Santa Barbara, CA, April 23, 2012 – Elite Meetings International, Inc. (EMI), announced that it has hired Karen Cahill as Chief Operating Officer. Cahill brings to the company more than two decades of senior management experience, in retail, licensing, brand management, product development and business development. She is based in EMI’s corporate headquarters in Santa Barbara.
 
Kelly Foy, Elite’s CEO, said, “We are delighted to welcome Karen Cahill to the Elite Meetings senior management team.” Foy concluded, “We ended the first quarter of 2012 in the strongest place in the company’s history, with a proven business model; time-tested and widely used products that benefit planners as well as hotels; and with the new introduction of exciting product offerings and upgrades that are making an impact industry wide. We are confident that Karen will help us take the company to the next level, as we manage these innovations and build an even stronger foundation for our company’s long-term success.”
 
The appointment of Cahill is part of Elite’s plans for significant growth this year and comes just a few weeks after another senior executive, John P. Washko, joined Elite as its national Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Bryce Johnson, who held the operational and financial roles for two years in addition to marketing and communications responsibilities, will now turn his focus to developing Elite’s new online content strategy. Among other exciting initiatives, Elite recently rolled out an updated version of its SpeedRFP product, which includes several new features, and unveiled the newest version of EliteMeetings.com, to industry accolades.
 
Karen Cahill said, “I am delighted to join Elite’s management team at this exciting moment in the company’s growth.” She concluded, “With a strong team and foundation already in place, I am looking forward to helping Kelly and the rest of the company maximize and build upon their accomplishments, while enhancing Elite’s operational capacity so we continue to ensure customer and company success.”

About Karen Cahill
Karen Cahill is a proven senior executive and manager, with a sound, practical management style and a track record of more than twenty years of success in team building and delivering on client expectations, while furthering organizational goals and objectives.
 
Prior to joining Elite, Cahill was Chief Operating Officer of Independent Means, a provider of financial education programs, tool and services. Before that, she served as President of the Flavia Company, an art licensing company that achieved more than $100 million in sales. Prior to that, she was a Senior Vice President at Primedia, one of the largest publishers of magazines and online content for enthusiast audiences.
 
Cahill has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ohio State University, and is active in numerous associations and community roles. She resides in Santa Barbara.

About Elite Meetings International
Based in Santa Barbara, Elite Meetings International (EMI) provides integrated solutions to enhance the performance of meeting and hospitality professionals. EMI supports this community through a combination of innovative technology, direct sales support, customized marketing programs and face-to-face business-building events. Additionally, www.EliteMeetings.com serves as a commission-free RFP-generating tool and a comprehensive vehicle for sourcing luxury, upper-upscale and upscale properties. EMI’s innovations include FaceTime^TM Appointment Scheduler (www.FaceTimeScheduler.com) a sought after program for helping conference attendees identify synergies, manage appointments and make direct connections with one another; and SpeedRFP™ (www.SpeedRFP.com), a new time-saving product for creating, submitting, and managing RFPs online. For additional information, please visit www.EliteMeetings.com or call 805-730-1000.

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