Meeting News - September 22, 2008 - (Page 10)

People Making News Hilton’s Luteran Gains Seniority Veteran Hilton Hotels executive Larry Luteran was promoted in August to senior vice president of group sales and industry relations. Luteran remains responsible for the groups component of Hilton Sales Worldwide throughout the U.S., which also includes Hilton Direct—the Dallas-based sales operation that provides meeting solutions for meetings and events professionals. In addition, he serves as Hilton’s primary contact for all customer industry organizations, oversees Hilton’s special events department, and is responsible for sales contracting throughout the company. Luteran currently serves as chairman of the international board of directors for Meeting Professionals International (MPI). He recently concluded a three-year term on the board of directors of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and has also served on the board of directors of the Institute of Business Travel Management (IBTM). Before assuming the role of vice president of group sales and industry relations, Luteran served as regional vice president of sales and marketing for Hilton’s Southeast and South Central regions, where he had oversight for all sales and marketing operations. “Hilton is committed to promoting best-in-class talent throughout the enterprise, and Larry exemplifies that talent. He is widely respected as an industry leader, and his accomplishments as vice president within this function over the last eight years have been numerous,” stated Ian Carter, Hilton Hotels’ president of global operations. from developing and maintaining customer relationships to property marketing to contract negotiations. She will direct strategic, long-term expansion plans including potential additional U.S. offices in targeted territories. Since joining MGM Mirage in 2002, Goldy’s dynamic leadership and industry knowledge has increased the company’s incentives business six-fold in the last four years. Based in Chicago, Goldy is the industry’s only vice president of incentive sales in the Midwest, providing MGM Mirage a competitive advantage. “Jacqueline’s reputation in the incentive sales industry is incomparable, and we are confident her new leadership position will further strengthen MGM Mirage’s position,” said executive vice president and chief administrative officer Aldo Manzini. “Her in-depth knowledge of the segment and of customer needs will ensure our continued success.” myriad of leadership roles for that organization. In the newly created vice president of global sales position, Dominguez will oversee the global efforts of the national sales team, as well as ensure that Loews maintains it leadership role and visibility within the meetings industry. “Loews is very excited about this role as part of our overall brand strategy within the meetings market,” said Felicia Fisher, senior vice president of sales and strategic planning. “We know that Michael’s energy and enthusiasm will be a welcomed addition to our global efforts.” Sanders Powers Up Freeman Company Ken Sanders joined Freeman Co. as president of its U.S. audiovisual division in August, as part of a transition due to Craig Smith’s retirement. Sanders’ most recent position was executive vice president of video equipment rentals (VER), a global leader in the audiovisual equipment-supply field based in southern California. While there, he had oversight for their 18 domestic and three international operations, as well as overseeing VER’s global sales strategy. He began his career in the audiovisual and events industry at AVHQ in 1983 and later became VP of its hotel division in 1991. He then became COO before moving into the executive vice president’s position for AVSC, the parent firm of AVHQ and Presentation Services/ PSAV in 1999. During his time there, Sanders was integrally involved in developing extensive hotel and facility support operations, which included over 500 distributed locations across the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Europe. “We are very fortunate to have someone of Ken’s reputation and proven leadership join Freeman’s executive management team,” noted Freeman president John O’Connell. “Ken not only possesses an in-depth knowledge of the business, he is also a proven leader and innovator in the meetings and events industry. Ken is well-known and respected by facility executives, industry organizations, and clients across North America, As VP Sales, Loews’ Dominguez Trades Southwest for the World Michael Dominguez was recently named vice president of global sales for Loews Hotels. Dominguez, who joined the firm in 2005 as director of marketing at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, was previously the vice president of sales and marketing for the Palm Springs Desert Resort Convention & Visitors Authority, where he was responsible for marketing 24 major resorts and the destination, which has over 14,000 guest rooms and hosts 250,000 room nights annually. As the marketing director for Loews Ventana Canyon, Dominguez directed a team of sales, public relations, revenue management, and reservations personnel and led the marketing initiative for the luxury resort. His sales and marketing acumen earned him a variety of leadership roles with the Tucson, AZ, community and the hospitality industry. Dominguez is president-elect for the Southern California Chapter of MPI, and has served in a MGM Mirage Goes for Goldy MGM Mirage operations executive Jacqueline Goldy has been promoted to the position of vice president of incentive sales. Goldy, who formerly served as director of incentive sales, will now lead the company’s incentive sales efforts, E-mail your personnel announcements in the meetings and hospitality industries to Terri Hardin, Editor-In-Chief, at terri.hardin@nielsen.com, or mail them to MeetingNews, 770 Broadway, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10003. 10 MeetingNews September 22, 2008 www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - September 22, 2008

Meeting News - September 22, 2008
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Inside the Meetings Industry
People Making News
Hotels & Resorts
Convention Centers
CVBs
International
Green Beat
Destination Insider
MN Webcast Report
Ad Index
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - September 22, 2008