|
|
 |
 |
MeetingTrader is the creation of meetings industry
professionals who desired solutions to common meetings industry sourcing and procurement
challenges.
MeetingTrader technology permits meeting planners
to quickly develop and refine their meeting budgets. MeetingTrader
enables instant comparative valuation of multiple group contracts in order to determine
contract risk, ROI basis, and total pro forma cost before contract signing.
MeetingTrader technology has been extensively
beta tested since 2008 by corporate meeting planners, third-party intermediaries,
hotel sales directors, hotel owners, and hotel representation firms.
MeetingTrader and MeetingTrader.com are service
marks of MeetingTrader Inc. Many of the processes
and technologies used by MeetingTrader are governed
by various intellectual property protections, including pending patents for which
MeetingTrader has applied.
Board and Management Team
Tim Brooks, Founder & CEO
Tim Brooks developed the patents pending, technology, and algorithms that enable
MeetingTrader's hotel and meetings industry users
to list, value, analyze, market, and reassign canceled group contracts. Brooks is
a strategic meetings management and meetings industry expert on hotel sales and
revenue management strategies, meetings procurement, contracting and contract risk,
and he has been involved in the sale, resale, cancellation disposition, or market
analysis of more than 24,000 group contracts in his career. Prior to founding MeetingTrader,
Brooks started TheAustinGroup LLC in 1995 and grew it from a handful of accounts
to a Strategic Meetings Management consultancy that has assisted Fortune 500 corporations,
associations, and intermediaries with the negotiation of $350 Million in group business.
Brooks comes from a luxury hotel sales, marketing, and revenue management background
with Ritz-Carlton, Regent International, and Rafael Group Hoteliers. He is a cum
laude graduate of Washington & Lee University where he earned a BA in Political
Science and Statistical Analysis. He is actively involved with industry organizations
MPI, NBTA, and SITE, and is a frequent industry speaker and contributor on the topics
of revenue management, market trends, and meetings procurement best practices. Brooks
also serves as Chairman of MeetingTrader's board.
Thomas Hays, Director
Thomas Hays serves as a Board Director of MeetingTrader.
Hays is the founder of Emerald Development Group, a luxury boutique hotel group
and owner/operator of the award-winning Riad Meriem hotel in Marrakech. Hays earned
his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business, and prior to
starting Emerald Development Group he worked in New York and London managing quantitative
finance and derivatives trading for Bankers Trust.
Marsh Merriman, Director
Marsh Merriman serves on the Board of MeetingTrader
as Director. Merriman is Managing Director of BlackRockKelso Capital and was formerly
a partner at McGuire Woods LLP before beginning his investment banking career with
Harris Williams. Merriman graduated from the University of Virginia’s School of
Law, and also serves as a Director of AI Solutions.
Steve Schmidt, VP of Business Development
Steve Schmidt is responsible for enterprise solution sales and business development
partnerships for major accounts based in the Midwest. Schmidt began his hotel sales
career with the Puerto Rico Convention & Visitors Bureau, and then served as National
Sales Manager for the El Conquistador Resort in Puerto Rico. Schmidt joins MeetingTrader from his position as Director of National
Accounts for DMI Hotels, a Chicago-based hotel representation firm. He is an expert
in the financial modeling of group contracts and hotel rep firm/intermediary needs
of the procurement marketplace.
Stephanie Smith, Director of Operations
Stephanie Smith is responsible for the day-to-day technology services and development
activities of MeetingTrader's staff of 17 web
developers and customer service associates. Smith joined MeetingTrader
in early 2008 and has been deeply involved with all aspects of MeetingTrader's
Alpha prototype and Beta test releases for meetings industry review. Prior to joining
MeetingTrader, she worked as a Market Analyst
for TheAustinGroup, managing its vendor sourcing, market research, and pricing guidance
for TheAustinGroup’s corporate meeting planning customers. Smith has significant
experience with online marketing and social media experience from her time with
Putumayo World Music, where she was involved in licensing, online distribution and
international sales and marketing. She is a 2005 Honors Cum Laude graduate of Loyola
University of New Orleans where she was an Ignatian Scholar, and she is actively
involved as Student Committee Co-Chair for the Chicago chapter of MPI.
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|