Phocuswright is the world's leading travel research authority. Our expert team is passionate about providing you with superior insights, analysis and research you can trust.
- Kelsey Brown
- Walter Buschta
- Trisha Buyer
- Kimberly Campetti
- Alexis Capellades
- Derek Catron
- Mike Coletta
- Pete Comeau
- Ali Dervin
- Coney Dongre
- Charuta Fadnis
- Grace Flanagan
- Linda Fox
- Stephanie Gordon
- Lori Harris
- Morgan Hines
- David Juman
- Florence Kaci
- Saundra Kahler
- Eugene Ko
- Madeline List
- Bing Liu
- Mary Ann Nedoszytko
- Kimberly Newbury
- Emma Newton
- Steph Novotny
- Stan Pawlow
- Catherine Plummer
- Stevie Daniella Goodman
- Alicia Schmid
- Mika Smith
- Mitra Sorrells
- Kulin Strimbu
- Chris Thompson
.png "Kelsey Brown")
Ms. Brown joins the Phocuswright team with a background in marketing, sales, and project management. In her role as Marketing & Client Services Coordinator, she assists in the planning and execution of sales and marketing programs across the company. Before moving to New York City, Kelsey earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Colorado. She’s passionate about global travel, loves going to Broadway shows, and has an 11-year-old Pekingese named Butter.
Send an Email
As Senior Vice President of Marketing and Client Services, Walter Buschta directs Phocuswright and PhocusWire's worldwide marketing and client support initiatives.
Leading an exceptional team, Walter establishes Phocuswright as the foremost authority in travel research, attracting thousands of top-tier executives from the travel, tourism, and investment sectors to Phocuswright's international events. He spearheaded the 2017 launch of PhocusWire, Phocuswright's daily news outlet, which now reaches over a million readers passionate about travel technology, distribution, and innovation.
Walter is a key player in the development and implementation of Phocuswright's innovation products including research, pitch events, travel technology fellowship, startup programs and more. He is also passionate about The Young Leaders Summit, supporting career development of select rising stars in travel.
Prior to joining Phocuswright in 2017, Walter co-founded successful ventures in both Europe and the U.S. He also held the position of Chief Marketing Officer at Interhome, the largest vacation rental property management company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
Ms. Buyer is responsible for all finance and administration functions within Phocuswright and its sister brand, Inntopia. She has over twenty-five years' experience in operations and accounting management. Prior to joining Phocuswright, Trish oversaw retail operations for the Ethan Allen organization. She graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.S. in mathematics and holds an M.B.A. in accounting.
Send an Email
Ms. Campetti joined Phocuswright in 2004 as a database coordinator and office manager. In her current role, Kimberly has many responsibilities, including managing the development of the conference programs and coordinating the speakers at each event. Kimberly graduated with a B.A. in marketing and received her M.B.A. from Western Connecticut State University. When she's not working, Kimberly enjoys traveling. She currently lives in Philadelphia, PA.
Send an Email
Ms. Capellades joins the Phocuswright team with a strong background in marketing, event planning, project management and developing partnerships. In her role as Senior Marketing Project Manager, Alexis is responsible for the oversight, content management, optimization, and continued monetization of the marketing activities. Prior to joining the team, Alexis worked at the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association as Partnership & Business Development Manager, leading communications and building partnerships. Prior to that role, she led and executed the marketing strategy at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. She enjoys trying new recipes and atv riding.
Send an Email
Derek Catron joined PhocusWire as news editor in January 2023. He is a former national enterprise and investigations editor at USA Today and was the managing editor at the Daytona Beach News-Journal and a reporter at the Orlando Sentinel.
Mr. Coletta has served in a variety of high-level roles spanning 25 years in the travel industry at startups, corporations and digital agencies. At Phocuswright, he oversees the company's technology and innovation research efforts, including the screening of startups for our recurring pitch competitions, as well as varied travel market research initiatives.
He is the author or co-author of Phocuswright's annual reports on the U.S. packaged travel, car rental, cruise and short-term rental markets, the state of travel startups, and numerous one-off research projects. He also maintains The State of Travel Startups Interactive Database.
He previously worked primarily in the startup world as an entrepreneur, investor, program manager and group organizer. He spent significant time in web development, web analytics, online marketing and tech project management, building a spectrum of expertise and network of contacts.
In the past he volunteered as the co-organizer of the Travel 2.0 Meetup group and as a global coordinator with Impact Travel Alliance. He was a member of Phocuswright's "Young Leaders Under 35" executive development program in 2013.
Click here to download Mike's high resolution photo from the Phocuswright media gallery.
Send an Email.png "Pete Comeau")
Mr. Comeau is responsible for overall strategic and operational leadership at Phocuswright. Pete oversees all aspects of Phocuswright's commercial activities including product, sales and service, and marketing. He also plays a key role in product development and business development strategy for Phocuswright research, events and media businesses globally. Pete is a frequent speaker at industry events and heads Phocuswright's coverage of startups and innovation.
Mr. Comeau's travel industry career spans over two decades. Previously, he managed strategic partnerships at Orbitz in Chicago, where he assisted in growing and managing accounts for the Orbitz Partner Network. Prior to Orbitz, Pete was the sales leader at Moguls Mountain Travel, a ski tour wholesaler in Boulder, CO. He helped design, implement and maintain four reservation systems during his tenure and managed and mentored a team of successful sales agents.
Based in the Denver, Colorado area, Pete holds an M.B.A. from Daniels College of Business and graduated magna cum laude from Bowdoin College with a degree in government and economics.
Click here to download Pete's high resolution photo from the Phocuswright media gallery.
Send an Email
Ms. Dervin joins the Phocuswright team to focus on project management, logistics and operations. Prior to joining the team, Ali managed projects in a variety of industries including finance, beauty, and beverages to name a few. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Susquehanna University and currently resides in Hoboken, NJ. In her spare time, you can find Ali reading, taking a Pilates class or just spending time with her Labrador Retriever.
Send an Email
Ms. Dongre joined Phocuswright in 2014. Coney supports various syndicated, special and custom projects and helps the team in data collation and management. She is adept in travel market sizing and travel trends’ analysis. She is the author or co-author of Phocuswright's annual reports for different regions, with a focus on the APAC travel market. Coney is a frequent speaker at Phocuswright’s conferences and other strategic company partner events.
Prior to joining Phocuswright, Coney worked as an IT consultant with Infosys Limited, where she used her analytical skills to understand the requirements for projects and lay a foundation for project development. Coney is an engineering graduate from Bhopal University and holds an M.B.A. (marketing) from Symbiosis University. Apart from work, Coney enjoys gardening and bird-watching.
Click here to download Coney's high resolution photo from the Phocuswright media gallery.
Ms. Fadnis leads research and product strategy at Phocuswright, delivering high quality data, intelligence, and insights to the global travel ecosystem. She is skilled at uncovering and applying macro trends to strategy, product development and marketing in the travel sphere.
As SVP, Research and Product Strategy, Charuta helps companies gain a deeper understanding of travel markets and growth patterns, consumer behavior, technology and innovation, startups and funding, travel trends and their strategic impact. She also oversees content programming for Phocuswright’s renowned travel conferences. Charuta is a dynamic, sought-after keynote speaker and panelist who is often invited to share her expertise at various travel conferences and events globally.
Charuta’s experience in travel includes leadership roles at American Airlines, Egencia and BCD Travel. She holds an M.B.A. from HEC Paris and a Bachelor of Engineering from Saurashtra University, India.
Click here to download Charuta's high resolution photo from the Phocuswright media gallery.
Send an Email
In her role as Customer Success Coordinator, Grace Flanagan is a main point of contact for Phocuswright’s syndicated customer base subscription clients, as well as for those who have inbound customer service inquiries. Grace manages the subscription renewal process, monitors customer usage data, and supports renewal revenue, upsell and cross-sell opportunities, high-touch subscription products, and B2B media campaigns. Prior to joining Phocuswright, Grace worked as a Marketing Intern for Northstar Travel Group. In May 2023, Grace graduated from Georgetown University with a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Psychology. During her time at Georgetown, Grace competed on the Georgetown University Varsity Sailing Team. Grace is currently based in Charleston, South Carolina with her dog, Murphy.
Send an Email
Ms. Fox has been writing about technology, distribution and the digital economy in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry since 1998, in roles across B2B media including senior reporter at Travolution and most recently, managing editor at tnooz.She began her career as features writer on Caterer & Hotelkeeper, before doing a stint on the news desk and then moving to Travel Trade Gazette. Linda has a degree in history and French.
Send an Email
Stephanie Gordon's 30-year career in the travel and hospitality industry has been a path of following her passions, maximizing her talents and satisfying her curiosity about the constantly changing travel industry.
Having built a reputation for creating successful partnerships with clients and colleagues, Stephanie launched The Gordon Media Group, an independent sales representation company specializing in B2B2C media and event sales in Mexico and Latin America. During this time, Stephanie also capitalized on her knowledge and expertise of the market by joining Betty Maclean Travel as an independent Virtuoso travel advisor. In 2012 Stephanie joined Questex as sales director and delivered outstanding results with revenue and market share growth, product development, technology implementation, forecasting, pipeline management and sales team activation programs. Most recently, Stephanie was part of Timbers Resorts as leisure sales manager. She built a successful partnership portfolio with prominent OTAs, e-commerce distribution partners, travel agencies, tour operators and wholesalers
Stephanie lives in Boulder, Colorado which is the perfect setting for her outdoor pursuits such as hiking, fishing, skiing, horseback riding and stand-up paddle boarding.
Ms. Harris plays a central role in executing an unparalleled event for Phocuswright customers. Registration system coordination, customer interface, Web page development, press requests, on-site coordination and post event duties are just snapshots of Lori's responsibilities. She assists clients from the beginning of the relationship until the conclusion of the event. No stranger to the travel industry, Lori previously held a management role at Continental Airlines. She lives in Sherman, CT with her three sons.
Send an Email
Ms. Hines is a senior reporter at PhocusWire. She joined the PhocusWire team in August 2023 after more than four years at USA TODAY. Morgan has also written for Forbes, Women's Wear Daily, Footwear News, Shape, Appetito Magazine, Hotels Above Par and The Hartford Courant, among others. She holds degrees from Columbia University and Georgetown University. Morgan is based in New York City and enjoys traveling and trying new restaurants in her spare time.
Send an Email
Mr. Juman is a publishing and online content management specialist with broad experience in business writing and editing, editorial strategy and product development. In addition to having held editorial positions with Simon & Schuster and several business publishers, David was managing editor of the Official Tour Directory and has provided editorial consulting services to numerous companies in the U.S., the U.K., India and elsewhere. He writes and edits a variety of Phocuswright materials, including articles, reports, white papers, presentations, press releases and other corporate communications. David has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Cornell University, and is currently based in New York City.
Send an Email
Mrs. Kaci joined Phocuswright in 2010 and heads business development for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Florence spreads knowledge of Phocuswright's research, events and PhocusWire news products and services, and creates strategic partnerships throughout EMEA. She also speaks regularly at industry events presenting the latest Phocuswright research and discussing how distribution trends are changing the way consumers search, shop, buy and share travel. For ten years prior to Phocuswright, Florence held various positions in London, U.K. with Pegasus Solutions focused on sales, account management, implementation services and service delivery. Prior to that, she held positions within the travel and hospitality industry in New York, Mauritius and Paris before landing in London. Florence holds an M.B.A. in tourism from the ESCAET business school in Aix en Provence. Florence is based in France and enjoys swimming, skiing and cycling when not running after her three children.
Click here to download Florence's high resolution photo from the Phocuswright media gallery.
Ms. Kahler joins the Phocuswright team coming most recently from the hospitality industry. She has worked in multiple spaces within the travel and hospitality industries in the past with a focus on client satisfaction. Saundra earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Wyoming and found her love of travel from working in the airlines. When she isn’t working she loves to travel and explore the outdoors.
Send an Email
Mr. Ko focuses on audience engagement through digital and brand marketing for Phocuswright Research and Events. He drives the strategy for content creation, branding, digital campaigns and community engagement, manages press communication and supports PhocusWire's marketing initiatives. He also plays an important role in live and virtual event production and platform management. He has a BS in Hospitality and Tourism Management from New York University, where he was an Adjunct Professor. He enjoys running, following Formula 1 and supports Philadelphia sports teams.
Send an Email
Ms. List's zeal for travel and consumer insight led her to Phocuswright, where she supports syndicated, special and custom projects. Prior to joining the team, Madeline worked in qualitative and custom research for the finance and beauty industries. She has a B.A. in business and politics from Brandeis University, where she became a Circumnavigators Club Foundation Scholar, studying sustainable ways to improve lives of persons with disabilities in seven countries. Madeline currently resides in New York City. In her spare time, you can find her training at circus school, playing guitar and trying new recipes from countries she's visited.
Click here to download Madeline's high resolution photo from the Phocuswright media gallery.
Send an Email
With over a decade of experience in consumer and marketing research, Mr. Liu contributes his expertise to customer engagement, segmentation and decision process analysis for Phocuswright's research publications and custom client engagements. Before joining Phocuswright, Bing worked with Gallup Inc. in southern China as director of consulting and research analytics, helping clients develop marketing strategies and consumer insight. Prior to that role, he was with Gallup in California as senior research analyst, designing and implementing consumer studies across different industries and geographies. Bing Liu holds an M.S. degree in survey research and methodology from University of Nebraska.
Send an Email
A recent graduate of the University of Delaware with an M.A. in linguistics and cognitive science, Ms. Nedoszytko joins the Phocuswright team with a focus on research writing and editing. Mary Ann was a graduate teaching assistant while pursuing her M.A. and previously worked in K-12 school systems. She also holds a B.A. from Rutgers University. Mary Ann speaks Ukrainian and Spanish.
Send an Email
As vice president of sales for Northstar Travel Media Singapore, Ms. Newbury heads up commercial and strategic efforts for the Global Travel Technology Group including partnerships with some of the leading brands in travel.
In her role with the Global Travel Technology Group, Kimberly and team leverage the strength of their brands to share market intelligence, research insight, craft positioning strategies through media and events and enable C-level connections to drive the travel tech industry forward. Kimberly led the launch of the Women’s Leadership Initiative and the Diversity in Leadership Initiative and was a key contributor to the Connects mentorship program. She continues to cultivate partnerships that support these projects engendering connection and promoting professional development in the travel industry.
Prior to moving to Singapore for this role, Kimberly has held leadership roles in Phocuswright as well as other B2B intelligence-companies in the United States and United Kingdom. Kimberly started her career in the travel industry focused on economic development work in the then-emerging Central European region from a base in Prague, Czech Republic. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
As part of the marketing team, Ms. Newton is responsible for the Phocuswright emails, website maintenance and organizing marketing projects. She has a B.F.A. in graphic design from The College of New Jersey. Emma has previously worked as both a graphic designer and project manager at a design agency, as well as a project manager on the Marketing Solutions team at Northstar Travel Group. While originally from New Jersey, Emma now resides in Colorado where she spends much of her time outdoors hiking, trail running and snowboarding.
Send an Email
Ms. Novotny is responsible for finance and accounting functions within Phocuswright. Previously, she was the finance manager at Mount Snow. Originally from Ohio, her love of skiing brought her to Vermont. Steph holds a B.S. in criminal justice and psychology from Kent State University. Steph enjoys hiking, skiing and all things outdoors with her dog.
Send an Email.png "Stan Pawlow")
Mr. Pawlow joins Phocuswright as a data analyst specializing in data governance and visualization. Prior to joining Phocuswright, he spent time in the healthcare analytics industry and assisted the state of Tennessee to visualize the distribution of Covid-19 funds to various programs. Stan has a B.S. in Entrepreneurship and Supply Chain Management and a M.S. in data analytics from Canisius College. He currently resides in Nashville with his family where he enjoys hockey and golf.
Send an Email
Ms. Plummer joined Phocuswright in 1999 and currently oversees operations for all Phocuswright events including registration, sponsorship, content, production and vendor relations.
Send an Email
Ms. Goodman joins the Phocuswright team from our sister event, TravelTech Show in London. After 3.5 years of working closely with travel technology partners across the UK & Europe, Stevie will work on the Business Development team for Phocuswright in the US. She has a B.A in Hospitality Management and Tourism, with strong background in Events, Travel and Hospitality industries, starting her career as a Travel Expert for STA Travel. Stevie is based just outside of London, UK and loves to travel, cook, and spend time outdoors with her border terrier, Mac.
Send an Email
Ms. Schmid brings her 25+ years’ experience in market research to her role as Director of Research at Phocuswright. She has worked on both the client and supplier sides of research and with B2C and B2B audiences. Alicia specializes in translating business questions into research objectives and developing insights that drive growth while keeping the end-user’s behavior, attitudes, and needs at the center. She loves data and quantitative research but also has extensive experience with qualitative methodologies, including focus groups, 1:1 interviews, in-home, shop-along and usability. She has previously worked for notable companies including Michelin and Ryobi.
Alicia resides in South Carolina. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and pets, gardening, baking, and travelling.
Ms. Smith is responsible for maintaining and updating Phocuswire and Phocuswright technical products with tools such as Salesforce, Shorthand, Ektron content management system and basic web development. She also works to debug and troubleshoot systems and any issues with content, with a focus on user experience and design, as well as data and content visualization. When she isn't enjoying water sports like kayaking and rowing, she can be found singing, gardening, crafting, cooking or remodeling. Ms. Smith is proud of her daughter, who is serving in the Navy with her husband, and her two sons who are creative and athletic. She resides in San Antonio, TX with 6 dogs.
Send an Email
Ms. Sorrells joined PhocusWire as a senior reporter in January 2018 and became editor in chief in May 2022. She has more than two decades of experience as a journalist for a variety of digital, print and broadcast outlets and a B.A. in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mitra is based in Orlando and enjoys rowing, cooking and playing with her dog.
Send an Email
As Global Director of Research and Partnerships, Kulin brings over 30 years of commercial travel industry experience to Phocuswright. In this role, she is responsible for the development of business partnerships, focusing on enterprise research and data, and continuously demonstrating a solid understanding of market dynamics and strategic business development through information. Before joining Phocuswright, she spent the last 14 years on entrepreneurial ventures in the travel marketing, sales, and technology space. She enjoys international travel, cooking, and spending time with her adult children. She currently lives in Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Thompson joins Phocuswright after more than two decades accumulating travel and tourism-related research expertise at Walt Disney World. There he designed and led a diverse range of research projects, gaining a deep understanding of the entire journey,
from initial decisions around destination choice, response to marketing and promotional offers, planning/booking process, gauging experiences they had during the trip, and assessing which trip elements or other factors are most likely to drive actual
return behavior.
When not at work, he enjoys taking advantage of the outdoor activities available in Florida, visiting theme parks and beaches with his family, playing on a pub trivia team, and is an avid college football fan.