Just a month after Allison Summers’ departure, the Site International board of directors and Site International Foundation board of trustees named Kevin M. Hinton as the association’s new leader.
Hinton is immediate past chairman of Meeting Professionals International and former executive vice president of Associated Luxury Hotels International. In his new role, Hinton, based in Chicago, will serve as chief staff officer for both Site and the Site International Foundation; he will manage the headquarters team at SmithBucklin Corp.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kevin to the Site team,” said David Sand, Site president and founder of Uwin Iwin Incentives. “Kevin has extensive business and global experience in the meetings, incentives, conventions, and events industries, and his skills in implementing global business operations solutions will enable him to advance the mission of Site while increasing value to association members.”
“What a great strategic move. Kevin is extremely well positioned to leverage not only his vast depth of knowledge and experience in the industry but also his experience as chairman of MPI,” said Meghan Schilt, events manager at Apax Partners and an active member in MPI’s Greater New York chapter. “Not only does Site benefit from this, but I think it is really a win for the industry as a whole. I imagine there will be more synergies in the future between the various associations.”
“What a win for Site,” added Todd Zint, CMP, CMM, vice president, meetings & event strategy, at NFP and 2011 chairman of Financial & Insurance Conference Planners, which is also managed by SmithBucklin.“Kevin has tremendous integrity and is an amazing visionary. He leads with authority, yet encourages collaboration, which will be essential for success in his new role.”
At ALHI, Hinton expanded the group’s global portfolio, building a sales team that grew bookings by 100 percent. Before that, he was CEO of hinton+grusich, which was sold to AHLI.
