2022 MARKETING OUTLOOK FORUM
Speaker Lineup

Anirban Basu
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Sage Policy Group, Inc.

Biography: Anirban Basu is Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc., an economic and policy consulting firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland with an office in Indonesia. The firm provides strategic analytical services to energy suppliers, law firms, medical systems, government agencies, and real estate developers among others. Read more...

Diane Bechamps
Vice President Marketing
Virginia Tourism Corporation


Biography: Diane Bechamps is Vice President of Marketing at Virginia Tourism Corporation. The marketing department at VTC includes Brand Management, Communications, Digital Marketing, International, Group Tour, Sports Marketing, Creative Services and Promotions.

Anna Blount
Senior Director of Research Services
Longwoods International


Biography:Anna Blount is Longwoods’ first Director of Research Services, where she manages client relationships, business development, and provides project oversight. She helps our clients translate their research results into actionable insights, as well as working to drive forward Longwoods’ thought leadership through various public relations initiatives.

Chris Cavanaugh
President & Founder
Magellan Strategy Group

Biography: The Swiss Army knife of strategy, organizational, and marketing skills.

Leah Chandler, CDME
Chief Marketing Officer
Discover Puerto Rico

Biography: Reputable, dedicated, results-oriented professional with 19 years of branding, advertising, and marketing experience in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Loren Edelstein
Vice President, Content Director
Northstar Meetings Group

Biography: Loren oversees the editorial content for Northstar Meetings Group's industry-leading brands — Meetings & Conventions, Successful Meetings, Incentive and Meeting News — across NMG's many platforms, including research, digital, social, print and face-to-face events. She joined M&C in 1993, after spending six years at Corporate Travel magazine. Loren is a frequent speaker at industry gatherings, including Northstar’s own events and major conferences produced by MPI, GBTA and other associations. She holds a B.A. in English and Journalism from the University at Albany. A native New Yorker, Loren migrated across the Hudson River in 1994 to be closer to Northstar's New Jersey headquarters.

Dr. Sheila Flanagan
Registrar and Vice President Academic Affairs
Dundalk Institute of Technology

Biography: Sheila is currently Vice President and Registrar Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Institute and is responsible for the leadership and coordination of the Institute’s academic policy and quality assurance through the Institute’s Academic Council.

Apoorva Gandhi
Vice President Multicultural Affairs and Business Councils
Marriott International

Biography: As Vice President for Multicultural Affairs and Business Councils for Marriott International, Apoorva Gandhi is responsible for creating and executing an externally-focused global strategy that builds reputation, preference, and loyalty from diverse customer segments and communities for the Marriott portfolio of brands. He helps ensure the company’s communications, marketing, sales, and operations consider and reflect multi-cultural markets and public affairs as Marriott continues its aggressive growth throughout the world. In addition, Mr. Gandhi supports and leads Marriott's 104 Worldwide Business Councils focused on delivering our four pillars of Culture, Government Affairs, Market-Driven Initiatives, and Social Impact. Read more...

Andria Godfrey
Senior Vice President
Longwoods International

Biography: With a passion for advancing the travel and tourism industry, Andria brings over a decade of travel research, development, and advertising experience to the Longwoods team. She has expertise in leveraging data to enhance marketing efficiency and promote destination advocacy.

Dave Goulden
VP of Product
Sojern

Biography: Dave Goulden is responsible for product vision, strategy, and execution for this leader in travel marketing at Sojern. Dave is an ad tech industry veteran, having lead product and client development for some of the top digital marketing and technology companies. Prior to Sojern, he held client and product development roles working for recognized technology and media companies including OneMarket, Conversant, Zuberance, Claria and Intuit. Recently, he served as Chief Product Officer for OneMarket, a tech spinout of Westfield Malls where he led the development of a unique Customer Activation Platform for retail. Dave began his career in product development at Intuit. Dave is a graduate of California State University, Chico.

Gretchen Hall
President and CEO at Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau

Biography: Gretchen has served as the President and CEO of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau (LRCVB) since May 2011. She has received numerous awards for her work in the tourism industry and served in many leadership roles. She is currently the association chair of Destinations International.

Jerry Henry
CEO
H2R Market Research

Biography: A visionary executive & collaborative thought partner with more than 30 years of experience leading high-impact teams in Consumer Insights and Marketing Research. Jerry is an engaging and passionate presenter with a demonstrated ability to deliver highly effective strategic business solutions and bring insights to life.

David Huether
Deputy Director, Research, National Travel and Tourism Office
Industry & Analysis | International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce

Biography: Lead team of 7 researchers at U.S. Travel Association. Estimate economic impact of the travel industry at national, state, congressional district level; release forecasts, create monthly indicators for the travel industry, create web-based statistical visualization tool; create economic impact calculators for advocacy, multiple reports, and fact sheets on the impact of travel on the economy and for policy support. 

Alex Jarman
Research Analyst

Euromonitor International

Biography: Alex Jarman is a Research Analyst at Euromonitor International. Alex leads U.S. travel research and helps coordinate travel research across the Americas. His research focuses on sustainability in the travel industry and the evolution of consumers’ travel booking behaviors. Prior to Euromonitor, Alex completed a Fulbright-Schuman fellowship in Belgium.

Carrie Kelly
Managing Consultant
Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting

Biography: Carrie has been a Managing Consultant since 2017 at Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting, a firm dedicated to helping airports and destinations achieve their air service goals. Carrie has a decade of aviation industry expertise including air service development, airport business development, capacity planning, marketing analysis, network strategy, and strategic consulting. Carrie partners with U.S. airports and destinations of all sizes in developing and presenting robust air service proposals and strategic plans to her clients. She is responsible for driving business and leisure passenger traffic to her clients’ airports. Carrie resides in Seattle, WA with her husband and golden retriever.

Chris Klauda
Senior Director, Market Insights
STR

Biography: Marketing research professional and lodging industry expert providing consumer insights for strategic planning and high-impact marketing programs. Seasoned analyst frequently called upon by major lodging companies to assist them in applying market research information to their marketing efforts and to present research to top management.

Jamie Lane
Vice President of Research
AirDNA

Biography: Jamie Lane is Vice President of Research for AirDNA, a short-term rental data & analytics company. He is responsible for data analysis, thought leadership, and leveraging advanced analytical techniques to provide new insights into short-term rental supply, demand, and pricing trends. He has been published in academic and professional journals and regularly speaks at lodging industry forums.

Cree Lawson
Founder & CEO
Arrivalist

Biography: Cree Lawson is serial entrepreneur with over 20 years experience in travel, media and analytics. When not analyzing data and researching new marketplaces, Cree travels around the country presenting Arrivalist’s unique insights in to the way media influences tourism to the 130+ cities, states and countries that Arrivalist counts as clients.

Daniel Leifield
Director of DMO Sales
Key Data Dashboard

Biography: Daniel brings an extensive background in Data Analysis for the rapidly growing Vacation Rental Industry coupled with more than a decade in media sales, which gives him a unique approach to Business to Business Sales.

Tony Lyle
Vice President Tourism Development
Lake Tahoe Vistors Authority

Biography: Since 2012, Tony Lyle serves as the Chief Marketing Office for the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, based in South Lake Tahoe, California. The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority is chartered with promoting South Shore, Lake Tahoe, and achieving a measurable impact on tourism numbers in the region. His primary responsibilities include strategic marketing distribution partnerships - planning & implementation with 3rd party travel trade partners, digital marketing, data & research management, and local, regional, national & international partner relations. Before the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Tony’s tourism career included work for Aramark Lake Tahoe, Skiset, Vail Resorts, Montbleu Resort Casino & Spa, Heavenly Mountain Resort, TUI UK, and his own receptive ground handling business. Tony has owned a house in South Lake Tahoe, California since 2002 and enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, two teenage children, and two yellow Labradors.

Paul McLeod
Director of Analytics
Simpleview

Biography: Paul joined the Simpleview team in 2011 as an SEO Specialist, quickly moved up to SEO Analyst, and now serves as Director of Business Intelligence. In this role, he oversees our Search Engine Optimization and Destination Dashboards services.

Greg Oates
SVP of Innovation
MMGY NextFactor

Biography: Greg Oates is SVP of Innovation at MMGY NextFactor. He works with the public and private sectors to align community, tourism and economic development strategy to drive overall destination performance.

Woodrow Oldford
Chief Marketing Officer
Promtur Panama

Biography: Woodrow is the CMO of Panama’s first Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), responsible for national tourism branding, marketing, public relations, and tourism business intelligence. He has many years working in the tourism industry, most recently as the VP of Global Marketing for Banff & Lake Louise Tourism in Canada. Before that, Woodrow was the Head of Creative Services and Digital operations at Westjet. He uses data to improve marketing performance increase ROI.

Steve Paganelli, CDME
Director Destinations, Hotels, and OTAs
TripAdvisor

Biography: Destination marketing professional with extensive experience in Board Development/Governance; Communications, PR, Community Relations and Political Advocacy; Branding, Marketing, and Sales; Operations; Publishing, and Meeting & Event Planning.

Richard Peterson
President and CEO
U.S. Cultural & Heritage Marketing Council

Biography: An Ambassador for Sustainable Tourism - Travel - Community Engagement - Art - Culture - History - Heritage - Brand Connections - Storytelling.

Kristen Jarnagin Reynolds, CDME
President & CEO
Discover Long Island

Biography: Business Advocate, Economic Development Leader, Community Minded Solution Architect, Collaboration Builder, Kristen leads Discover Long Island, which contributes to the economic development and quality of life on Long Island by promoting the region as a world-class destination for tourism, meetings and conventions, trade shows, sporting events, and related activities.

Cathy Ritter
Founder & CEO
Better Destinations LLC

Biography: Managing tourism dynamics in prosperity and crisis, Cathy Ritter has built a reputation for partnership and turning insights into action. From her award-winning journalism career to top roles in government and nonprofits, she has cultivated a network of expert resources, now a key asset for Better Destinations’ collaborative model for destination management planning. Her work to create the Colorado Tourism Roadmap is widely credited with leading a national movement toward responsible tourism. To inspire Colorado travelers, she approached the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, creating the ground-breaking Care for Colorado Principles as a model for other destinations to follow. Now a Trustee of The Travel Foundation, she is immediate past chair of the National Council of State Tourism Directors and has served on the U.S. Travel Association’s Executive Committee and as an officer for the Western States Tourism Policy Council. She is a contributing author to Overtourism: Lessons for a Better Future, released in May by Island Press. 

Dan Roberts
Director of Research & Market Intelligence
Virginia Tourism Corporation

Biography: Dan Roberts is the Director of Research and Market Intelligence for the Virginia Tourism Corporation, a role that he has held since early 2021. Prior to joining the Virginia Tourism Corporation, Dan spent 4 years with Choice Hotels International in Rockville, MD, leading property, market, and economic analytics for the company’s Business Intelligence Group. Additionally while at Choice, Dan led the development of novel tools and statistical performance models taking into account local demographics, economic conditions, and points of interest to drive the company’s hotel site selection & long-term strategic planning processes. Prior to his time at Choice, Dan worked as a consultant for over 3 years with hotel industry leaders Hilton and Marriott on accounting & finance process optimization, and on loyalty program fraud prevention.  

Adam Sacks
President
Tourism Economics

Biography: Adam Sacks is the founder and President of Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company dedicated to understanding the relationship between travel and the economy. For more than 25 years, Adam has worked with destinations, industry associations, and companies around the world to deliver market assessments, forecast scenarios, policy evaluations, and economic impact studies. Adam is a member of the US Department of Commerce Travel & Tourism Advisory board and his work regularly informs national and local government advocacy efforts. Adam sincerely enjoys speaking at industry conferences but prefers singing and playing guitar. 

James Sauter
Partner & Co-Founder
Rove

Biography: As Co-founder of Rove, James brings years of experience working with DMOs across the globe solving complex problems stemming from inadequate data, information & insights. Rove empowers DMOs through data insight, tourism consulting services and their Destination Insight Platform to grow visitation, navigate change & accelerate growth. James holds an Economics degree from Queen’s University and loves being outdoors and traveling with his family.
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Allison Schult, CDME
Director of Marketing
Visit North Carolina

Biography: Allison Schult, founder and CEO of Mile Marker 630, is a proven creative sales and marketing strategist with more than 15 years in travel and tourism. Schult is currently leading the strategic marketing initiatives for Visit North Carolina.

Dr. Jennifer Stoll
Principal
Stoll Strategies, Research and Education Sports ETA

Biography: Jennifer Stoll, Ph.D. founded Stoll Strategies in 2018 with one goal in mind—propelling the sports events and tourism industry to the next level by putting her passion for sports and her love for learning, research, and advising to work.

Marlise Taylor
Director, Tourism Research
Visit NC - Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina

Biography: Dedicated to quality research and statistical analysis through proven methods, while keeping abreast of new techniques and methodology, I strive to provide relevant information to my colleagues, partners, and clients to support research-based marketing strategies.

Andreas Weissenborn
Vice President of Research and Advocacy
Destinations International

Biography: Introduced to the industry by a random internship application to Visit Baltimore, Andreas began an unexpected career that left him with a continued passion for tourism. He leads the research and advocacy efforts of the entire organization with an eye towards developing data-driven tools to help destinations around the world tell their story..