Stephanie Byington
Byington is appointed as Visit Seattle’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. She has spent her career leading several influential Seattle area brands, including TCS World Travel, Nordstrom and Starbucks. She also brings extensive experience in the travel and tourism space, with past roles such as vice president of marketing and product development as TCS World Travel. At Visit Seattle, she will oversee all marketing and brand development initiatives to promote tourism to the city across all segments, including meetings and conventions, leisure, transient and international markets.
Matt Mongoven
Impact XM welcomes industry veteran Mongoven as senior vice president of client services. He brings over 20 years of experience developing business-driving strategies across all areas of the event marketing portfolio with Fortune 500 brands. Throughout his career, he has overseen teams across meeting logistics, event and AV productions and agency services and is a committed advocate in the events industry as a member of organizations such as MPI and CEMA at both the local and national levels.
Dana Cates
Origin Hotel Atlanta appoints Cates to its executive team as director of sales. She brings over 18 years of experience in the Atlanta market with previous positions at Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel & Conference Center, Hotel Colee, an Autograph Collection Hotel and Transformation Hospitality Solutions, and has received two district “Sales Manager of the Year” awards. She brings a results-driven leadership approach and strong experience in streamlining marketing tactics and developing customized strategies that align with market trends and enhance team performance.
Tiffany Irwin
Irwin joins Montage Big Sky as director of sales and marketing. She brings over two decades of experience leading luxury hotel and resort brands, and will now oversee all aspects of sales, revenue management, marketing, public relations, meetings and events for the Montana property. She most recently worked with Auberge Resorts Collection as area director of sales for properties in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Deer Valley, Utah.
Parag Athavale
Athavale takes on the role of general manager at Sagamore Pendry Baltimore. He brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise gained from over two decades in the hospitality industry and a reputation for gaining significant achievements while leading teams through challenging periods and enhancing guest satisfaction scores. He most recently served as hotel manager at Pendry Washington DC – The Wharf, and played a crucial role in the hotel’s opening, as well as led several innovative initiatives.
Lisa Anders
Explore Gwinnett promotes Anders to the role of chief operating officer (COO) from her prior position as executive director. She has worked with the DMO since 1996, and has built and maintained a track record to outstanding leadership and building and maintaining essential partnerships, including both the creation and oversight of the Gwinnett Film Commission and Gwinnett Creativity Fund. As COO, she will additionally oversee the Gwinnett Sports Commission.
Ylva Linder
IAAPA, the global organization for the attractions industry, appoints Linder as global director of sustainability. She holds an Executive MBA and a degree in chemical engineering alongside further qualifications in environmental management and leadership. She brings 25 years of experience in strategic and operational sustainability work, and in her new role, will champion a holistic approach to IAAPA’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) to drive the organization further in its sustainability agenda.
Andressa Gomes
Gomes joins Discover Santa Clara as sales manager. She most recently served as sales and marketing manager at Visit Walnut Creek, where she developed and implemented a sales process that led to a 233% year-over-year increase in qualified leads sent to hotel partners, successfully managing 158 leads annually. In her new role, she will focus on the sale of citywide events, using the Santa Clara Convention Center Booking Strategy and will establish client lists of target businesses and events to meet and exceed economic impact goals and build venue and destination brand awareness.
Abigail Seanez
Caption by Hyatt Nashville appoints Seanez as director of sales. She brings over eight years of expertise in sales, revenue management and leadership in the hospitality industry. In her most recent role as director of sales as Hotel Nashville Brentwood, she was responsible for meeting and exceeding revenue goals, managing key relationships and identifying new target markets.
Juliana Kline
Visit Oklahoma City (Visit OKC) welcomes Kline as convention sales manager. She holds a bachelor’s degree in recreation, park and tourism sciences from Texas A & M University. Prior to taking on this role with Visit OKC, Kline held the role of senior sales manager at the Ambassador Hotel in Oklahoma City.
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