The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) will celebrate three remarkable marketing leaders during HSMAI’s Marketing Strategy Conference in Orlando on June 28. Jessie Burns, Senior Director of Brand & Public Relations Strategy for Terranea Resort, and Sean Dee, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Outrigger Hospitality Group, will be presented with the Marketing Professional of the Year Awards for single/multi-unit and corporate categories, respectively. Dr. Katerina Berezina, Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi, will be honored with the Marketing Educator of the Year Award.

Jessie Burns, CHDM

Jessie Burns serves as Senior Director of Brand & Public Relations Strategy for Terranea Resort. In her role, she oversees the communications to support revenue generation, brand awareness, and reputation management and has helped position Terranea as a top resort destination — renowned for its natural beauty and stewardship, award-winning cuisine, unique enrichment programs, and unrivaled guest service. She specializes in brand strategy, media relations, crisis communications, content marketing, strategic partnerships, and internal communications. Burns has more than 15 years of experience in marketing communications and has worked with several brands within the luxury hospitality segment including Coral Tree Hospitality Group, Destination Hotels, Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, Caesars Entertainment, Morgans Hotel Group, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and more. Burns is an HSMAI Certified Hospitality Digital Marketer (CHDM), and a member of Visit California’s PR Advisory Committee, American Hotel & Lodging’s Communications Cabinet and ForWard Ambassador Program, and Terranea’s Green Team.

Sean Dee

Sean Dee, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Outrigger Hospitality Group, is this year’s corporate Marketing Professional of the Year. Dee is responsible for developing and deploying global marketing, brand, revenue management, and sales strategies. Working closely with the company’s Hawai’i and Asia-Pacific/Indian Ocean regions to address market-specific sales and marketing needs, Dee drives integration, collaboration, and consistency across the entire Outrigger global portfolio. Dee currently serves as Board Chair for the Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Prior to joining Outrigger, Dee was the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) Worldwide, and subsequently, President of Global Branding. Dee has also held positions as Chief Marketing Director for Hard Rock International, Inc., and both Global Marketing Director, Digital and Vice President, Marketing at Levi Strauss & Company. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stanford University.

Dr. Katerina Berezina

Dr. Katerina Berezina, CHTP, CRME, CHIA, is an Associate Professor and a Hospitality Management Program Director in the Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management at the University of Mississippi. In her current role, Berezina mainly teaches hospitality marketing and hospitality technology courses. Her research interests are in the areas of information technology in hospitality and tourism, electronic distribution, and revenue management. She has been a member of HSMAI since 2013, and in 2022 joined the Industry-Faculty Partnership Council. Berezina also serves as the Managing Editor of the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, as the Vice-Chair of the CHTP Advisory Council with Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP), and as the Director of Membership Services with the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT).

AWARD INFORMATION

These awards will be presented at HSMAI’s Marketing Strategy Conference as a part of HSMAI’s Commercial Strategy Week. For more information about the events, visit https://commercial.hsmai.org. HSMAI chapters and the industry at large can nominate individuals for the Marketing Professional and Educator of the Year Awards. Nominees represent top talent in the discipline and are judged by a panel of marketing leaders on a variety of criteria. To interview an HSMAI spokesperson about the event and the award honorees, please contact Miranda Brown at [email protected].

About HSMAI

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners and is the industry's leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals and their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as the Marketing Strategy Conference, Adrian Awards, Sales Leader Forum, and HSMAI ROC. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is a membership organization comprising more than 5,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at hsmai.org.

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