; GM and Publisher of Thomas Publishing's Travel Group; and Associate Publisher of Corporate Travel Magazine. As an active social media participant, she currently helps marketers develop, implement and measure social media strategies for their travel brands. Follow Susan on Twitter @SusanTravels.
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Robert Coggin
Vice Chairman
Travelport GDS
Bob Coggin is Vice Chairman, Travelport GDS. Bob acts as an advisor and key ambassador for Travelport GDS across the travel industry, providing guidance and assisting in the management of Galileo’s relationships with all senior level airline executives and other supplier partners. Headquartered in Langley, UK, and operating across 145 countries, Travelport GDS comprises the Galileo and Worldspan businesses; Shepherd Systems, an expert in the field of providing business and marketing intelligence to the travel industry and Thor, a provider of distribution and marketing services to travel-related companies. Prior to Travelport’s acquisition of Worldspan in August 2007, Bob was Vice Chairman of Galileo. Previous to this, Bob was Vice Chairman of Travelport Airline Services, responsible for supporting a number of strategic initiatives and as a respected industry veteran, worked to help elevate the company’s profile within the travel industry. Before joining Travelport in 2002, Bob had a 42-year career with Delta Air Lines where he served in various senior positions in Delta’s Passenger Service and Sales/Marketing Divisions. Bob attended Alabama Christian College and has participated in Executive Masters in Business Administration Programs at the Kellogg School at Northwestern University. |
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Danielle Saba Courtenay
Chief Marketing Officer
Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.
Danielle Courtenay joined the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. in February 1995. As Chief Marketing Officer, she develops the long-range strategy and directs the day-to-day marketing plans and objectives including; global public relations, public affairs, domestic and international integrated leisure marketing and promotions as well as meetings & conventions marketing. In addition, her responsibilities include issues management, crisis communications and digital strategy. Previously she was the vice president of an advertising and public relations agency that specialized in travel and tourism. She has served in multiple volunteer positions with the Public Relations Society of America, Society of American Travel Writers and Destination Management Association International and serves as the chair of the United States Travel Association Communications Council and on the Alliance for Arts and Culture board of directors. She has earned the Accredited Public Relations designation and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations from Auburn University and Masters of Science degree in Marketing Communication from Florida State University.
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Brian J. Curtin
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Enterprise Holdings
As a Vice President at Enterprise Holdings, Brian leads marketing services initiatives for Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental. His team’s responsibilities include digital media, reporting and analytics, database applications, marketing procurement and business administration for the three brands. Enterprise Holdings owns and operates the largest fleet of passenger vehicles in the world today – approximately 1.1 million cars and trucks and It has a total network of nearly 8,000 car rental locations in neighborhoods and at airports worldwide. Brian’s car rental career began in 1990 as a management trainee with Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Boston. Brian relocated to St. Louis in 1999 to take a marketing analyst position at Enterprise’s Corporate Headquarters. Since then, Brian has held a variety of roles as the Marketing and Communications area has increased in scope and responsibilities; growing from less than 15 people marketing one brand to 80 people marketing three brands today. Brian grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Harvard University in 1989. He resides in St. Louis with his wife, Laurie, and their two daughters. |
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Gideon Dean
Executive Vice President, Print & Digital Media
Questex Travel Group
Mr. Dean joined Questex in 2008 from TIG Global, LLC, a provider of interactive marketing services for the hospitality and travel industry, where he was Senior Vice President of Global Hospitality Sales & Marketing. Before joining TIG Global, Dean operated in key sales and executive management roles over a ten-year career with Pegasus Solutions, one of the largest third-party marketing and reservation providers in the world. Dean also has a background in hotel operations and has held management positions with Utell International and Reed Travel Group. |
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Anthony Del Gaudio
Vice President, Global Distribution
Loews Hotels
Anthony Del Gaudio has been promoted to the newly created position of Vice President of Global Distribution at Loews Hotels. An accomplished sales and marketing executive with broad experience in the Mid-Atlantic region, Del Gaudio was most recently Regional Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Loews Hotels. In his new position, he will be responsible for the centralization of all relationships, control, promotional efforts and inventory/pricing for Loews portfolio of 18 hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Canada. “As we continue to grow and expand our global presence, Anthony’s extensive experience and hands-on style will be invaluable to establishing the brand in new markets,” said Felicia Fisher, Senior Vice President of Sales and Strategic Planning. Del Gaudio joined Loews in 2001 as Director of Sales and Marketing at the historic Loews Philadelphia, where he oversaw all revenue-roducing positions, sales reservations, convention services, marketing and public relations. In addition, he was responsible for the successful launch of SoleFood, the hotel’s seafood restaurant, and the debut of an NBC studio on-site. Under his direction, his team of 28 was awarded Loews Hotels’ 2002 Hotel Marketing Team of the Year. In January 2005, Del Gaudio was promoted to Regional Director of Sales and Marketing, assuming responsibility for the strategic sales and marketing initiatives of seven Loews properties.Prior to joining Loews Hotels, Del Gaudio spent 13 years with Hyatt Hotel Corporation, serving in a variety of sales and marketing positions at Hyatt properties throughout Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Headquartered in New York City, Loews Hotels owns and/or operates 18 hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Canada. Located in major city centers and resort destinations from coast to coast, the Loews portfolio features one-of-a-kind properties that go beyond Four Diamond standards to delight guests with a supremely comfortable, uniquely local and vibrant travel experience. Loews boasts some of the industry's most innovative and successful travel programs, including Loews Loves Kids for families and Loews Loves Pets for discerning animals on the road.
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Christine Duffy
President & Chief Executive Officer
Maritz Travel Company
Christine Duffy is president and chief executive officer of Maritz Travel, one of the largest meeting, event and incentive travel management companies in the world. Headquartered in St. Louis, Maritz Travel combines industry insight with the art of motivation and the science of technology to develop customized events that deliver targeted business results. Managing more than $700 million in revenue, Duffy is responsible for ensuring the highest level of service quality is delivered to clients, to help them achieve their unique business objectives. Duffy is very active in the meetings industry. Through her expertise, vision and approachable communication style, she is empowering meeting professionals around the globe to elevate their profession and prove their strategic value to their company’s bottom line. She has been invited to numerous industry conferences to share her knowledge and experience around: trends in the meeting and incentive industry, meeting effectiveness, outsourcing and strategic meetings management. She has served on the Meeting Professionals International MPI Board of Directors for six years and was appointed 2005-2006 Chairwoman of the Board. Duffy founded MPI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, served as its inaugural chairwoman, and has been a regular speaker for the industry on women’s leadership. She also is a member of the Committee of 200 (C200), whose mission and Foundation is to foster, celebrate and advance women’s leadership in business. Most recently she has been added to the boards of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau and the US Travel Association. Duffy is a founding member of the Meetings, Events and Incentives (ME&I) Coalition, the formation of which she announced at the 2009 MPI Conference MeetDifferent. Duffy took the stage with US Travel Association President Roger Dow to stand up against attacks on companies, which received assistance from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and their use of meetings and incentive travel. On behalf of the ME&I Coalition, she has been a strong and active voice in the media and on Capitol Hill to communicate the business value of meetings and incentive travel, and their impact on the economy and more than one million American jobs. As a coalition member, she co-authored industry guidelines for meetings, events and incentive/recognition travel, based on corporate best practices and designed to ensure transparency and accountability. Duffy has been recognized several times over for her work at Maritz and as an industry leader. In 2008, Business Travel News recognized her as one of the “25 Most Influential Executives of 2007.” In 2006, the St. Louis Business Journal recognized her as one of the “25 Most Influential Business Women,” and she was once again named one of Meetings News magazine’s “25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry.” She previously was recognized by Meetings News in 2000, 2001 and 2005. And, she was named one of Corporate Meetings and Incentives magazine’s “Top 10 Women Leaders in the Meeting Industry” in 2001. Duffy was inducted into the Convention Industry Council Hall of Leaders in 2007. Duffy had served as President and Chief Operating Officer of McGettigan Partners when that company was acquired in November 2001 by Maritz Travel. While there, she grew sales more than 154 percent between 1996 and 2001 through organic growth and acquisition. |
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Chicke Fitzgerald
Founder/CEO
Solutionz Group
Chicke Fitzgerald is a world authority on global travel distribution via multiple channels. She has published a series of books, known as the Travel Distribution Library and is the founder/CEO of the Solutionz Group, a global consultancy founded in 1996, based in Tampa. Chicke is also the founder/CEO of Solutionz Media Group, a company focused on helping its clients increase engagement through relationship via the integration of social media into overall company strategy. Chicke has nearly thirty years experience in the electronic distribution and marketing fields, with a focus on the travel, transportation and telecommunications industries. Her expertise includes strategic planning, joint venture partnerships, marketing plan development and execution, multi-channel distribution, outsourcing and business process re-engineering. The firm has expertise in all sectors of the travel distribution value chain, including offline/online agencies, corporate travel, travel suppliers, GDS companies, travel technology and service providers. |
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Donna Flora
Vice President, Travel Industry Relations
American Express
Donna Dumond Flora was named Vice President, Travel Industry Relations for American Express in 2002. American Express is one of the largest and foremost travel agencies in the world and has been a vital part of the travel industry for over 158 years. She is responsible for advancing American Express brand awareness and Card acceptance within the travel industry and serves as the primary liason to the U.S. travel agency community and travel industry associations. Donna has consistently contributed to significant positive impacts on the travel industry including her instrumental role in launching a multi-million dollar consumer awareness campaign educating and promoting the value of using a travel agent. She was the Director of Travel Industry Relations and responsible for the key growth drivers of the Travel Agency Partnership Program. She also developed and relaunched americanexpress.com/travelprofessional which offers all travel agents regardless of affiliation access to American Express exclusive supplier offers, educational training, card benefits, business resources and revenue-generating partnership opportunities. Donna has received numerous awards and recognitions while at American Express including their Quality Leadership Award, Excellence Award, Great Performers Grand Award, Building and Levering Relationship Award, When she was 23 years old, Donna entered the travel industry as a volunteer for a small travel agency for three months in order to prove herself. Two years later, she was named manager of this agency and her career rapidly accelerated. While at American Express, she formerly managed retail travel offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She has been a member of the travel industry for over 30 years. She has a stellar presence within the industry and was highlighted on the cover and as lead article for the October, 2007 issue of Travel Agent magazine. Donna is a devoted advocate of recruiting youth into the travel industry. She chairs the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism in New York City and is a member of the Virtual Enterprise International Advisory Board. She is a board member of the Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality and recipient of their 2002 Access to Freedom Award. She is a member of the American Society of Travel Agents Allied Marketing Council and in 2005 received their Allied Member of the Year award. She is a board member of the American Tourism Society and a planning committee member for the Travel Industry Association. She is Lifetime Member of the Travel Institute. She is a member of the SKAL Club of New York. She resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Michael. Donna is an avid gardener and her other interests outside of the travel industry include a lifetime membership in the Girl Scouts of America, memberships in the Philadelphia Latino Scholarship Fund, League of United Latin American Citizens, League of Women Voters, Habitat for Humanity, Historic Langhorne Association, Latino Leadership Alliance of Bucks County and the Pennsylvania Organization of Latino Organizations. She established the Dumond Family Latino Scholarship Endowment enabling impoverished and underserved Latino youth to focus on continuing education. Her concern about the environment is a driving force in her life and she has a personal commitment to contributing to the preservation of the environment. She is a strong supporter of Native Energy, a privately held Native American energy company which builds farmer-owned, community based renewable energy projects that create social, economic, and environmental benefits. |
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Robert A. Gilbert
President & CEO
Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association (HSMAI)
As President and CEO of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, Robert +6+A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, has been guiding HSMAI through a dynamic and exciting period of change as the 7,000+ member organization has been re-established as the definitive hospitality and travel marketing association in the world.During Gilbert’s tenure, HSMAI has achieved tremendous success with a number of initiatives. It has re-affirmed its commitment to industry-specific education through HSMAI chapters and the creation of five special interest groups (SIGs) which provide segment-specific programs such Internet Marketing, Resort Marketing, and Revenue Management Strategy Conferences. Gilbert was also instrumental in the development of the HSMAI University and the expansion of HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings trade shows into three markets. HSMAI U today produces nearly 50 webinars annually, manages two world class simulation training programs, and three certifications. Affordable Meetings provides HSMAI members a direct opportunity to meet potential customers and secure leads for meetings business for their hotel or destination. He has also led the global expansion of HSMAI thru the formation of HSMAI Global in 2003, the opening of an Asia Pacific regional office in Singapore in 2005 and the recent establishment of a new national chapter in the United Arab Emirates. Gilbert holds a BS degree from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and has been a member of HSMAI since joining the student chapter at Cornell. He is a frequent guest lecturer at Cornell. Gilbert serves on the Board of Directors of the AH&LA and the Convention Industry Council (CIC), and the Travel and Tourism Coalition of the U.S. Travel Association. He also serves on a number of advisory boards of hospitality and hotel management schools. |
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Henry Harteveldt
Vice President, Principal Analyst
Forrester Research
Henry's research helps travel industry eBusiness & Channel Strategy professionals worldwide understand and anticipate how technology will affect the way they market, sell, and distribute their products and services. He joined Forrester in January 2000 to lead the worldwide travel industry practice. Henry's research at Forrester has served to define strategy and opportunity across the travel industry and functions as a leading indicator of key trends and innovation. Recent key research by Henry identified the opportunity presented by mobile data services for travel marketing, customer service, and distribution; recognized the need for the industry to humanize the digital travel experience by making the human benefits more visible than the technology; and noted the first-ever decline in the number of online travel buyers, coupled with a growth in the use of offline travel agencies. Named one of the 33 most influential people in the travel industry by Travel Weekly magazine in November 2007, Henry is a regular commentator in broadcast and print media. Henry serves on the board of directors of the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) and the advisory board of Travel Distribution Report. Henry was a cofounder of the annual TravelCom travel industry conference and serves as a member of the Travel Industry Association's eCommerce advisory committee.
Henry's travel industry marketing, planning, and distribution experience includes leadership roles at Continental Airlines, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, GetThere, and The Trump Organization. Henry is a graduate of the Tulane University School of Business in New Orleans, and he is based in San Francisco.
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Paul Hennessy
Chief Distribution Officer
Priceline
Paul Hennessy was named Chief Distribution Officer in June of 2006. He is responsible for all of priceline.com's Online Marketing Initiatives including Search, Strategic Partnerships, Affiliates, and Advertising Sales. Mr. Hennessy joined priceline.com in April of 2000 and led a series of products including Telecom, Financial Services and Rental Cars as well as led the acquisitions of RentalCars.com, BreezeNet.com and MyTravelGuide.com. Prior to joining priceline.com, Mr. Hennessy led the Consumer Marketing organization at Omnipoint as well as led the Marketing organization at Pt. Excelcomindo Pratama, a Verizon Wireless Joint Venture in Jakarta, Indonesia. Mr. Hennessy has over 20 years experience in Technology Marketing and Management.
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Bruce Himelstein
President
BJH Consulting
Bruce J. Himelstein
An award- winning 30 year veteran of the hospitality industry, Bruce J. Himelstein is a recognized authority on innovative brand marketing and creation of a luxury lifestyle image for the highest quality services and consumer products. As a speaker, his range of experience qualifies him to cover a range of topics from the importance of developing a culture of service, sales intensity and brand innovation. Most recently, Himelstein spent seven years as the dynamic sales and marketing leader behind many highly successful campaigns for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. As corporate senior vice president, sales and marketing, among his most notable accomplishments were his campaign to “Blow the dust off the Lion and Crown” at Ritz-Carlton, a company once known for its classic design and conservative approach to marketing the brand.
Himelstein introduced a highly acclaimed global print advertising campaign to update the Ritz-Carlton image with customers. The campaign was recognized with multiple awards and moved both market share and hotel occupancy. He also assembled a team of award-winning Hollywood talents to produce a trio of cutting edge short films, featured as a highly successful web campaign. They were hailed for their quality and creativity from The Wall Street Journal and won the Platinum Award in 2008 from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association (HSMAI). Prior to joining The Ritz-Carlton, he was a senior vice president sales for Marriott International. From a beginning career as a hotel bellman to a recognized expert on sales and marketing breakthroughs, Himelstein offers his audience a wealth of experience firms will find both educational and inspirational, especially during a time when the global economic crisis has proven such a challenge for many companies trying to adjust their strategies to meet the changing marketplace. Himelstein is a frequent guest speaker/lecturer on branding, sales and marketing and leadership. He has been profiled in Lodging Magazine’s Who’s Who, and has written op-ed articles for Selling 2.0, Hotel and Motel Management, and Marketing Management magazines. He is a past global chairman of HSMAI, which has 6,000 worldwide members. In 2006, he was named “One of The Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing. Most recently, The American Marketing Association presented the 2007 AMA-DC Hall of Fame to Himelstein, who also serves on the Luxury Institute Advisory Board. He received his BA in communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo.
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Marc Johnson
Chief Marketing Officer
Experian Hitwise
Marc Johnson is the Chief Marketing Officer of Experian Hitwise, overseeing all global marketing, research and PR. Prior to Hitwise, he founded Storyline Development, a New York City based research and marketing consultancy. Marc previously served as an Executive Vice President and Advisor to BuzzMetrics (now a part of Nielsen Online). There he helped develop the first product, sales, and marketing plans. As Vice President of Product Development at the NPD Group, Marc created information products around convergence and the digital lifestyle for top consumer technology brands. Marc was part of the original management team at Jupiter Research, where he was Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategy, overseeing all product development as well as strategic PR and event programming. He was also Group Research Director at Jupiter and oversaw all digital media and marketing. Marc was a founding analyst of Jupiter's digital advertising research practice, where he developed the concept of Rational Branding and collaborated on the industry’s first online advertising forecasts and analysis. Prior to Jupiter, Marc was an advertising sales executive at Ziff-Davis and Meredith, working on many of the first online and multi-channel marketing campaigns. Marc’s insights have been featured in many major media outlets including CNN, CNBC, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Today Show, NPR, and Ad Age. He serves as an Advisor to Big Brothers Big Sisters NYC and GlanceGuide. He graduated cum laude with a BA from the University of New Hampshire.
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Sherrif Karamat
Chief Operating Officer
PCMA
Sherrif Karamat is the Chief Operating Officer for PCMA. Over the past four years at PCMA, he has overseen and implemented PCMA's strategic partnership program that has resulted in revenue growth of over 2,300 percent. This unprecedented growth occurred while he reduced the number of PCMA partners by more than 60% and simultaneously increased partner value and satisfaction. Karamat also oversees PCMA's print and digital media advertising and under his leadership revenues has increased by more than 50% during the past four years.
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Shafiq Khan
Senior Vice President, eCommerce
Marriott International
Shafiq Khan is responsible for leading Marriott’s eCommerce initiatives. These include Marriott.com, which is the lodging industry’s largest website with gross sales of over $5 B in 2007; Marriott’s participation and relationships with all online channels including Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, Orbitz; all global distribution systems (GDS) including Sabre, Galileo/Worldspan, Amadeus; and the emerging online travel intermediaries which include search engines such as Google and Yahoo and meta-search engines such as SideStep and Kayak. Previously, Shafiq was at US Airways, where he pioneered a series of groundbreaking initiatives which fundamentally restructured airline distribution. These include the development and launch of the airline industry’s first online booking product, Priority TravelWorks; electronic ticketing; and various distribution channel re-engineering projects for the corporate marketplace. Shafiq’s prior background includes assignments at United Airlines in marketing; management consulting with Booz.Allen & Hamilton International; marketing and sales assignments with Pakistan International Airlines, in Pakistan and in France. His academic background includes an MBA from the Harvard Business School and an economics degree from the Punjab University in Lahore, Pakistan. Shafiq is currently a member of the board of trustees of the American Foundation for the Blind; the eBusiness Advisory Board of Towson University; the Advisory Board of OPEN (Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America). His prior board assignments include the Airline Reporting Corporation and the Harvard Business School Club of Washington D.C. |
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Flo Lugli
Executive Vice President, Marketing
Wyndham Hotel Group
Flo Lugli is the executive vice president of marketing for Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with 11 brands and more than 7,000 hotels. She is responsible for overseeing distribution, ecommerce, loyalty and research initiatives and leading the global strategic direction for customer engagement and market positioning for the company. A nationally recognized expert with a proven track record of driving revenue, she joined the company in July 2009 after serving more than 20 years with Travelport Limited, one of the world’s largest global distribution system providers and a leader in Web-based e-commerce solutions. Most recently, Lugli served Travelport as senior vice president of commercial in its Global Distribution Services Division and, prior to that, as acting chief marketing officer. During that time she was responsible for leading the company’s GDS business in the Americas and overseeing Travelport’s Global Operations and Global Land and Sea businesses, including the development and execution of its hotel, car rental and leisure strategies. Lugli also spent six years leading the company’s Airline Solutions business unit, holding titles including senior vice president of Airline Solutions and president and managing director, Airline Solutions. In those roles, she was responsible for the development and delivery of business and technology solutions for the company’s airline suppliers, with a specific focus on reservations hosting, faring and data solutions. Prior to 2002, Lugli held executive level business development and operations positions with Wizcom International and then Galileo International, which was acquired by Travelport’s predecessor, the former Cendant Corporation, in 2001. She joined Cendant in 1987 as a part of its Hospitality Division, serving in several sales and marketing roles, including vice president of worldwide sales and vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. Lugli has been voted one of the Most Powerful Women in Travel seven times by Travel Agent Magazine and has been named a top 10 technology expert and a top 75 hotel executive by Lodging Magazine. She has served two terms as president of the Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association (HEDNA), an international organization promoting electronic distribution of the hotel product, and is currently a member of the US Travel Association’s Travelcom advisory board. Lugli also serves on the board of directors for Joe's House, a nonprofit organization providing a nationwide online service that helps cancer patients and their families find lodging near treatment centers. She is based in Wyndham Hotel Group’s Parsippany, N.J. offices. |
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Chris Malone
Chris Malone served as chief marketing officer for Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world's largest hotel franchisors. In that position, he oversaw strategies related to marketing, worldwide travel industry sales, advertising, eCommerce and reservations programs. With over 20 years of experience in marketing, he is a uniquely qualified global marketing leader, with a track record of driving business results at such top tier organizations as Coca-Cola, the NBA, and Procter & Gamble. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President, Marketing for ARAMARK Corporation, a multinational food, facility and uniform services enterprise with more than $12 billion in annual revenues. During his five-years at ARAMARK, Mr. Malone developed sustainable consumer-focused growth strategies for the firm, built a strong marketing organization, and provided results-driven cross-functional leadership for strategic growth initiatives. His many successes include developing and leading a variety of strategic marketing initiatives that helped establish ARAMARK as the industry leader in providing healthy meals, significantly improving the company’s reputation, and accelerating the company’s organic growth rate from 2% in 2002 to a consistent 6% in 2006, generating $450 million in incremental annual revenue. In addition, he conceived and launched the state-of-the-art, 50,000 square foot ARAMARK Innovation Center, which houses the company's corporate research, design and product development resources. This facility not only enables ARAMARK to test new products and services and increase their speed to market, but also allows clients, prospects and investors to view and experience first hand the company’s unique innovation resources and expertise. |
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William A. Maloney
CTC - Chief Executive Officer
American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA)
William A. Maloney, CTC, CEO of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) is a 30-year veteran of the travel industry. He joined ASTA in March 1999. Prior to joining ASTA, Maloney was the vice president of travel industry sales for the Hertz Corp. in Park Ridge, N.J., where he built and led the U.S. travel industry sales force. He was responsible for the company's sales and marketing activities with travel agents, tour wholesalers, airlines, hotels and cruise lines. He also served as senior vice president, sales and marketing, for Allnet Communication Services of Birmingham, Mich., where he was responsible for sales, marketing and customer service activities for the $400 million corporation. In addition, he excelled as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Woodside Management Systems, Inc., of Boston, from 1980 to 1985, where he converted the company from a non-profit to a for-profit stock company and grew the company-owned franchise location from startup to $40 million. Maloney has also worked as vice president of sales for Hughes AirWest of San Francisco, Calif., and has worked for American Airlines. He was a 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Maloney has served on the boards of the The Travel Institute, the National Academy Foundation and the Association of Travel Marketing Executives. He currently serves on the board of the Travel Industry Association. He holds a BBA degree in finance from St. Bonaventure University in Olean, N.Y., and is certified by The Travel Institute as a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC). |
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Adam Medros
Vice President, Global Production Development, Revenue Optimization
TripAdvisor
Adam Medros serves as Vice President, Product and heads worldwide product development and revenue optimization for TripAdvisor. Since joining the company in 2004, Adam has overseen developments to product functionality, merchandising, acquisition integration, search engine marketing, and revenue generation. He was instrumental in TripAdvisor’s 2007 launch of travel applications onto the Facebook Platform. These applications – Cities I’ve Visited and Local Picks – have introduced the TripAdvisor brand to millions of new people around the world and generated a high volume of new content for the core site. Prior to joining TripAdvisor, Adam held Senior Analyst and Product Manager positions at Nordstrom.com, Amazon.com, and The Parthenon Group. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College. |
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Michael Murphy
Senior Vice President, Global Sales
Choice Hotels International
Michael Murphy is senior vice president, global sales for Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH), one of the world’s largest hotel franchisors. In this position he leads the company’s global sales and intermediary marketing efforts in collaboration with the Choice Central Reservations Systems team, all corporate groups and both the domestic and international brand teams. His responsibilities include strategically managing and aggressively growing Choice’s $1 billion in annual sales to the corporate travel, leisure, motor club, government, SMERF (Social, Military, Educational, Religious, Fraternal) group meeting and GSA (General Services Administration) segments worldwide.
Mr. Murphy has an outstanding record of success, comprised of 25 years’ experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to joining Choice in May 2009, he served as senior vice president of sales for Marriott International, Inc., where he had the lead responsibility for business, transient, group and leisure travel sales, with primary oversight for the association, government, affinity and small business customer segments.
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St. John Murphy
Senior Vice President, Global Travel & Hospitality Leader
Keane Consulting
St. John Murphy is Senior Vice President, Global Travel & Hospitality Leader for Keane Inc. For over 20 years, Mr. Murphy has been responsible for a wide range of business, marketing and technology initiatives across major segments of the industry including airline, hospitality, car rental, destination tourism and travel distribution. He has extensive multi-national and multi-cultural experience and has held executive level positions with firms such as BearingPoint Consulting, Perot Systems, AMR (the parent of American Airlines) and Avis Rent A Car. He has been responsible for three successful start-ups. In addition to his work in the travel and hospitality industry Mr. Murphy has also worked extensively in the healthcare, manufacturing and retail industries. His clients have included industry leaders such as Hilton Hotels Corporation, Marriott International, Global Hyatt, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Sabre, Cendant Corp and many others. Mr. Murphy is based in Dallas TX. He attends key industry events and is a member of several industry associations such as the US Travel Association, the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) and the Hospitality Financial & Technology Professionals (HFTP). |
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Krista Pappas
Global Director & Head of Business Development
Bing Travel, a Microsoft Company
Krista is a veteran travel executive with experience in the intersection of electronic publishing, distribution and technology. She is known for her ability to identify and aid the development of trends years before they become global. For example: she was the first professional analyst to cover Internet travel in 1996 at Gomez Adviors, a key player in the launch of online travel services in 1997, and a critical participant in the development of online travel sites in 2001. Prior to Farecast, Krista led M&A, sales and business operations as Chief Strategist and SVP of for SmarterTravelMedia. She was Head of Travel for New York Times Digital, and SVP for FareChase.com, the site that pioneered meta search. She has published many travel research reports which were sought after by many of the largest companies in travel and technology and read by most of the top analysts on Wall Street. Krista sits on multiple travel industry boards.
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John Peebles
Vice President, Online Marketing
Avis Budget Group
John Peebles is vice president, online marketing for Avis Budget Group, one of the world’s largest car rental companies. He was named to this position in December 2002 and oversees the avis.com, budget.com and budgettruck.com web sites, as well as relationships with GDS partners. Previously, Peebles was vice president, client services for LockStream, a digital rights management software firm. He has also worked for US Interactive where he devised Internet strategy and websites for RCA, Network Solutions and the U.S. Senate. Peebles is a graduate of the University of Virginia and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa. |
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Frank A. Petito
President
Orbitz for Business
Frank A. Petito is the President of Orbitz for Business, the corporate travel brand of Orbitz Worldwide. Previously, Mr. Petito was a Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Orbitz Worldwide, where he was responsible for investor relations, mergers and acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Mr. Petito joined Orbitz in 2002 and was part of the team responsible for the Orbitz IPO, the sale of Orbitz to Cendant and the Blackstone Acquisition. Previously, Mr. Petito was a Vice President in the mergers and acquisitions group of Hambrecht & Quist, a technology focused investment bank in San Francisco. Mr. Petito also worked as an investment banker for Roberts Capital Markets in Buenos Aires, Argentina and as a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley in New York and Los Angeles. Mr. Petito earned an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.A. from Princeton University. |
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Paul Pusateri
President
Palms Casino Resort
As president of The Palms and Palms Place Hotel, Mr. Pusateri oversees one of Las Vegas’ hippest resorts. Owned by the Maloof family, the boutique property boasts three distinct towers and a diverse mix of bars, restaurants and other amenities including the legendary Playboy Club, Ghostbar, Rain Nightclub, Moon, and The Pearl Concert Theater.
Mr. Pusateri served as the senior vice president of The Venetian and The Palazzo overseeing the operations for a 7,000 suite campus. Mr. Pusateri has an extensive background in the hospitality and gaming industry. Before joining The Venetian, he served as chief operations officer for Turnberry Associates in Aventura, Florida. Prior to that, Mr. Pusateri was employed by Park Place Entertainment, where he served as the president and chief operations officer of Bally’s and Paris Casino Resort on the Las Vegas Strip. In this position, Mr. Pusateri was responsible for opening the Paris Casino Resort, while at the same time operating Bally’s.
Mr. Pusateri is a graduate of the University of New Haven and The Culinary Institute of America.
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Joseph D. Strodel, Jr.
Director of Corporate and Foundation Affairs
School of Hotel Administration
Cornell University
Joe Strodel manages and implements the Hotel School's corporate strategy and directs corporate relations for the school, which includes business development of The Center for Hospitality Research and the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship. He also serves as the chair of the school's corporate development committee and is responsible for developing and enhancing the school's corporate relationships, including building corporate connections and contacts, managing corporate events, and maintaining stewardship programs.
Mr. Strodel has 20 years of management experience in business development, corporate relations, communications, and marketing. Prior to joining Cornell, he was chief operating officer of Healthcare Information Provider, Inc., where he managed corporate relations, executive education programs, marketing, publications, and special events. Mr. Strodel's experience includes management positions in marketing and business development at Georgetown University and the State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University. He has also served as a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Mr. Strodel holds a bachelor's degree from Boston College, a master's degree in international relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship at Syracuse University, and is a graduate of the Leadership Greater Syracuse executive education program. He currently serves as president, board of directors, Skaneateles Area Council for the Arts; and board member, Stella Maris Retreat Center. He has also served on a number of Central New York nonprofit boards, including Meals on Wheels of Central New York; Consolidated Industries; and OASIS-Syracuse, and has served as board president for the Skaneateles Festival.
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Peter C. Yesawich
Chairman & CEO
Ypartnership
Peter C. Yesawich is chairman and chief executive officer of Ypartnership, America’s leading marketing, advertising and public relations agency serving travel, leisure and lifestyle clients. The agency represents clients in every category of the travel industry through seven offices across the United States and Europe. Ypartnership is an integrated marketing communications company that is known for its strategic thinking, breakthrough creativity and innovation in marketing practice. The firm’s Research & Brand Strategy Group is also regarded as one of the most respected sources of insights on the emerging travel habits, preferences and intentions of Americans and coauthors the widely acclaimed National Travel MONITOR℠ survey with Yankelovich Partners. Yesawich is a frequent commentator on travel trends in such publications as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Newsweek and Business Week, on the CNN, CNBC and MSNBC cable television networks and on National Public Radio. He serves as a featured columnist in several industry trade publications and has authored numerous articles on marketing and advertising strategy in professional journals. He is also a coauthor of Marketing Leadership in Hospitality published by Prentice Hall. Listed in Who’s Who in America, Yesawich is the recipient of the World Travel Award from the American Association of Travel Editors, The Albert E. Koehl Award from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and the Silver Medal from the American Advertising Federation. He was also named one of the 25 Most Extraordinary Marketing Minds by HSMAI and is a member of the board of directors of the Travel Industry Association of America. Yesawich received three degrees from Cornell, including a doctorate in applied psychology, and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Yale. |
Marc Johnson
Chief Marketing Officer, Experian Hitwise
Marc Johnson is the Chief Marketing Officer of Experian Hitwise, overseeing all global marketing, research and PR. Prior to Hitwise, he founded Storyline Development, a New York City based research and marketing consultancy. Marc previously served as an Executive Vice President and Advisor to BuzzMetrics (now a part of Nielsen Online). There he helped develop the first product, sales, and marketing plans. As Vice President of Product Development at the NPD Group, Marc created information products around convergence and the digital lifestyle for top consumer technology brands. Marc was part of the original management team at Jupiter Research, where he was Senior Vice President, Marketing and Strategy, overseeing all product development as well as strategic PR and event programming. He was also Group Research Director at Jupiter and oversaw all digital media and marketing. Marc was a founding analyst of Jupiter's digital advertising research practice, where he developed the concept of Rational Branding and collaborated on the industry’s first online advertising forecasts and analysis. Prior to Jupiter, Marc was an advertising sales executive at Ziff-Davis and Meredith, working on many of the first online and multi-channel marketing campaigns. Marc’s insights have been featured in many major media outlets including CNN, CNBC, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Today Show, NPR, and Ad Age. He serves as an Advisor to Big Brothers Big Sisters NYC and GlanceGuide. He graduated cum laude with a BA from the University of New Hampshire.
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