Executive profile 

Forward thinking, lifestyle brand marketer with extensive experience building successful initiatives that deliver brand affinity and impactful revenue. Highly skilled in multiple facets of the marketing mix with a keen knowledge of brand positioning, marketing planning, audience segmentation, digital messaging, com, social media/content strategy, partnerships and experiential programming. Enthusiastic, creative and self-motivated, a thoughtful leader who balances creative excellence and analytics to impact business.

skill highlights

  • Brand Management

  • Marketing Strategy

  • Stakeholder Relations

  • P & L Management

  • Omni Channel Marketing

  • E-Commerce

  • Data Influenced Storytelling

  • Digital Analytics

  • Campaign Management

  • Strategic Alliances

  • Promotional Activations

  • Arts + Culture

professional Experience  

Major Food Group, New York, NY / 2023 –  PRESENT
Head of Marketing

Voted one of the 20 Most Creative Companies in the World by GQ. Dual reporting to CCO and COO. Portfolio leadership, including Carbone, Torrisi, ZZ’s Members Club, Sadelle’s, The Grill, The Lobster Club, Chateau ZZ’s, Contessa and Parm; 50+ assets globally:

  • Built the marketing department, hiring and mentoring team to become functional experts.

  • Led brand marketing including communication strategy, brand identity, consumer engagement and retention, in addition to public relations for restaurants, private clubs and emerging businesses.

  • Launched assets globally, across restaurants, private clubs, and emerging hospitality businesses.

  • Developed digital ecosystem, providing insights regarding consumer behavior within a digital environment, cross-selling brands across the portfolio and identifying upselling opportunities.

  • Bolstered revenue by leading growth in emerging markets and facilitating evolution of core concepts.

  • Launched brand apps in addition to loyalty programs across the portfolio; uber luxe to mass segments.

  • Opened assets globally, including Miami, New York, Las Vegas, UK, Doha, Dubai, Riyadh, Seoul.

  • Supported the development pipeline with new restaurants in Riyadh, Doha, UK, NYC, MIA, Cartagena.

Doha

  • Carbone

Riyadh

  • Carbone

  • Sadelle’s

  • L’Ami Dave

New York

  • ZZ’s Club

Miami

  • Carbone Beach

  • Chateau ZZ’s


José Andrés, Washington, DC / 2021 – 2022
Vice President, Marketing

  • Led the corporate rebrand of the organization from Think Food Group to the José Andrés Group.

  • Drove competitive advantage by leading restructuring of the marketing function from a hospitality / entertainment business model to a media / production model.

  • Fostered efficiencies and maximized effectiveness of marketing while overseeing a cross-functional team tasked with digital, public relations, and social media.

  • Replaced legacy marketing structure with a proactively collaborative model, in turn supporting evolving business divisions, initiating new processes and procedures, crafting the path to establish a new way of working, cross-functionally.

  • Yielded 15% growth in followers and 5% lift in brand engagement by leading social media strategy for short-form and long-form content.

  • Secured 30-50% open rate across all restaurant brands by strategically investing in an integrated CRM platform and leveraging data to influence decisions. 

  • Enhanced corporate expansion into endemic and non-endemic lines of business.

  • Spearheaded corporate rebranding via master brand around José Andrés, connecting José to restaurant brands; Jaleo, Zaytinya, Bazaar.

  • Launched new markets; Zaytinya (New York), Bazaar (NY, Chicago, LA), Jaleo (Dubai).

  • Supported development pipeline with new restaurants in CHI, LA, NYC, MIA, LV

Chicago

  • Bazaar Meat

  • Bar Mar

Miami

  • Zaytinya

New York

  • Zaytinya

  • Bazaar

  • Nubeluz

Dubai

  • Jaleo

Los Angeles

  • San Laurel

  • Agua Viva

  • The Beaudry

  • Sed

  • Airlight

Denihan Hospitality Group – New York, NY /  2019 – 2020
Senior Director, Marketing and Brand Strategy

Corporate leader driving the portfolio’s marketing, brands spanning from mid-scale to luxury; Affinia, The Benjamin, James Hotels, The Surrey. Led brand and field marketing, digital, public relations, partnerships, activations and social media with ownership of departmental, brand and property budgets.

  • Generated optimal revenue for six independent hotels, over $150M in top line revenue at over $340 ADR.

  • Achieved 4.3% growth in an industry climate that grew less than 1% by driving GTM strategy.

  • Allocated $5MM marketing budget, taking charge of vetting strategic partners, guiding PR, overseeing website hosting, and engaging with consultants across the portfolio.

  • Impacted revenue by 3-5% and ADR by 2-3% annually across portfolio via strong retail strategy.

  • Generated a 10% increase in category revenue by strategically leveraging digital footprint.

  • Drove a 30% increase in YoY partnership revenue by establishing a strategy with tangible kpis.

  • Reshaped marketing via funnel strategy with KPIs and conversion map to impact sales.

  • Bolstered bottom line revenue by aligning Marketing, Sales, and Revenue Management.

  • Championed digital storytelling, public relations, content marketing, and social media.

  • Redefined The Surrey’s guest experience and brand persona to impact 2 years of declining Travel + Leisure & Conde Nast Traveler rankings, elevating to #2 and #9 positions respectively.

  • Maximized top-line revenue by crafting impactful marketing strategies for additional assets: The National by Geoffrey Zakarian, Rare Bar & Grill, Rare View, James Soho, and James Nomad.

AAH Collective, New York, NY /  2017 – 2019
Partner

Marketing partner to clients in the hospitality, real estate and medical space. Clients include: Baccarat Hotels & Resorts, SH Group, Scarab of Egypt, St. Barnabas Hospital. Key accomplishments include:

  • Baccarat Hotel New York – Brand launch, positioning, voice, website development, advertising.

  • SH Group – Investor presentations to initiate (REIT) management contract discussions.

  • St. Barnabas Hospital – Positioning select physicians as authorities in their fields / subspecialties.

  • Egyptian Urological Association – Virtual symposium leadership, attracting over 150 attendees; 12%+ lift.

  • Hypospadias International Society – Drove brand awareness to impact membership and overall participation.

  • Extended Stay Brand: Maximized ADR by crafting consumer persona while evolving core persona.

Manhattan Marketing Ensemble (MME), New York, NY /  2007 – 2017
Client Leader

Senior confidant; ‘right hand’ to SVP, Brand Management, overseeing lifestyle and hospitality brands. P&L management. Support team development. Client leadership. Multi-agency leader. Strategic integrator of marketing plans, ensuring maximum impact. Clients include; James Hotels, The Surrey, Affinia Hotel Collection, The Benjamin, Denihan Hospitality, Completely Bare Spas, Cornelia Spa, David Burke’s Prime House, David Burke's Kitchen, Geoffrey Zakarian’s The National Bar & Dining Rooms, Art Smith’s Art & Soul, Marcus Sammuelson’s C-House, Florida Cookery. Accolades include: Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Adrian Awards (15), Magellan Awards (9). Extensive use of Test & Target, Omniture, Quantcast, Google Analytics, Data Studio, Mirror Targeting, etc.

Internal Accomplishments

  • Guided account team, creative director, copywriters, art directors, designers.

  • Restructured team to follow a matrix structure, driving agency efficiencies and profitability.

  • Rain maker, expanding the agency’s capabilities and creating a new revenue stream that transcended to other accounts.

  • Tripled account billings, securing the entire portfolio of brands, including marquis luxury assets.

  • Led AOR responsibilities through three different senior management teams.

  • Agency producer for shoots; aligning talent, managing budgets, negotiating terms, coordinating schedules, securing approvals.

Client Accomplishments

The Surrey

  • Brand development, transforming asset into the #1 hotel in New York City and the United States per Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler.

  • Orchestrated award-winning marketing campaigns, inclusive of multi-platform film series, print, and digital capturing an elevated experience, increasing occupancy by 12% and revenue by 17%.

  • Enhanced guest experience and drove incremental revenue via partnerships with likeminded high-profile brands; Sotheby’s Diamonds, Frieze Art Fair, SoulCycle, Duxiana, and diptyque.

  • Innovated new revenue stream by launching Patrons Club, a private club featuring the Private Roof Garden, Bar Pleiades and Café Boulud, creating a new outlet to feed the sales funnel. –

  • Leveraged a $3M budget to drive $33M in revenue with a 35% profit and 20% increase in ADR.

  • Grew web traffic by 12% and revenue contribution by 27% by reimagining the digital strategy.

  • Increased occupancy by 12% and revenue by 17% by positioning the property as luxury brand.

James Hotels

  • Thought leader launching The James Hotels brand, with a creative class positioning, touching all facets of the guest journey; brand campaigns, website, digital (with a/b testing), video content, art partnerships and creative promotional extensions.

  • Opened multitude of properties including Soho (New York), NoMad (New York), South Beach (Florida) and West Hollywood (California).

  • Reinforced brand positioning via retail campaigns, over 100 initiatives annually, differentiating James from its competitive set; consistently delivering a 2%+ increase in year over year ADR.

  • Partnerships extending James relevance in the modern art segment; Art Basel / Architectural Digest, Thom Filicia, Paul Wackers, Bobby Hill, Fast Company, Monique Maloche.

  • Strategic lead, aligning teams; digital, social and PR to leverage all marketing campaigns.

  • Launched David Burke’s Prime House in addition to its brand extensions, Prime Spot – a casual outpost, and Burke’s Bacon Bar – a grab-and-go experience, all targeting the local community.

  • Opened Florida Cookery, becoming an integral part of the South Beach scene.

Affinia Hotel Collection

  • Led brand insight and positioning development to establish Affinia as a leader in the lifestyle segment. Used this to craft communication platform, delivering value via customization; increasing repeat guests by 10%.

  • Oversaw 5 assets in New York City in addition to opening Chicago and Washington DC.

  • Grew database 5x via personalization platform, improving satisfaction scores, and tested potential amenities. Leveraged data for up-sell opportunities.

  • Launched Washington DC restaurant, delivering revenue 3.5x its predecessor.

  • Generated 34% increase in availability checks, 20% increase in reservations, and 28% increase in revenue by creating new UX that fulfilled all KPIs.

  • Yielded 3x YoY growth in digital ROI by leading digital efforts through segmentation and A/B testing

  • Drove $1.56M+ in incremental sales in less than 1 year via experiential package campaigns.

  • Drove incremental revenue via strategic alliances, partnering with a multitude of brands to drive brand value.

Denihan Hospitality

  • Aligned product, operations and real estate resources to support enterprise business.

  • Crafted investor (REIT) presentations used to initiate management contracts supporting The James.

  • Netted 3% revenue growth by leading BTB digital initiatives that introduced planners to portfolio..

  • Developed corporate intranet; internal digital and social platforms to create an internal dialog, reinforce corporate pillars and elevate corporate morale..

Completely Bare

  •  Led national location expansion; New York, Beverly Hills, Miami, Houston, Atlanta.

  • Leveraged Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise (RHONY) to launch locations and retail product line, nationally.

  • Doubled YOY (digital) revenue via website overhaul, creating a new UX with a dual e-commerce site

  • Sold out product inventory and increased service revenue by 120% via acquisition campaigns; crm, paid media with a/b testing, and social.


PerfectEscapes.com, New York, NY /  2005 – 2007
Senior Account Director

Developed the agency's hospitality vertical, securing new business and fostering relationships to drive revenue, becoming one of the company’s leading revenue generators:

  • Rainmaker, securing new business, consistently surpassing goals and achieving unprecedented success; awarded “Circle of Excellence” accolades for three consecutive years (2005, 2006, 2007).

  • Hand selected by the executive team to launch e-commerce luxury travel venture.

  • Launched and 'sold' the PerfectEscapes.com asset to luxury hoteliers, delivering an average R/E of 15:1.

  • Switzerland Tourism – Pitched, won, and led agency’s largest client and sole international account.


Morris Media Network (Morris Visitor Publications), New York, NY /  2002 – 2005
Senior Marketing Manager

Direct report to the VP, Sales & Marketing, collaborating with national and local sales to maximize revenue: 

  • Change agent, creating, implementing and evaluating the circulation strategy for 40+ publications in 20 U.S. markets, resulting in consistent year over year revenue increases.

  • Aligned with 20 local market teams, implementing best practices in marketing, distribution, and hotel relations to impact revenue.

  • W Hotels / Park Hyatt / Fairmont: Rainmaker, securing leadership position in markets, maximizing advertising revenue by establishing exclusivity alliances.

  • Spearheaded launch of GuestInformant.com, modernizing the brand and crafting a new revenue stream.


Warren Kremer Paino, New York, NY /  1998 – 2001
Account Supervisor

Led the agency’s travel vertical; Hyatt, Hershey Resorts, The Mark, Millennium Partners, Peninsula, Ramada International, Jean Georges’ Mark’s Restaurant, The Peninsula’s Adrianne Restaurant

  • Peninsula – Relaunched as the first city-based luxury resort; spearheading advertising, Partnerships and programming including The Peninsula Closet; an AMEX / Neiman Marcus partnership.

  • Mark’s Restaurant – Launched the Jean Georges restaurant with an iconic campaign.

  • Grand Hyatt – Aligned with Bloomingdales and FAO Schwarz, increasing seasonal revenue by 300%.

  • Hershey Resorts – Positioned as a destination, increasing year-over-year revenue by 14%.

  • Millennium Partners – Launched Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons Residences concepts, opening a multitude of markets, including New York, Miami, San Francisco, and Boston.

Education  

George Washington University – Washington, DC

BBA, Bachelor’s of Business Administration

Concentration:  Marketing         Special Emphasis:  Advertising         Minor:  Sociology

Richmond, The American International University – London, UK

International Marketing         Advertising in Europe