Wednesday, June 2, 2021
8:30 - 9:30 am
Make Every Day Game Day
Will be Live Streamed and available On-Demand following the conference.
Presented by Karl Mecklenburg, CSP
karlmecklenburg.com
Live in the Mile High Ballroom
CMP-IS Domain F: Stakeholder Management – 1.00 CE credit
Speaker Bio
Karl Mecklenburg rose from a college walk-on and twelfth round draft choice to an NFL career that included three Super Bowl and six Pro Bowl appearances. This former Bronco’s captain spent his entire twelve year career in Denver and makes Colorado his home now. Mecklenburg was arguably the most versatile player in the NFL playing all seven defensive front positions often in the course of a single game. Karl was selected as the AFC Linebacker of the Year, AFC player of the Year, and since retiring from the NFL has been enshrined in the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Mecklenburg has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame Semifinalist each of the last ten years.
Karl and his wife Kathi continue their charitable commitment to Colorado working with Food Bank of the Rockies alongside Empower Retirement and also as the Broncos representative for Taste of the NFL. His latest book, Heart of a Student Athlete; All Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families, offers advice to young athletes and their loved ones about what it really takes to be successful in sports and life. Mecklenburg is the only NFL legend to have earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation from the National Speakers Association. As an author and speaker Mecklenburg’s stories of teamwork and leadership are humourous and inspiring. He approaches his speaking career with the same intelligence, passion, and intensity that punctuated his great football career.
Session description and learner objectives
Make Every Day Game Day; The C’s of Leadership We can all recognize teamwork or the lack of teamwork in a sports competition. How do less talented teams beat a roster full of superstars? Teams with leaders throughout the organization win. Karl teaches leaders to utilize the C’s of leadership. Clarity and Consistency of the following three team focuses: Cornerstones – the team’s purpose, Commitment – to the team’s mission, and Connection – with the individuals on the team. Great teams use the strengths of the individual to help the team win, and the strengths of the team to cover for the weaknesses of the individual. Story based and full of humor, Karl’s presentation brings a team together in times of change, and fights complacency in times of success.
Learner Objectives:
- Identify your team’s cornerstones
- Differentiate between forced change and the courage to try new things
- Grasp the value of daily preparation in your quest to be decisive
Planner Connection / Trade Show with Optional In-Person and Virtual Appointments – 9:30 – 10:45 am
Sponsored by:
First Concurrent Sessions – 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
The New Normal: Trends & Predictions from the Meeting Industry Leaders
Will be Live Streamed and available On-Demand following the conference.
CMP-IS Domain A: Strategic Planning – 1.00 CE credit
Co-Presented by
Michael Dominguez
LinkedIn
Live in the Mile High Ballroom
Live in the Mile High Ballroom
Speaker Bio
Michael Dominguez
President & CEO
Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI)
Michael Dominguez serves as the President & CEO for Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI). ALHI is a Global Sales Organization with a team of nearly 80 professionals located among 26 offices across North America and Europe, ALHI’s serves a membership group of hotels that are Independent Hotels & Independent Brands that are an exclusive luxury collection. Prior to joining ALHI, Michael served in executive sales leadership roles with MGM Resorts, Loews Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, Starwood Hotels and many more.
Michael is actively involved in leadership roles in the Meetings and Events Industry and currently serves on numerous industry leadership boards and is a Past Chairman of the International Board of Directors for MPI.
Michael speaks in the industry often on topics of disruption, the state of the industry, the economy, behavioral lessons. Michael was recognized in M&C Magazines survey of top industry speakers and was an invited speaker at South by Southwest in 2018.
Michael’s other industry leadership involvement includes board positions with:
- US Travel Association (Executive Committee)
- Meetings Mean Business Coalition (Executive Committee)
- ASAE’s Board of Directors
- FICP’s Influence Committee
- APEX Standards Committee
- GBTA Foundation Board
- HSMAI Foundation Board
- Co-Chair APEX Room Piracy Taskforce
Michael was recently recognized in the industry for numerous honors including:
- Northstar Meetings Group “Top 25 Influencers of the Meetings Industry 2020
- Induction in the EIC’s Hall of Leaders in 2019
- HispanicBusiness.com’s “50 Most Influential Hispanics in the US”
- Successful Meetings Top 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry 2013 -2015
- Smart Meetings 2015 Smartest Industry Leaders
- HSMAI’s 2014 Top Minds in Sales and Marketing
- Meetings Focus 2014 Trendsetter
- MeetingsNet 2014 Changemakers
Co-Presented by
Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, CEM
LinkedIn
Live in the Mile High Ballroom
Speaker Bio
In her role as EVP/COO, Cathy Breden oversees marketing and communications, conventions and events, membership, education, and administration of the association. In addition, she currently serves as CEO of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) whose primary purpose is to promote the growth, awareness and value of exhibitions and other face-to-face marketing events by producing and delivering research-based knowledge tools.
She is a frequent presenter on the areas of exhibition industry trends and the power of exhibitions in face-to-face marketing. She is currently serving as Vice Chair on the Events Industry Council’s Board of Directors, is a director on the board of Tourism Diversity Matters, and she is adjunct faculty at Richland College. Cathy is a Certified Association Executive (CAE), Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM). She is a graduate of Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
Co-Presented by
Paul Van Deventer
LinkedIn
Live in the Mile High Ballroom
Speaker Bio
Paul Van Deventer
President and CEO
Meeting Professionals International
CEO, President, General Manager and B2B Sales Leader with domestic and international operational experience in mid-cap, fortune 100 and non-profit organizations, in health care, software, financial services, payments, travel management and associations. Experience leading large, geographically dispersed, sales, account management and operations organizations with annual revenues ranging from $150MM to $1,000MM.
Currently CEO of a global association, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) with a community of 60,000 professionals and 18,000 members. MPI is focused on the development of business event professionals and the advancement of the business events industry. Previously recruited and developed Walgreens national sales and account management organization focused on delivering Health and Wellness solutions to Employers; services included worksite health centers, fitness centers, population health programs, PBM services and infusion services.
Board engagement: Meetings Means Business Coalition (Past Vice-Chair); Board Member – USTravel; Chair of Events Industry Council (EIC); Meeting Professionals International (MPI).
Specialties: CEO, sales, sales leadership, association leadership, non-profit leadership, account management, business development, operations, board leadership, building top performing teams, organizational planning and development, business unit turnarounds, pricing strategy, market and sales strategy, vision, sales planning and analysis, CRM, recruiting, talent development, health care, health plans, worksite health centers, pharmacy benefit management, payments, travel management, software as a service.
Co-Presented by
Sherrif Karamat, CAE
LinkedIn
Virtual
Speaker Bio
Sherrif Karamat, CAE, is President and Chief Executive Officer of PCMA. Karamat also serves as President of the PCMA Foundation and Publisher of Convene magazine.
As CEO, Karamat leads the vision, mission and promise for PCMA’s global family of brands. Karamat serves the greater business events industry as a prominent business architect, enabling our community to become a catalyst for economic and social progress, organizational success, and personal and professional development.
In his previous role as Chief Operating Officer, Karamat led the development and implementation of PCMA’s new vision: driving global economic and social transformation through business events. In addition to his responsibilities at executive level, Karamat also directed streamlining of PCMA’s content creation and delivery channels into one organization. He oversaw partnership, business services, membership, business development and technology teams.
As part of PCMA’s growth strategy, Karamat has led a major data intelligence program and played a key role in the 2017 acquisition of Incentive Conference & Event Society Asia Pacific (ICESAP).
A leader in the business events industry, Karamat previously served as Vice President of Business Sales and Services for Toronto Convention & Visitors (Tourism Toronto). He has served on various boards and is currently a director on the Destination International Board of Trustees.
Karamat is a life-long learner. In addition to completing his bachelor’s degree and Masters of Business Administration from York University in Toronto, Canada, he has completed postgraduate certificate programs at Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago. At Harvard Business and Law School, he completed a program on strategic negotiations for senior executives and a program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one on data intelligence and big data.
Session description
Wondering if hybrid is our future? Will tradeshows survive the COVID fallout? Are large scale in-person events ever coming back? Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the answers to these and many more questions about our future from the executive leaders of MPI, IAEE and PCMA. This is the first time these leaders have been in the same place at the same time answering your questions moderated by Michael Dominguez.
Learner Outcomes:
- Discover meeting industry trends and predictions that will impact your future budgeting and planning for 2022.
- Learn about the current industry advocacy that is happening now to protect our future.
- Uncover the biggest lessons learned from the pandemic that has strengthen the meetings industry.
Creating Safe Face-to-Face Events
Will be be available On-Demand following the conference.
CMP-IS Domain C: Risk Management – 1.00 CE credit
Presented by
Brenda Rivers JD, HMCC, CIS
LinkedIn
Live in Room 405-407
Speaker Bio
As the founder of Andavo Meetings and Incentives and the President of SAFE LLC, Brenda Rivers believes the meeting industry has a heightened duty of care to ensure the safety of participants, safeguard the organizer’s financial integrity and protect against legal liability and reputation damage. Author of “The Safe ApproachTM”, she is recognized for her unique and practical risk management training and consulting. Her book, “How to Develop a Risk Management Playbook”, was based on her 25 years as a meeting professional experiencing all kinds of event disruptions and crises, plus her background in hospitality law.
Named as a 2018 Meetings Today Trendsetter, Rivers is one of the leading meeting professionals to raise the alarm about how unprepared we were when the pandemic struck. Her contributions on the standards of care for the event industry are featured in the Apex Covid-19 Business Recovery Task Force: Accepted Practiced Guide, by the Events Industry Council, September 2020.
Rivers is passionate about sharing her duty of care approach with planners and organizers. She has created a totally free, on-demand MiniLearning course:
Session description
Creating Safe Face to Face Events: A one-hour, interactive session to learn what it takes to design events that are safe and responsible, based on the demographics of your audience, the location and purpose for the event. Every event is unique and there is no “one size fits all” health and safety solution. Health, safety and wellness must be imbedded into your event design. With a myriad of excellent industry guidelines and safety protocols, how do you know which ones will keep your attendees safe and your organization protected? This session will allow you to discover:
- The top 10 must-knows to design and build safe and successful face to face events.
- How to assess your current state of preparedness to apply these 10 best practices.
- Why a Pandemic Vulnerability study is the key to designing your safe face to face events.
Each round table will have one of three case studies: a one day, member celebration event; a large, 5-day meeting at a Florida resort; or a client facing meeting in Paris. Everyone will be given a vulnerability study template and a resource and responder template. Table teams will collaborate as the “event design team” for their event, (including planners, hoteliers, responders or other professionals at the table). The challenge is to share experiences, ideas and strategize how to design the event as safely and responsibly as possible. Be open and creative, explore your own design roadblocks with the group.
Join Brenda Rivers for an open QA over lunch from 12:00 – 12:45 pm, in the Four Seasons.
Career Management in a Post-Covid world
Will be available On-Demand following the conference.
CMP-IS Domain E: Human Resources – 1.00 CE credit
Presented by
Andrew Hudson
LinkedIn
Live in Room 401-403
Speaker Bio
Andrew Hudson is the founder and President of Andrew Hudson’s Jobs List, Colorado’s premier online job board.
Started in 1998 with a few hundred followers, today, more than 35,000 subscribers receive the his email updates and hundreds of thousands more visit AH Jobs List each month. Currently, AH Jobs List posts more than 1,000 jobs per-month and according to a recent survey, 70% of employers posting jobs found Andrew Hudson’s Jobs List the best site for finding new employees. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment lists AH Jobs List as one of its main choices for Colorado job seekers. The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce has named AH Jobs List as the top site in Colorado for job seekers to find a job.
Prior to taking on AH Jobs List as a full time endeavor in 2008, Andrew spent more than 20 years working in a variety of marketing, public relations and advertising roles. He was the Director of Communications for the Regional Transportation District and he served as the Press Secretary for United States Senator Tim Wirth and as Director of Communications for Denver Mayor Wellington E. Webb. He led the marketing and advertising division at Frontier Airlines and also served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications for ARCADIS, U.S., a global environmental engineering firm.
He has served on a variety of nonprofit community boards including the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Colorado Symphony, the Adoption Exchange, the National Sports Center for the Disabled and many others. He currently sits on the Board of Director of Rocky Mountain PBS, and Volunteers of America.
He is also a professional bassist and performs in a variety of jazz clubs and festivals throughout Colorado. A proud third-generation Coloradoan he lives in Englewood, Colorado with his wife, Christine who is the VP of University Advancement and Executive Director of the Metro State University Foundation.
Session description
Description:
Professionals will typically have 10-12 jobs in a 40-year career! That’s a job change every 3- 4 years! Today’s savvy professionals also know that any given job is typically a comma, not a period in the lifespan of their career.
For many, the pandemic was a revelation: a moment in time when they considered what was really important in their lives; family, financial stability, retirement and of course, their career.
And now with the rise of vaccinations, companies are hitting the gas! Thousands of open jobs are being posted weekly. But as much as we’ve heard about record unemployment numbers, employers are struggling to find applicants for their jobs.
What’s going on?
In this seminar, Andrew Hudson, founder and CEO of one of Colorado’s most popular jobs board, Andrew Hudson’s Jobs List, will discuss how to manage your career in a post-covid world. In addition to revealing the successful strategies of finding a job, he’ll also help guide you to the path for career fulfillment – a career that is more than just ‘a job’ but a career that brings you long-term satisfaction and happiness based on YOUR career goals and criteria.
This seminar is for any professional; whether you are employed or unemployed. If you are considering a jump to a different job or want to reinvent yourself completely in a new career, you’ll learn the steps to taking control of your career and managing it forward.
Learner objectives:
- Job seeking strategies
- Career awareness
- Motivation
- Career goal setting techniques
- Reinvention Success Stories
- Entrepreneurial lessons
Lunch – 12:00 – 12:45 pm
Second Concurrent Sessions – 12:45 – 1:45 pm
Mitigating Meeting Disasters: Lessons Learned from the Trenches
Will be Live Streamed and available On-Demand following the conference.
CMP-IS Domain C: Risk Management – 1.00 CE credit
Co-Presented by
Brenda Rivers, J.D.
LinkedIn
Live in the Mile High Ballroom
Speaker Bio
As the founder of Andavo Meetings and Incentives and the President of SAFE LLC, Brenda Rivers believes the meeting industry has a heightened duty of care to ensure the safety of participants, safeguard the organizer’s financial integrity and protect against legal liability and reputation damage. Author of “The Safe ApproachTM”, she is recognized for her unique and practical risk management training and consulting. Her book, “How to Develop a Risk Management Playbook”, was based on her 25 years as a meeting professional experiencing all kinds of event disruptions and crises, plus her background in hospitality law.
Named as a 2018 Meetings Today Trendsetter, Rivers is one of the leading meeting professionals to raise the alarm about how unprepared we were when the pandemic struck. Her contributions on the standards of care for the event industry are featured in the Apex Covid-19 Business Recovery Task Force: Accepted Practiced Guide, by the Events Industry Council, September 2020.
Rivers is passionate about sharing her duty of care approach with planners and organizers. She has created a totally free, on-demand MiniLearning course:
Co-Presented by
Jenn Wade, CMP
LinkedIn
Live in the Mile High Ballroom
Speaker Bio
Jenn Wade, CMP, has over 15 years of experience in the conference and event industry. As a Project Manager, Jenn employs project management principles on complex and multi-service Sage accounts ensuring project planning remains on track, within scope and budget for all contracted services. Specifically, her role entails consultation with clients to continually improve overall efficiencies and facilitation of clear stakeholder communication throughout the project cycle.
Prior to this role Jenn worked as a Meeting and Event Manager responsible for all components of the logical planning for her clients including food and beverage, vendor negotiation and supervision, budget management as well as serving as the client liaison to all vendors and facilities. Over the years her portfolio has comprised of association and corporate accounts with a blend of major city-wide events to medium-size conferences.
Jenn earned her Certified Meeting Professional designation in 2001 and was recertified in 2006 and 2011. Jenn is the current president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of PCMA and has served on their board for 10 years.
Co-Presented by
John Severe
LinkedIn
Live in the Mile High Ballroom
Speaker Bio
John Severe is the Director of Group Sales for the newly renovated Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel. In this position, he leads the group and catering sales team responsible for booking a 1,238 room hotel with 133,000 square feet of convention meeting space.
With over 19 years of hospitality experience, John has served as a regional sales leader for Marriott International, Director of Group Sales at The Westin Denver Downtown and Director of Groups Sales for The Sheraton Stonebriar / Westin Stonebriar Hotel and Golf Club in North Dallas. Previous to these roles, John graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Restaurant Hotel and Institutional Management from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
John and his wife Rachel are proud parents of a 3-month-old son named Weston.
Session description
How do you know your events are safe? Wondering what you can add to contracts now to protect you? Are you meeting your duty of care? All these questions and more will be addressed by this panel of experts on what you need to consider as your look at 2021-2022 events. Join us for this interactive session as we discuss what venues and planners need to do to assure their meetings and events are safe and protected.
Learner Outcomes
- Discuss what matters most when you are determining the foreseeable and unforeseeable threats and potential crises for your event.
- Discover the new expectations and responsibilities for the planner’s duty of care.
- Learn best practices for contracting with venues and suppliers in this new world.
LinkedIn Lab
Will be available On-Demand following the conference.
CMP-IS Domain I: Marketing – 1.00 CE credit
Presented by
Gina Schreck
LinkedIn
Live in Room 401-403
Speaker Bio
Gina Schreck is the President and Founder of SocialKNX, an interactive media and social marketing company. They help organizations connect and build their communities through the use of social media and technology tools. Gina is an international speaker, author of several books including Getting’ Geeky with Twitter, and was the technical editor on the latest Complete Idiots Guide to Social Media! Gina was ranked as one of the top 50 women influencers on-line in FastCompany’s Influence project.
Gina is an International Social Media Marketing Expert. Her award-winning digital marketing firm manages the social marketing for hotels, hospitals, restaurants, bars, and many more, helping them build engaged communities and increase sales.
Gina helps organizations and individuals understand how they fit into this new social environment, and how they can thrive using today’s technology tools. Informative and engaging, when Gina speaks, she helps take the fear out of learning to use new tech tools.
Session description
It’s time to blow the dust off of that LinkedIn profile and start using it to build your business and your personal brand! In this LinkedIn Lab, you will bring your laptop or tablet and leave with an optimized profile that stands out from the masses.
In this session, you will:
- Identify the keywords that will help people find your profile more often in searches.
- “Beef up” your profile and optimize with your keywords.
- Have resources to create GREAT graphics for your profile.
- Move your profile around to showcase your best side.
- To connect or not to connect… what’s a person to do? Have a list of criteria to use when evaluating a new request.
- Have a plan to optimize your time on LinkedIn and avoid the rabbit holes.
- Learn strategies to build authority and become the “go to” resource for your industry.
- Discover the power of video on LinkedIn… you will definitely standout!
- Benchmarking your KPIs (key performance metrics) and seeing the results of your activity to motivate you!
Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: New Event Strategies for a Post-Covid Era
Will be available On-Demand following the conference.
CMP-IS Domain A: Strategic Planning – 1.00 CE credit
Co-Presented by
Christy Summers
LinkedIn
Live in the Room 405-407
Speaker Bio
Christy Summers is a content production and process guru with Medical Practice Management Association. She brings a perfect blend of subject matter expertise in medical practice management and process improvement to deliver highly rated conference experiences for the MGMA audience. She excels at diagnosing issues in the current processes and implementing solutions to streamline them. Christy’s rich and diverse experience as a medical practice manager for over a decade with the Military and private practices allows her to see the projects logistically and how the event will be received by attendees.
Co-Presented by
Craig Wiberg, MLS, MBA
LinkedIn
Live in Room 405-407
Speaker Bio
Craig is the content guy Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). His bachelor of Art in History/Political Science and his Master’s of Library Science and Master’s of Business Administration gives him a broad perspective to help build conferences that meet multiple stakeholders’ needs. In his 20 years at MGMA, he has worked with association members, volunteers, attendees, subject matter experts, sponsors, vendors, speakers, and staff to deliver high-quality content in various channels, including books, online and face-to-face events. He now leads the conference content team at MGMA. Craig’s interests include biking, karaoke, ice fishing, coaching youth sports, and spending time with his wife and children.
Co-Presented by
Megan Finnell, CMP
LinkedIn
Live in Room 405-407
Speaker Bio
Megan is an award-winning event design strategist with a varied and diverse background in the performing arts and the delivery of large-scale conferences. With a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from TCU, Megan blends art and science in all her work. With over 17 years in the event industry, Megan has taken a leading role in pushing the boundaries for crafting impactful face-to-face and digital experiences for organizations and their participants. In her current role as Director, Meetings & Conferences with Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Megan has developed new methods of delivering deep human-to-human engagement, leading to her being honored as one of Smart Meetings Magazine’s Planners of the Year for 2019, PCMA Visionary Awards 2020 Event Designer of the Year finalist and named to Smart Meetings Magazine’s Standing Hall of Fame in 2021. Megan also sits on the Rocky Mountain PCMA Board of Directors as 2021 President and serves on the Visit Denver and Smart Meetings Magazine Advisory Boards. Megan is a passionate musician, art advocate, mountain lover, and mom.
Session description and learner objectives
When the world turned upside down after COVID19 struck, meeting professionals quickly shifted to design education for a digital environment. We threw out the rulebook we had followed our entire careers and we were suddenly forced into a place where every day was a new effort, a new skill, and a new discovery. Looking forward, we now must examine our event portfolios and plot a path to manage this new multi-channel approach to meetings. Join this session to see how we found new value in digital events for our sponsors and expanded our teams’ duties and capabilities to design and execute.
During this session you will learn about:
- Designing new business models for your event portfolios using data-driven strategies
- Identifying sponsorship opportunities, strategies and risk in digital conferences
- Creating a team and a budget capable of producing the new events strategy and calendar
Planner Connection / Trade Show with Optional Appointments – 1:45 – 3:30 pm
Awards – 3:30 – 3:45 pm
Closing General Session – 3:45 – 4:45 pm
A Conversation with Erika Alexander, Chief Global Officer, Global Operations at Marriott International including a discussion on Diversity and Inclusion
Will be Live Streamed and available On-Demand following the conference.
CMP-IS Domain F: Stakeholder Management – 1.00 CE credit
Interviewed by
John Register
Paralympic Games Silver Medalist, Gulf War Veteran and TEDx Motivational Speaker
LinkedIn
Live in the Mile High Ballroom
Speaker Bio
John Register failed to clear a hurdle as he trained for the Olympic Games—a move that led to a tragic accident and altered his life forever. He shifted his mindset and embraced a “new normal.” The decorated Persian Gulf War U.S. Army veteran world champion became a two-time Paralympic Games Silver Medalist, professional speaker, and global influencer.
Register “amputated his fears” and founded the U.S. Olympic Committee Paralympic Military Sports Program. He authored 10 Stories to Impact Any Leader: Journal Your Way to Leadership Success in Spring 2020 and works with business leaders to hurdle adversity, amputate fear, and embrace a new normal mindset to win life’s medals.
The artificial leg he used to win the silver medal is displayed in the Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Session description and learner objectives
To come
Interviewee
Erika Alexander
LinkedIn
Virtual
Speaker Bio
Erika L. Alexander is the Chief Global Officer, Global Operations, for Marriott International. As the chief executive responsible for hotel operations globally, she leads Marriott’s efforts to create, deploy and sustain global hotel systems and programs that meet the ever-evolving needs of travelers and deliver on the promise of Marriott Bonvoy for Elite guests.
The disciplines under Erika’s leadership: Food + Beverage; Hotel Systems; Marriott Bonvoy Operations; Meetings + Events; Program + Brand Operations; Procurement; Sustainability + Supplier Diversity and Quality. In addition, Erika oversees the day-to-day operations of Marriott’s U.S. + Canada Lodging Services organization. The synergy created by her leadership of these two organizations – Global Operations and U.S. + Canada Lodging Services – ensures that the 5,000+ hotels in the U.S. + Canada are given the focused attention and consideration reflective of their contributions to Marriott’s portfolio.
Erika’s 31-year career at Marriott comprises a unique path across multiple disciplines that has shaped and defined her holistic approach to hotel operations. She has held a variety of positions, including: Chief Lodging Services Officer, Americas; Area Vice President, Americas – Eastern Region; Account Manager and Director of Sales; Director of Operations and General Manager. In addition, Erika has extensive experience in leadership roles for several of Marriott’s largest brands, having served as Regional Vice President for Select and Extended Stay brands as well as Brand Director, Residence Inn and Brand Vice President, TownePlace Suites.
Erika has been named an International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation Fellow; and was a member of the 2011 class of Leadership Atlanta. In addition, she was recognized by the Atlanta Business League as one of the Top 100 Influential Women in Atlanta and by the YWCA as a Corporate Woman of Achievement. Erika is also a past recipient of Marriott’s Diversity and Inclusion Trailblazer Award.
Embodying Marriott’s Commitment to Serve Our Communities, Erika has served on multiple non-profit boards, including Leadership Atlanta, the Atlanta Children’s Shelter, the International Women’s Forum of Georgia, The Ron Clark Academy and the executive committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Erika holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MBA from George Mason University.
She resides in Atlanta with her husband, Vincent Barbour, and their dog, Payton.
