Meeting Professionals International (MPI) announces its 2012-2013 Board of Directors, MPI Volunteer Chairs and MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees, for the fiscal year July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.
Kevin Hinton, Executive Vice President of Associated Luxury Hotels International, will assume the role as the 2012-2013 chairman of the MPI Board of Directors. Vincent LaRuffa, Vice President Resort Sales and Marketing at Universal Orlando Resort, will lead the 2012-2013 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees.
Hinton, a former MPI Chicago Chapter President, joined the MPI Board of Directors in 2008 and served as a board member until 2011. He was a member of the Audit/Finance Committee and Governance/Nominating Committee prior to being elected chairman-elect in 2011. As Executive Vice President for Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI), he currently heads up ALHI’s global sales specialists team and is growing the group’s international membership of hotels and convention bureaus. Prior to joining ALHI, Kevin served as CEO of hinton+grusich, which was sold to ALHI in January 2011.
Since 2008, LaRuffa has served on the MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees and joined the Executive Committee in 2010. He is currently Vice President of Resort Sales and Marketing at Universal Orlando Resort. He has been with Universal since 2003. He is responsible for the achievement of on-site hotel revenues and integrating the on-site hotels into all appropriate Universal Orlando messaging and programming. Vince is directly responsible for overseeing Leisure Sales & Marketing, Group Sales & Marketing and Revenue Management.
2012-2013 MPI Board of Directors Executive Committee:
- Chairman: Kevin Hinton, Executive Vice President, Associated Luxury Hotels International
- Chairman-Elect: Michael Dominguez, Senior Vice President of Sales, MGM Resorts International
- Vice Chairman of Finance: Kevin Kirby, Senior Director-Worldwide Sales, Hard Rock International
- Vice Chairman: Roel Frissen, CMM, Managing Director, Parthen
- Vice Chairman: Carl Winston, Director, School of Hospitality and Tourism, San Diego State University
- Immediate Past Chairman: Sebastien Tondeur, CEO, MCI Group Holding SA
2012-2013 MPI Board of Directors Members:
- Krzysztof Celuch, CMM, CITE, Vice-Dean, Vistula University
- Jordan D. Clark, Vice President of Sales, Caesars Entertainment
- Ricardo Ferreira, Senior Vice President, GRUPO ALATUR
- Hattie Hill, CMM, CEO, Hattie Hill Enterprises, Inc.
- Cornelia Horner, CMP, Vice President, American Land Title Association
- Allison Kinsley, CMP, CMM, Chief Meeting Architect, Kinsley Meetings
- Carol Muldoon, CMM, Executive Director-Events & Meetings, KPMG LLP
- Fiona Pelham, Managing Director, Sustainable Events Ltd.
- Alisa Peters, CMP, CMM, National Account Manager, Experient Inc.
- Darren Temple, CTA, Senior Vice President of Sales and Services, Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Erin Tench, CMP, CMM, Associate Director of Special Events, Penn State University
- Stephanie Windham, CMP, Vice President Sales and Marketing, ARIA Resort & Casino
- Legal Counsel: Jonathan T. Howe, Esq., President/Senior Partner, Howe & Hutton, Ltd.
2012-2013 MPI Volunteer Chairs:
- Audit/Finance Committee: Kevin Kirby, Senior Director-Worldwide Sales, Hard Rock International
- Chapter Advisory Council: Tara Liaschenko, CMM, CEO, The Link Event Professionals, Inc.
- Governance/Nominating Committee: Sebastien Tondeur, CEO, MCI Group Holding SA
- Knowledge Advisory Council: Michelle Allgauer, CAE, CMP, CMM
- Marketplace Advisory Council: Daniel Estatico, Sales Director, Walt Disney World Resort
- Membership Advisory Council: Angela Layton, CMP, Marketing and Event Specialist, Healthtech Holdings, Inc.
- RISE Awards Judging Panel: Barbara J. Cummins, CMP, CMM, Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
2012-2013 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees Executive Committee:
- Chairman: Vince LaRuffa, Vice President Resort Sales and Marketing, Universal Orlando Resort
- Chair-Elect: David Johnson, President/CEO, Aimbridge Hospitality, LP
- Immediate Past Chair: Kevin Olsen, President and Principal, One Smooth Stone
- Vice Chair of Finance: Mike Massari, Vice President of Meeting Sales & Operations-Las Vegas, Caesars Entertainment
- Vice Chair of Development: Gus Vonderheide, Vice President of Sales-Group, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
- Vice Chair of Investor Relations: Stephen Revetria, Vice President & General Manager, Giants Enterprises/AT&T Park San Francisco Giants
2012-2013 MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees Members:
- Mary Casey, Vice President, Global Corporate Sales, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
- Melanie Cook
- Christine Duffy, President & CEO, Cruise Lines International Association
- Thomas Grundner, Vice President Global Sales, Jumeirah Group
- Lee Horgan, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Newmarket International
- Helene Moberg, Executive Director, Sales, Destination Halifax
- Angie Pfeifer, CMM, Assistant VP, Corporate Meetings, Investors Group
- Alan Pini, CMP, CMM, Chief Executive, TEKNOCONGRESS ICS®
- Susan Prophet, Director MC&IT Destination, Quebec/Tourism Quebec
- Jim Russell, Senior Vice President, Innovation, Freeman
- Jeff Wagoner, President, Wyndham Hotel Group
