Hospitality Industry Veterans To Lead Iconic Ponte Vedra Beach Property
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (July 9, 2015) – The Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa is proud to welcome a new executive team to their iconic property. In their new roles, the team will help lead the resort to continued successes following its transition into the Marriott International-managed brand portfolio.
Todd Hickey leads the new team as their General Manager and is responsible for overseeing operations at the property, and brings more than 21 years of hospitality leadership experience. Previously, Hickey was Interim General Manager at the 1,511-room Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas, where he raised Guest Satisfaction Scores to the highest in the brand. Prior to that, he served as the Area Director of Operations for the Gaylord Hotels team, shortly after its transition into the Marriott portfolio of brands in 2012. In that role, he supported Rooms Operations, Food & beverage and Event Management. Earlier, Hickey held a number of leadership positions with increasing responsibilities at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, from Director of Event Management to Resident and Hotel Manager.
Dan McCarron has been appointed to the position of Director of Sales and Marketing at the property, and leads the sales and marketing team with his years of experience. An 18-year industry veteran, McCarron was most recently the Northeast Market Account Leader for the company, where he was responsible for a team of over 50 senior leaders and account executives that manage six different segments, generating annual revenues of approximately $900 million. In his previous role as a Market Sales Leader for New Jersey, Dan led the Area sales team to drive an increase in hotel sales productivity that was recognized and awarded by the America’s “Special Achievement Award.” Other notable accolades include a Global Leadership Award, Area Sales Team of the Year (Association) in 2014, and Market Sales Team of the Year in 2007 and 2009.
Director of Revenue Management at the property, Shirley Perusich, is responsible for maximizing revenue and profit associated with rooms and function space for the property. Most recently the Director of Revenue Analysis at the Orlando Airport Cluster, Shirley has a diverse, 24-year history with Marriott – excelling in everything from Event Management to Group Strategy. Perusich was recently recognized by Marriott International Americas East with the 2015 Business Leadership Award in Q1.
“This new team’s strong resort leadership expertise and proven track record of managing successful hotel operations across all departments made them each an excellent choice to lead this distinguished property to great success,” said Steve Contos, Area Vice President, Florida Region. “We could not think of more well-suited individuals to foster the Sawgrass Marriott into one of the most illustrious properties in the region and across our brand portfolio.”
