Greenville, SC – January 20, 2022 – auroHOTELS is pleased to announce the hiring of Jennifer (Jen) Stilwell as Vice President of Marketing.
Stilwell is an accomplished, energetic and versatile marketing professional with more than 25 years in the advertising and marketing realm. A high-level strategic thinker and key contributor to the creative process, Jen is arguably one of the travel and tourism industry’s most knowledgeable and decorated brand strategists in destination brand marketing.
For the past decade, Jen has served VisitGreenvilleSC (VGSC), the official destination marketing organization for the City of Greenville, SC. Under Stilwell’s leadership as Chief Marketing Officer and EVP/Chief Strategic Officer, she successfully directed and launched a new brand identity for the destination — “yeahTHATgreenville.” The award-winning brand campaign was cited as a Best-In-Class example in tourism marketing, twice winning the prestigious Platinum Adrian Award from HSMAI. In total the brand was recognized with 67 distinguished awards. During Stilwell’s tenure as lead brand architect, the organization’s marketing efforts dramatically heightened visibility and awareness of Greenville, SC. Moreover, strong brand performance led to record-setting visitation, with destination Greenville welcoming 5.5 million visitors a year, and tourism economic success growing to a nearly $1.4 billion industry in 2019 (pre-covid).
President and CEO, DJ Rama, said “We are fortunate to have Jen’s expertise on the Auro team. We recognize that her many strengths and strong leadership will allow us to take our company marketing and communication efforts to the next level.”
Prior to VisitGreenvilleSC, Stilwell focused the majority of her career efforts leading tourism brand marketing for accounts such as the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism (SCPRT) while at Leslie Advertising and the bounce agency to such prominent brands as NYCVB, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, La Cabana in Aruba and Club Med while at New York ad agency Warren/Kremer.
Raised on the Jersey shore, Stilwell graduated from Rollins College. She is married to her husband, Ron, and has two four-legged children, Kai and Thor.
