In January, the U.S. corporate event industry kicked off 2025 with a multitude of new hires, promotions, and executive appointments. Here’s our monthly jobs report. 

Corporate Event News’s take on the biggest move in the last month: Caesars Entertainment promoted seasoned hospitality professional Kelly Gleeson Smith from vice president of sales to senior vice president of sales.  

The big picture: Considered a global leader in the gaming and hospitality industry, Caesars Entertainment operates more than 50 properties worldwide, including nine hotel-resorts in Las Vegas. Offering more than 1 million square feet of meeting and convention space, the company’s Vegas properties with the largest event spaces include Caesars Forum (550,000 square feet), Caesars Palace (300,000 square feet), Planet Hollywood (88,000 square feet), and Paris Las Vegas (more than 85,000 square feet). 

Need to know: Since joining Caesars Entertainment in 2017 as executive director of sales–East Coast sales team, Gleeson has been credited with transforming the company’s meetings and events sales strategy, leading a team of more than 120 sales executives who have consistently set new production records. She brings more than two decades of sales experience to her new role, including a long tenure at Hyatt Hotels, where she most recently served as director of national accounts for more than 12 years. 

What she’s saying: “I am thrilled to step into the role of senior vice president of sales. My focus is on empowering our team, enhancing customer experiences, and delivering exceptional service at every touchpoint.” 

Georgia World Congress Center Authority 

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA) in Atlanta has appointed Stacey Church as its new COO, effective February 10. She joins the authority’s leadership team from Dallas Fair Park, where she served as general manager, and is the third–and first female–COO in the GWCCA’s 50-year history. 

Prior to her tenure at Dallas Fair Park, Church served nearly five years as assistant general manager at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas. She also held leadership roles at the Fort Worth Convention Center, the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., and the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky. 

Boyd Gaming  

Casino entertainment company Boyd Gaming welcomed Dzidra Junior as director of regional sales for the company’s nine Las Vegas properties: The Orleans, Gold Coast, Suncoast, Sam’s Town, Aliante, Cannery, California, Fremont and Main Street Station. Bringing a wealth of expertise to the Company’s meetings and conventions portfolio through her more than three decades working in the southern Nevada meetings and hospitality industry, she will focus on securing contracts for meeting and event groups requiring 50 to 1,000 peak-night rooms, meeting space and catering.  

Junior previously served as vice president of business development for YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado, and prior to that, was director, global sales for MGM Resorts International for more than eight years. 

SlidesLive

SlidesLive, provider AI-powered event recording and live-streaming solutions, welcomed Bruce Gudenberg as vice president of sales and marketing. Bringing a robust background in hospitality, marketing, and technology, his most previous roles include vice president of business development at Meeting Professionals International (MPI); executive director of industry relations at Hilton; executive director and vice president of marketing for Visit National Harbor, and vice president of partnerships and alliances at Destination DC. 

Explore St. Louis 

Tourism and convention industry veteran Brad Dean has been chosen to take the helm of Explore St. Louis as its president and CEO, effective February 17. He brings more than two decades of leadership in the tourism and destination marketing industry, including his most recent role as CEO of Discover Puerto Rico and his 20-year tenure as president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.  

During his time at the helm of Discover Puerto Rico, Dean led efforts to boost the island’s tourism industry following the devastation of Hurricane Maria. Under his leadership, the destination experienced significant growth in tourism, economic impact, and destination recognition. He was also the driving force behind Myrtle Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau successfully increasing visitation, significantly expanding tourism infrastructure, and establishing Myrtle Beach as a top U.S. coastal destination during his tenure. 

Moscone Center 

SAVOR, the culinary division of ASM Global, selected David Teig as director of culinary for Moscone Center, responsible for managing all culinary activities at the San Francisco venue. Teig began his career as a chef in private restaurants, including the Michelin 3-Star Les Maisons De Bricourt, in Cancale, France, eventually transitioning to the hotel industry and working for Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International in various roles ranging from executive chef to director of food and beverage. He most recently was executive chef at San Francisco’s historic Palace Hotel before joining the Moscone team. 

Visiting Media 

Hospitality technology company Visiting Media appointed Kevin Huang as senior vice president of Customer Experience (CX), responsible for leading Visiting Media’s customer success, customer strategy, training, and creative production teams from the company’s New York City office. He brings extensive experience in luxury hospitality and operational excellence to his new role, with a career spanning senior roles at Rosewood Hotels, Convene, and Polaris Development Group. 

Hyatt Hotels Corp. 

Several Hyatt Hotels brands welcomed and promoted hospitality professionals to managerial and executive roles: 

Grand Hyatt Vail in Vail, Colo., appointed two tenured hospitality professionals into leadership positions.  

As managing director, Fernando Santana will oversee all aspects of the hotel’s operations, including guest services, financial performance, staff management, and revenue optimization. With more than 30 years of experience, he has held several managerial positions at Hyatt properties including Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, Hyatt Centric Key West in Florida, and Hyatt Regency Frisco in Texas.  

As hotel manager of F&B operations, Michael Scott will lead all food and beverage functions, including restaurant and bar operations, event coordination, culinary programming, financial budgeting, and staff development. Boasting a 20-year tenure across an array of U.S. Hyatt properties, he previously led food and beverage operations at Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay as director of operations and at Hyatt Regency Frisco. 

Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort, Spa and Marina tapped Robert Donis as its new executive chef, tasked with overseeing the resort’s culinary operations. Boasting an almost 30-year tenure with Hyatt, he has led and worked in the kitchens of a host of Hyatt properties, including Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Florida, Hyatt Regency Austin in Texas, and Park Hyatt Washington D.C.   

Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., promoted 20-year sales and hospitality professional Josh Hoce from associate director of sales to director of group sales, focused on leading the sales team, mentoring team members, and developing strategic initiatives to achieve and surpass group and leisure travel revenue goals. Hoce has held a host of managerial sales and marketing positions at a range of hotels, resorts, and event venues, including national sales manager of Renaissance World Golf Village Resort in St. Augustine and national account manager with Visit Jacksonville.  

ATL Airport District Convention & Visitors Bureau   

The ATL Airport District Convention & Visitors Bureau in Atlanta appointed 20-year certified sports, tourism, and hospitality industry sales, marketing, and event management professional Jamal Brown as sales manager, focused on promoting the District as a premier meeting and sports destination while enhancing visitor experiences.    

Before joining the ATL Airport District, Brown served as a brand activation specialist for PGA Tour Superstore, and prior to that, worked as a team lead for Corporate Events Unlimited. Earlier in his career, he served as sports and meetings manager at the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau and later worked for the WNBA Atlanta Dream as an account executive. 

GlobalMeet 

Virtual event technology company GlobalMeet appointed 20-year sales and marketing executive Richard Smith as vice president of global sales, responsible for driving sales strategy, expanding market presence, and fostering a culture of collaboration between clients and in-house event professionals.  

Prior to joining GlobalMeet, Smith served as vice president of sales at AI, IoT, cloud, and automation provider FPT Software. Previously, he served as director of enterprise sales South at Zoom, and held key commercial leadership positions at Sprinklr, Salesforce, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard. 

Visit Anaheim 

Visit Anaheim appointed hospitality and destination sales professional Virna Navia as its first vice president of intermediary strategy. Tasked with making connections and establishing relationships with intermediaries, promoting Anaheim as a prime meetings destination, and helping connect intermediaries with the Visit Anaheim sales team, she will serve as the main contact for the Visit Anaheim meetings and events team for third-party agencies looking to come to the Southern California destination.  

Bringing more 20 years of experience in the intermediary market, Navia brings a wealth of knowledge from her time as intermediary accounts director at Visit Orlando, as well as high-level sales roles with Four Seasons Hualalai, Fashion Island Hotel in Newport Beach, and Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.  

Have some corporate event-related people news to share? Please send announcements and high-resolution headshots to lisa.savas@informa.com and danica.tormohlen@informa.com.

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