Venue News

Columbia Sussex, which owns and manages several hotels in Anchorage, including the full-service Marriott Anchorage Downtown and Hilton Anchorage Downtown, recently completed an extensive multi-million dollar renovation to its two extended stay properties, Homewood Suites by Hilton and Hampton Inn. The renovations included refreshing upgrades to the lobbies and public spaces, dining areas, guest rooms, fitness centers and meeting spaces. Homewood Suites Anchorage’s 125 room renovation includes reimagined public spaces, revamped workspaces, enhanced bedrooms, and more. 

People on the Move

Meet Chicago Northwest (MCNW), the official convention and visitors bureau for the northwest suburbs of Chicago, has announced the hiring of Mario Farfan as its newest Account Executive. Farfan, a U.S. Army veteran, brings over 22 years of experience in community and business development across the Midwest including Milwaukee, Chicago, and surrounding suburbs. Notably, in 2015, Farfan founded the Northwest Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, focusing on business development in the Latino community across Chicago’s northwest suburbs. Farfan’s extensive expertise lies in building robust relationships and fostering connections within communities. 

GlobalMeet, a virtual event company that hosts engaging and accessible hybrid and virtual events, announced the hiring of Ken Roberts as its Chief Technology Officer. Roberts will lead the company’s engineering team and software strategy as it revitalizes its consumer-facing digital offerings, paving the way for incoming features. Roberts brings over 25 years of experience building and scaling cloud-native SaaS solutions. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President of Technology at CeriFi, a market-leading provider of financial services education and training. He drove the digital transformation of the company's workforce, platforms, and infrastructure.