Maritz Aligns Corporate Sales, Operations; Management Shifts with Binford Leaving

July 13, 2012

A few months after Maritz Travel bought Experient, the company has aligned its corporate market sales and operations teams to better serve the industry, according to company officials.

The Experient brand will focus on association, tradeshow and government markets, with corporate efforts aligning with the Maritz Travel brand. 

To meet that plan, effective July 16, Experient’s corporate-focused sales and operations teams will report and operate through the Maritz Travel brand.

“This provides a clear and distinct focus for each of our brands, and creates a higher degree of targeted relevance and value to our clients and industry partners,” said David Peckinpaugh, president of Maritz Travel.

He added, “These changes will have absolutely no impact on our clients as they will continue to work with and be serviced by the exact teams as before this alignment which was our promise at the time of the acquisition.”

Experient’s association, tradeshow and government clients will continue to be served by their Experient teams, operating under the Experient brand.

“This alignment focuses our market talent and sharpens our brand clarity as we expand to meet the range of services - both full and select - demanded by current and new clients,” Peckinpaugh said.

As a result of the integration of the corporate business into the Maritz umbrella, Rick Binford, president of the Event Management Services (EM) division of Experient, has decided to pursue other opportunities outside of the company.

“I want to personally thank Rick for his many years of service and leadership,” Peckinpaugh said.

He added, “He helped start and build the ESN (Experient Sales Network), was instrumental in taking our marketing efforts to a new level and helped the EM division through the very difficult years of 2009-2010, among many other key accomplishments.  We sincerely thank Rick for his efforts and dedication over the years.”

Also because of the acquisition, Jeff Price, who headed Experient, stepped down.

The EM division now will be led by Michael Guerriero, formerly CFO for Experient, who brings 22-plus years of experience with Experient to this key leadership role. 

Shawn Pierce will continue to lead Experient’s Registration and Housing Services division.

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