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Timothy Brooks - Founder & President
Prior to founding TheAustinGroup in 1992, Tim served as VP of Sales & Marketing with Heitman Hotel Properties in New York and Chicago and as Director of Marketing at The Mark, a Rafael property (now Mandarin Oriental) in New York City. With Regent International for 3 years, he developed expertise in the International market and a firsthand knowledge of European, Asian, and Latin American destinations. As National Sales Manager from 1985-88 at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Tim became the top producer for that 5-Star, 5-Diamond property, and created marketing programs which served as models for future Ritz-Carlton properties. Prior to his association with Ritz-Carlton, he opened what is now the Hotel Inter-Continental Dallas, where he became the top salesperson for that highly regarded convention hotel and developed its contract formats, group revenue management models, and sales forecasting/booking pace metrics. In 2002, Tim founded the Wasatch Meetings Institute, of which he serves as Chairman. The Wasatch Meetings Institute is a meetings industry think tank for senior level planners, procurement specialists, and hotel policy makers that is designed to generate new ideas and fresh approaches to meetings industry problems. Among its innovations have been contractual procedures conducive to Just-in-Time meetings procurement, attrition reduction strategies, and the introduction of Conference Service Manager ratings evaluations. Hotel companies involved with the Wasatch Meetings Institute include Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Hyatt Hotels, Hilton Hotels, MGM-Mirage Group, ALHI, Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, Destination Hotels and Resorts, and Renaissance Hotels. Tim Brooks is a native of Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Washington & Lee University as a Robert E. Lee Honors Scholar in 1980, receiving his B.A. in Political Science with emphasis in Statistical Analysis and Political Theory. Tim is active in the charitable fundraising activities of Washington & Lee University and the Francis Xavier Warde School. He also serves on the board of the West Coast Sports Medical Foundation, a charitable group that provides medical treatment to underprivileged youth athletes. Tim is fluent in French and Spanish and travels to Pamplona regularly for the Running of the Bulls. Stephanie Smith - Market Analyst
Stephanie is a Chicago native who has benfited from considerable time spent living and traveling abroad in South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. Stephanie previously worked in International Sales & Marketing with Putumayo World Music in New York City. Stephanie is a graduate of Loyola University New Orleans and is conversant in Spanish and French. In her position as Market Analyst, Stephanie provides project support to Clients and Associates of TheAustinGroup, ranging from RFP creation and assessments of hotel proposals to ROI analysis and RevPAR tracking of major markets.
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