(McLean, VA, January 30, 2018) The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is pleased to announce its 2018 Americas Board of Directors and Executive Committee. The board comprises a diverse range of executives from a representative mix of HSMAI members.
“We’re thrilled to be welcoming such an innovative and diverse group of individuals to the 2018 Americas Board of Directors,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president & CEO of HSMAI. “Having such a future-focused board will ensure that HSMAI continues to be a key resource to its members—and the rest of the hospitality industry—in helping them to act strategically and stay ahead of the curve.”
Mark Thompson, CHBA, CHDM, Senior Vice President of Tourism at VisitDallas, steps into the first year of his term as HSMAI Americas Chair. Bringing 25 years of experience in tourism and hospitality, with specialties in marketing strategy and public relations, Thompson has also served as chairman of the DFW Area Tourism Council and of the Tourism Alliance of North Texas.
“I’m eager to start serving HSMAI Americas and its members as chair,” said Thompson. “It’s quite an honor to collaborate with board members who are recognized as true leaders not just at their own companies, but throughout the entire hospitality industry. We’ll work hard to make sure we continue providing programming and other resources to drive revenue growth in the hotel industry.”
Other HSMAI Americas Executive Committee members:
Chair Elect: Marina MacDonald, CHDM, Chief Marketing Officer, Red Roof Inn Vice Chair: John Washko, Vice President Exhibition & Convention Sales, Mohegan Sun Secretary-Treasurer: Andrew Rubinacci, Senior Vice President, Distribution & Revenue Strategy, IHG Immediate Past Chair: Jeff Senior, Vice President Marketing, KSL Resorts President: Robert Gilbert, CHME, CHA, President & CEO, HSMAI
Other HSMAI Americas Board Members:
- Brian Berry, SVP Sales & Data Analytics – Hospitality Cloud, Cvent
- Sloan Dean, CRME, Chief Operating Officer, Remington Hotels
- John Fareed, CHME, Managing Director, Horwath HTL
- André Fournier, EVP Sales, Marketing & Revenue, Two Roads Hospitality
- Brian Hall, Chief Marketing Officer, Explore St. Louis
- Michael Innocentin, Vice President, E-Commerce & Digital NCA Region, AccorHotels
- Matt Jones, Head of Analytics, Travel, Google
- Sarah Kennedy-Ellis, Chief Marketing Officer, Marketo
- Tammy Lucas, CHDM, Vice President of Marketing, Best Western Hotels & Resorts
- Stacey Milne, Vice President Portfolio Marketing Strategy & Planning, Marriott International
- Hari Nair, Global Senior Vice President, Expedia Media Solutions
- Lalia Rach, Ed. D., Founder & Partner, Rach Enterprises
- Dan Sweiger, Principal, PDB Hospitality Consulting
- Michelle Woodley, Executive Vice President, Preferred Hotel Group
- Louis Zameryka, Director, Global Accounts, Booking.com
The HSMAI Americas Board oversees the work of four key leadership groups, which consist of 84 thought leaders and subject matter experts that serve on the Sales Advisory Board, Marketing Advisory Board, Revenue Management Advisory Board, and Digital Marketing Council. The 2018 Americas Board will also monitor the implementation of HSMAI’s new Organizational Membership program which has, to date, attracted 50 organizations. These organizational members will engage in a conversation about leading industry issues at the innovative new HSMAI Curate: An HSMAI Executive Insights Forum events to be held in April and September.
