Sweet Briar College

University of St Andrews

Operations  -  Experiential Marketing  -  Leadership  -  M&A Integration  -  Teambuilding

I have proudly joined an amazing group of dedicated professionals in my hometown of Charleston, SC. 

The RMHC Charleston is a 32-bedroom and family room at MUSC where families stay while their children undergo extensive medical treatment.  The environments give the children and their families the opportunity to lead a life as normal as possible during their traumatic times without the financial burden of costly hotel and travel expenses.  It is through the community's support, that we are able to help these families during their darkest times.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Charleston

Pies, Cakes & S’More is a custom, made-to-order bakery owned and operated by a local award-winning family of chefs with 25 years’ experience.

Taking a brief sabbatical from the Events Industry gave me the opportunity to fulfill a foodie dream.  I returned to my hometown of Charleston, SC and orchestrated a start-up family business.  Since our second month of operation we’ve exceeded our goals. 

We are now well-established as “the Chef’s Chef”, serving Charleston’s restaurant community as their outsourced Executive Pastry Chef solution. This B2B niche—combined with a robust and growing retail following—is underway.  

It’s been a gratifying personal accomplishment to create this start-up with my sister, applying much of the financial and organizational management I’ve gained through several successful M&A transactions. In our third years of operation, we  have built out the team to carry on the day-to-day operations; and I emerge in my role as the not "too" silent partner.

Pies, Cakes & S'More, LLC

Executive Director & Owner

Like many, during the recent attempted closure of Sweet Briar College, I volunteered my time in helping with the fundraising and communications efforts for Saving Sweet Briar, Inc.   With the case settlement, the newly appointed President, Phil Stone, asked me to join the College staff as an interim full time leader. In our reconstruction year, as the Director of Alumnae Relations and Annual Giving, I enjoyed working with a dynamic team and a motivated, diverse Alumnae.  We were successful in exceeding our $10 million fundraising goal while also reaching our student enrollment goal and operating the fiscal year under budget.  This critical year cemented another strong foundation block in the future for the school.  I was honored to be asked to serve.  
Achievements include the following:
•	Planning and executing the introductory Presidential Roadshow Event Series
•	Spearheading the re-launching the expansion of the Alumnae Association
•	Reorganizing and executing the new Annual Giving fundraising program
•	Launching and collaborating on the development of an Alumnae newsletter, a new micro-website and all Alumnae related marketing communications 
•	Leading a cross-functional College team in the launch of new multi-phase E-Commerce project
•	Managing a team who executed a wide variety of volunteer events and College related supporting activities 
•	Leading a series of cross functional projects for the College

Interim Director of Alumnae Relations & Annual Giving

Kuoni is the largest wholly owned, multi-destination DMC (Destination Management) group in the world.  Since 1906, The Kuoni Group has been recognized globally for excellence in the travel and hospitality industries. 

The Kuoni Group approached me during the expansion of its DMC product line into the US.  After multiple conversations, we spun out the DMC division of TBA Global and established the Kuoni Destination Management brand and entity in the US.  I was asked to continue to integrate and run this division operationally. 

During my tenure with The Kuoni Group I also successfully:

•	Managed the execution phase of a division’s rebranding 
•	Supervised the rollout of an integrated proposal and CRM system  
•	Managed the daily operations of the US Division, growing annual revenues by 30%
•	Directed a fully engaged team of 65 full-time employees and 600 regular, on-call employees
•	Led key National Account proposals and directly performed the execution of critical events
•	Attended the Global President’s Top 100 key employee events
•	Participated in the cross-functional steering committee for the North American business unit and the Global DMC Marketing task force

Kuoni Destination Management USA

Chief Operating Officer

TBA Global is an award-winning, live-event agency that develops and produces events for Fortune 100 companies.  The agency is known for leveraging the science of human behavior to create powerful experiences driven by purposeful design and compelling content.

Following TBA Global’s acquisition of PGI, I was one of the Executives asked to stay (along with my entire team) ad was invited to be a member of the new Executive team.  My first assignment was to take over the integration of the Canadian business unit.  Later I took over the Destination Management product line across the US, where I stabilized and established a management team that drove the division into the fastest growing product line in the company.

My additional responsibilities & successes during this period included:

•	Integrating the newly acquired Canadian business unit into the new parent company, transitioning brand, bringing administrative and regulatory requirements in line with the parent company guidelines and built and executed a new expanding business plan for the unit
•	Consulting and executing integration events for LexisNexis of Reed Elsevier in the ChoicePoint Acquisition
•	Identifying, proposing & leading the spin-out of a TBA Global division to the Kuoni Group
•	Executive lead for the Vancouver Olympic Games project team 
•	Member of the Executive Committee representing the fastest growing product line
•	Spearheading the selling and due diligence of the US destination division to Kuoni on behalf of the CEO and Board of Directors
•	Managing the daily operations of the division, doubling the EBITA in a year of key events
•	Developing, managing and closing key client product presentation pitches and operations on numerous multi-product opportunities

TBA Global, LLC

EVP- US Destination Management & Canada

PGI was known as “THE Event and Communications Agency”.  Under single ownership and management, PGI provided integrated product lines across North America and Europe for Exhibitions and Conferences, Event Production and Communications, and Destination Management.

The company consisted of 16 acquired companies.  As a member of the third acquired company, I was asked to serve on the integration team and later took on the role of Managing Director for European Operations.  It was under my European tenure that the division saw significant organic growth and expansion of all the product lines and developed a consultative client approach.

My additional responsibilities & successes during those 10 years included:

•	Proposing and soliciting key company acquisitions for growth & competitive advantage
•	Involvement as a member of the integration team for multiple PGI acquisitions 
•	Leading the adjunct and organic expansion of new product lines in a geography leveraging   Exhibitions assets
•	Serving as the Executive Team member in the key sale of a division
•	Developing the company strategy as a member of the Key Leadership Team 
•	Consulting and executing behavioral management change events for Xerox EMEA and LexisNexis EMEA
•	Executing the Brand Strategy and rollout across the EU geography
•	Directing the integration of the National Key Account structure, engaging key customer support
•	Assisting with the rollout of a global CRM system
•	Building and managing a new international division for the parent company with integrated experiential product line approach in the EU, growing annually 30% year on year
•	Heading the Salt Lake and Athens Olympic project teams as the Executive Lead

Production Group International, Inc. (PGI)

Sr. Vice President

Safaris was one of the Events industry’s first national companies operating under single source ownership and management.  The award-winning agency was known for its creativity, its vitality and most especially its team building and interactive events.  Safaris developed the first National Sales Force in the country, providing clients with a single contact point for their event needs.
  
I “grew up” in the organization and served in multiple roles, including National Sales leadership, Regional Manager, and VP of Operations. Ultimately I ran the company and later convinced the Board and our employees to sell Safaris to PGI.

During my tenure at Safaris I also successfully:
•	Led the company’s rebranding efforts 
•	Served as the Trustee for the ESOP /employee-owned stockholders of the company
•	Served on the Executive Committee and Key Leadership Team
•	Executed the final phases of the National Sales Structure
•	Led the company’s expansion into two new key markets 
•	Proposed, negotiated and led the sale of the company
•	Led the integration team within the new parent company
•	Assumed responsibility for the company on a day-to-day basis during predecessor’s   emergency health scare, continuing P/L growth at 10% per annum in 7 states and 11 key markets

Kathy 'kp' Papadimitriou