Who's Attending

Lindsey Ueberroth is Chief Executive Officer of Preferred Travel Group and a member of its Board of Directors. In her tenure, Lindsey has helped solidify the company’s standing as the champion of independent hotels, a preferred partner for unique global destinations, and a trusted resource for travelers seeking authentic, luxury hotel experiences. A significant part of her role as CEO is managing the company’s independent hotel brand Preferred Hotels & Resorts and eco-sustainable hotel brand Beyond Green.

Lindsey earned recognition from Hotel Management when the magazine named her as one of the 30 most influential women in hospitality. She also received back-to-back accolades, first by HOTELS magazine as one of the top 10 most noteworthy hoteliers in the world and then by Lodging magazine as one of the 20 most influential females in the lodging industry.

Lindsey also serves on the Board of Directors for Historic Hotels of America, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the Global Hotel Network, Pacifica Hotels, and Wine 2 Water. She is an active member of the U.S. Travel Association and the Young Presidents’ Organization, and currently serves on the Global Advisory Board for Conde Nast Traveler. Lindsey has traveled to more than 100 countries.

Cheryl Williams is Chief Revenue Officer for Preferred Hotels & Resorts, dedicated to overseeing and fine-tuning best-in-class commercial efforts globally for the organization across key departments including sales, revenue optimization, marketing, e-commerce, loyalty, distribution, events, and customer relations.

Cheryl has earned numerous accolades in the hospitality industry. She was named by Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) as one of the world’s “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality & Travel Sales & Marketing.” She also helped launch the Aloha Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and has since been honored with the MPI Aloha Chapter Founders Award. She was a finalist for the Pacific Business News Businesswoman of the Year in 2014 and was honored in 2018 by Pacific Edge Magazine for her contributions to Hawaii’s visitor industry. She is based in Preferred’s corporate headquarters in Newport Beach, California.

Amy Butterfield is Senior Vice President of Global Group Sales for Preferred Hotels & Resorts. She is responsible for overseeing the company’s Group Sales department, which includes managing a global team of group sales professionals while working closely with member hotels and key clients to create strategic programs that drive impactful business and lasting relationships while elevating worldwide recognition of Preferred and all of our 650 hotels around the world as best-in-class partners for the MICE industry. Amy joined the company in 2015 as Director of Group Sales, responsible for managing the Midwest Incentive Market, and was promoted to Senior Director of Group Sales in 2018 before assuming her current role in October 2019. During her time with Preferred, Amy has been a top sales performer year after year and has received numerous industry accolades for her work, including being named “Inspirational Partner of the Year” by BI Worldwide in 2018 and “Outstanding GSO Partner of the Year” by MotivAction in 2019.

Christie Pienaar started in the industry right after graduating from Cornell Hospitality School in 2002.  She began with a management training program at The Colonnade in Boston where she dug into operations, front desk, banquets, restaurants, and management.  These positions prepared her for her next journey in luxury hotels – Ritz Carlton Pentagon City in DC planning weddings followed by a couple of years servicing brides, galas, inaugural balls, and financial forums at the Renaissance DC.  Her true passion and niche were uncovered once she took the plunge into sales when she moved to San Diego in 2005.

She worked with Destination Hotels & Resorts, Leading Hotels of the World, and finally landing her dream job at Preferred Hotels & Resorts in 2011.  She’s been twice promoted at Preferred and currently oversees a sizable territory in the SoCal & Southwest regions as well as oversight of special projects and mentorship with members of the group sales team.  Her guiding core values are operating in integrity, trust and excellence in all that she does for her clients and stakeholders.

Amanda Moore is Vice President, Performance Marketing for Preferred Hotels & Resorts encompassing digital user experience (web and app), paid media, paid and organic search, email marketing, and digital content. She is responsible for maximizing revenue to hotels and Preferred Travel Group by optimizing B2C and B2B digital experiences.

Amanda has earned numerous accolades in the hospitality industry for her work in digital marketing. Most recently, winning Google’s 2024 Agency Excellence Awards for Search Transformation. In partnership with Crafted, Preferred’s media agency of record, this coveted global award recognizes the company’s breakthrough use of Google’s advertising solutions. She was also named a Future CMO by Chief Marketer for her keen leadership skills, creative insights, and desire to innovate.

An icon in the hospitality industry, Cindy Novotny is the original founder of MCA and is an internationally renowned leader in sales, leadership and customer service. She has been recognized by the American Society of Training and Development as one of the most powerful, innovative and passionate speakers in the industry. Recently Cindy was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from HSMAI for sales excellence. Cindy has become a “radical mentor” for thousands of executives around the world. Her ability to close the “gap” with senior executives and line employees has made MCA a leader in many industries. Cindy is responsible for the leadership of all MCA trainers, consultants and develops her team to go far beyond customers’ expectations.

Spare time? What’s that? Seriously, she loves traveling, spending time with family and enjoying the Midwest where she and her husband have a working farm in Iowa and a cottage in Northern Michigan.

Tina Sampson is a versatile and relatable facilitator, coach, collaborator, and leader with extensive experience in senior leadership roles in the hospitality industry. She has held executive positions with Vail Resorts, Hyatt Hotels, Gaylord Entertainment, Experient and Maritz Travel Company. Her wealth of knowledge includes sales, marketing, revenue management, event management, partnerships, change management and executive leadership.

Tina is considered a thought leader and she is an accomplished international speaker and expert in leadership for innovation, women in leadership, sales training, and revenue management. She was recently a panelist and a published contributor about women in sales leadership.

Originally from Sydney, Australia, Art graduated with honors from The University of Western Sydney with a double degree in Business and Hospitality Management. He spent over 12 years at Starwood Hotels & Resorts in various roles across Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the United States, which fueled his passion for Learning and Development. He founded Here and Now Consulting to help leaders unlock their potential through a strength-based approach, and his team has facilitated over 300 Executive Retreats and Mentoring programs across diverse industries, including Finance and Health Care.

Art’s Convergence Executive Coaching focuses on High Potential Senior leaders, equipping them with tools to enhance team effectiveness and positively impact organizational culture. He has coached numerous C-Suite executives, fostering personal and cultural transformation within their organizations. Outside of his professional endeavors, Art enjoys spending time with family and friends, staying active, and savoring good wine.

Adele Farina has been with ION for 5 years. Hired as a Senior Manager running a team of 3, she was promoted to Senior Director of Global events within six months and now manages a global team of 10.

Adele is an accomplished global corporate event and conference planning Director with more than twenty-five years of experience and proven results in driving leads and strengthening the company’s brand, objectives, partnerships and vision. She has great experience in Automating processes to enhance workflow within ION, she has created tools including a business case automation and contract automation that allows complete visibility from stakeholders to spend ops and senior leadership with Power BI Dashboard. She has extensive experience in conferences and tradeshows, incentive events, board meetings, product launches, branding events and C-level executive events. Her experience includes event management at IPG, AIM Group and Fourth Wall events and has managed events for KPMG, VMWARE, IBM, JPMC, HP etc.

With nearly 30 years of experience in the meetings and events industry, Amy is a seasoned strategic planner recognized for her ability to create impactful and memorable experiences that foster meaningful connections. Amy’s expertise spans a diverse range of events, including international incentive programs, large-scale expo experiences and Fortune 200 board meetings. As the Senior Director of Marketing Services, and working with terrific partners, Amy has built NAPA’s reputation in the industry for world-class meetings and incentives that drive engagement, loyalty and focus on elevating the NAPA brand. She resides in Marietta, Georgia with her husband Peter and their two kids.

In Anne’s current role with the department, she oversees the Meeting Planning team as well as the Centralized Event Services teams.  These teams include the Meeting Planners and the Finance and Productivity team, responsible for managing centralized event payments and savings reporting.

Anne has been at McKesson since March 2006 and has worked as a senior manager of centralized event services, senior meeting planner, associate meeting planner, manager of web design and planning, and project specialist for the Meeting, Tradeshow and Event Services team. She is a member of MPI and PCMA, professional meeting planning organizations.

Prior to that, she was a tour coordinator at a local tour company where she booked hotels and venues for proposed itineraries. Before entering the meeting and event industry, Anne taught middle school in Phoenix, AZ, for 10 years. She held various positions teaching students as well as adults and peers. She received a BA in diversified liberal arts from the University of San Diego and an MA from St. Mary’s College. Anne currently lives in Keller, TX, with her husband, Erik, and three children, Clay, Emma and Jack.

Gwen Peters is a seasoned corporate events strategist, producer, and coach with 20+ years of experience delivering innovative, high-impact events. As Senior Director of Global Events at BlackLine, she led a global team to execute nearly 200 events annually, earning accolades like the Eventex and International Business Awards. Known for her strategic vision, Gwen excels at creating events that align with business goals, whether for conferences, product launches, or executive engagements. Previously, at Intuit and NCR Corporation, she enhanced brand reach, optimized processes, and increased C-Suite engagement. Gwen’s coaching services empower teams to elevate their impact by aligning event strategy with measurable ROI, driving both memorable experiences and business growth.

Northwest Anesthesia Seminars was founded in 1976 and is the leader in continuing medical education for professionals in the Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine, and Critical Care fields.

Heather joined Northwest Anesthesia Seminars in 2003 and learned the business from the ground up - including site selection, contract negotiations, group housing, and banquet event orders. In 2008, she acquired partial ownership of the company and took on the role of Vice President of Operations. 

While helping to plan over 140 meetings a year, Heather's goal is to add new and exciting destinations and unique hotels to the meeting roster to offer attendees a wide variety of CME/CEC vacation options.

Heather believes long-term partnerships with hotels help to keep her current on industry trends while allowing her to find great deals and the latest offerings. Heather is genuinely interested in all aspects of the hotel and hospitality industry.

In her free time, Heather enjoys camping, attending concerts, and collecting tattoo art.

Kathlene is a strong operations and creative professional skilled in venue management, overall special events operations, and talent management with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and live event industries. 

She got her start in San Diego in the music and sports sector running event operations at a 13,000 seat venue where she remained for 8 years. Paramount Pictures then came calling along with a switch to entertainment and marketing event planning. Kathlene is now the SVP, Event & Operations for PTTOW!, an invite-only community for today's leading CEOs and CMOs spanning 70 major industries. 

Kathy Fasciano joined PepsiCo Foods North America in 2013 and is currently Manager of Meetings and Events. In this role she provides support for all large-scale events and incentives across Frito-Lay and Quaker. In addition to her planning role, she manages the event technology platform for PepsiCo and the sourcing and contracting for all meetings and events and has grown the volume of meetings supported from 15 to over 300 and it is still growing.

Kathy Fasciano has been working in the hospitality industry since graduating from Texas A&M University. She has worked in many aspects of the industry including Event Rentals, Hotel Catering and Event Services and as VP of Operations for an Incentive House. Kathy resides in Allen, Texas with her two daughters.

Logan Keane has worked in the event management industry going on 18 years. She is currently an Event Manager at Latham & Watkins,LLP, a global law firm with thirty-two offices and over three thousand attorney worldwide. As part of Latham & Watkins global events team, Logan has grown and developed a team of event planners to create world class events across all channels throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Logan is a strategic and creative thinker, skilled at professional development, event operations, design and relationship building.

Lynne Polinski is currently the Senior Manager of Events & Experience at Aura, a technology and digital wellness company. In this role, Lynne custom curates high-level luxury retreats and meetings for their product developers and customer base. Prior to Aura, Lynne spent 16 years with Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI) where she advanced the sales connections between the hoteliers and event planners who utilized ALHI as a resource. Her true passion is weaving a theme through design, decor and sensory elevation with food and beverage. Lynne believes these three elements, along with the emotional connection of face-to-face gatherings, are the core to a successful event.

Peggy Fritz, SEPC, joined Toyota North America in 2016 as Event Services & Procurement Manager. Peggy led the cross-functional transformation from a decentralized event management program to a thriving SMM that launched in 2019. She continues to lead the administration of Toyota’s SMM comprised of several hundred enterprise-wide events hosted annually by Toyota, Lexus, and Toyota Financial Services.

Additional responsibilities within Indirect Procurement include policy oversight, event lifecycle training and communication, event data analytics, and supplier management of Toyota’s strategic sourcing, technology, and event planning agency partners. Prior to Toyota, Peggy served in a variety of hospitality roles including hotel sales and convention service and spent 17 years on the planning agency side as a buyer and team director of global sourcing and procurement. During that time, Peggy supported Fortune 500 companies’ SMMs with a focus on strategic sourcing and the benefits including cost savings and risk management. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Rachelle Nall has worked in the meeting and events industry for primarily technology companies for nearly 30 years. She has achieved both the CMP and CMM certification. At present, Rachelle is the Director of Global Events at Infor, a global leader in business cloud software products.

Rachelle currently leads her team in successfully planning and executing many of the company’s North America tradeshows, meetings, customer conferences, webinars, and international incentive programs. She resides in Johns Creek, Georgia with her husband and two children.

Terese Irwin is the Vice President of Events & Travel at Express Employment International, the franchisor for staffing giant Express Employment Professionals, where she has worked in a variety of positions since September 2000.

Terese’s team is responsible for the planning and execution of Express’ 80+ internal events, meetings, and incentive trips annually. Spanning from a 1,500 multi-day, multi-venue leadership conference to 600-person incentive trips to flights, accommodations, and catering for in-house training meetings, the Events & Travel Department spans the full gamut of corporate meeting planning.

Terese married her husband shortly after starting at Express 23 years ago, and together they have the privilege of raising two girls, currently aged 2 and 3. When she’s not working or keeping up with the kids, Terese likes to attend live entertainment events (from Broadway to the mosh pits, music is where it’s at!) and travel when she can.

2024 Preferred Hotels & Resorts Group Sales Advisory Board