Kansas City, Missouri: MMGY Global, a travel, tourism and hospitality communications company, is reshaping the PR and international marketing space in the Americas region.
The company has appointed Julie Cuesta as vice president of international marketing for the Americas region and Julie Freeman (pictured above) as vice president of public relations.
Mr. Cuesta and Mr. Freeman will both report directly to Craig Compagnone, the company's newly appointed president of the Americas, and will be part of the company's Americas leadership team. They will oversee MMGY Global's core functions, scale for growth, and provide thought leadership and innovation direction, MMGY said in a statement.
Cuesta (pictured below), who has been with the agency for 23 years, is currently EVP and MD of travel specialist MMGY Myriad.
Mr. Freeman has been with the agency for 11 years, most recently serving as MD of MMGY NJF, the North American division of MMGY Global. MMGY NJF was established in 2011 when MMG Worldwide merged with Ypartnership.
Mary Wagstaff, founder and MD of MMGY Wagstaff, will be stepping away from her day-to-day leadership and customer-facing roles. She will move into a consultant and brand ambassador position, participate in speaking engagements, support clients with food, wine and travel events, and offer her expertise on behalf of the company.
Nadia Al-Amir and Jessica Rodriguez, SVP of MMGY Wagstaff, will both assume the role of MD of the PR department, specializing in the hospitality, culinary, lifestyle, and wine and spirits sectors. Each will provide strategic oversight and lead MMGY Wagstaff's portfolio of clients.
MMGY NJF SVP Lauren Kaufman will serve as MD of PR, overseeing all day-to-day PR operations for travel and hospitality clients. Maité Conway Ross, MMGY Wagstaff's SVP, will lead MMGY Wagstaff's international PR and marketing portfolio of clients as MD of International Marketing.
Al-Amir, Rodriguez and Kaufman will report to Freeman, while Ross will report to Cuesta.
In 2022, MMGY Global acquired Wagstaff Media & Marketing and became MMGY Wagstaff. At the time, Mary Wagstaff, who founded Wagstaff Media & Marketing in 1999, became Partner and MD of MMGY Wagstaff.
Last fall, MMGY Global was acquired by private equity firm EagleTree Capital for an undisclosed amount. MMGY Global was previously owned by Peninsula Capital Partners, which made an equity investment in the business eight years ago.
Since Peninsula Capital Partners' investment in 2016, MMGY has quadrupled in size and completed 11 acquisitions.
MMGY's clients include Visit California, Costa Rica Tourism Board, Pure Michigan, Singapore Airlines, Windstar Cruises, and Brand USA.
Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Kansas City, MMGY Global has grown to 600 staff and 14 offices worldwide. Offices in the Americas include Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City, and Whistler, Columbia.
