Andy Potsides

Working as Head of Business Development for Award Winning Interiors Global Design Studio https://fusioninteriorsgroup.com/work/ Maintained existing relationships with hotel operators and owners, establishing sales pipeline and developing hotel development database. Secured preferred supplier inclusion with branded hotel groups including Accor, Hilton, Six Senses preparing all stakeholders for pitch presentations. Developed new business leads for hotel projects going into development. Established steering committee focussing on hotel and resort developments liaising with global partners in 9 different locations.

As commercial director for this family-run boutique start I am fully responsible for all aspects of the sales, marketing and PR strategy for the Gallery specialising in mid-century modern furniture, art, sculptures, lighting and home accessories from Italy, France and Europe Working closely with the owner: I am responsible for • Managing the retail gallery operations which resulted in revenue growth from £10K seed investment to over £500K annual sales turnover in less than 3 years. • Commercialising all aspects of Gallery Operations • Managing the entire sales marketing and PR strategy including Google Advertising Campaigns and digital sales strategy. Working in partnership with a digital agency delivering year on year growth from £26K Year 1 to £200K year 3 (>976% growth in 2 years) • Managing all aspects of gallery sales functions, including CRM set-up (Zoho) and reporting structure., accounting and invoicing systems • Created and monitored company's website, whilst setting e-commerce channels, reporting structure, brand logo, social media pages, and digital marketing and newsletters. • Representing the company as brand ambassador at annual trade events including Battersea Decorative Fair. • Modified sales and marketing strategies in response to covid-19 pandemic which secured £115K of additional revenue through new commercial partnerships and grants. • Formed trade partnerships with shipping and logistics firms managing all UK and international shipping of furniture, art and lighting, and sculpture • Organising in store-gallery events for local interior designers, clients and suppliers.

As a EMEA Sales & Marketing Director EMEA representative for collection of Chic Boutique Eco Hotels in Mozambique and Tanzania. Devised and managed EMEA sales and marketing plan as well as created operational budget. I managed hotel portfolio, whilst providing destination training to key travel agent and tour operator and desintation management accounts B2B in UK, Italy, France, Spain, Scandinavia, Switzerland, and Germany. • Maximised regional sales growth by 23% from $5.5 million USD to $6.7 million per year across the portfolio • Revamped CRM reporting structure which resulted in increasing client-servicing efficiencies and conducting reservation team training. .• Managed Tour Operator and DMC accounts across Europe, conducting client destination and product trainings and workshops in France, Spain, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Germany, UK, and Italy. Key Accounts included A&K, Scott Dunn, Dertour, Far and Wild, Beyond Travel, Intosol, Il Viaggio, British Airways Holidays, ARP Travel Group., Abendsonne Afrika, Carrier, Lusso, Mahlatini, DM Africa, • Established commercial partnerships and devised packages twinning with hotels to create packages to market out to DMC's and local Tour Operators.

As a Head of Tourism I developed commercial sales, marketing, and PR strategy for the launch of new Eco lodge in support of the conservations of cheetahs in Namibia. I led and trained cross-functional teams, whilst conducing performance evaluations to increase and improve staff productivity and engagement. I directed a team of seven direct reports in rural Namibia monitoring business development, digital sales, and segmentation of CRM. I prepared marketing promotional materials, including video and weekly newsletters and press releases for utilisation in social media campaigns and PR campaigns. • Deputised as head of tourism on the invitation of the Founder of world's largest NGO in support of Cheetah Conservation. • Established annual revenue targets and delivered a 5-year Capex review and industry trends report to shareholders • Acted as brand ambassador representing the NGO at Travel Trade and Industry Events including at the High Commissioners' Residence and Namibia Tourism Expo in Windhoek.

As a freelance brand consultant i managed the UK brand launch of SaasS crowdfunding platform and tech start-up to the UK Film Vertical. I was deputised to creatively concept and deliver series of launch events to the UK Film vertical. Successfully delivered training workshops to more than 200 creative and film industry professionals.

As a Director I was deputised as subject matter expert in managing leisure and entertainment segments. I led a team of three with five dotted-line reports for the London Global Sales Office at the Leading Hotels of the World. I leveraged High Yield and UHNW accounts, including Amex Centurion identifying key global trends and areas of business development. • Maximised revenue from $13.5million to $18million in 3.5 years and considered the top performing department of 25 regional centres in EMEA / APAC. • Organised annual team reviews and provided training to more than 30 key and 200 business development accounts which boosted revenue growth up to 23% over 3.5 years. • Defined regional account plans and introduced targeted Service Level Agreements (SLA's) which resulted in increasing revenue growth of Key B2B Accounts, including Amex, Quintessentially, and Ten UK to more than 10% in the first year. • Managed a cluster of 15 hotels in Southern Africa, UK and USA and giving independent strategic sales advice which enabled relationship building and increased sales. • Represented brand at key industry exhibitions, including ILTM, LE Miami and We Are Africa; served as the sole representative on multiple occasions and managed to negotiate a 3 year brand level sponsorship of exhibition space for free at We Are Africa. • Built strategic alliances with British Airways Holidays worth £17M GBP, whilst on-boarding hoteliers into the BA Holidays programme and collating property and API connectivity information. • Created annual State of the Industry report for leisure and entertainment segments in UK. • Provided annual presentations to 60 key hoteliers in Cape Town, whilst encouraging stakeholders to form collaborative networks which resulted in growth of 15% to inbound visits to Southern Africa.

As Director of Sales and Marketing I was deputised to manage the brand launch sales Start-Up Loans programme for The School for Creative Startups backed by the government. I managed the omnichannel partnerships with social, digital and PR agencies, defined sales strategy, including digital. managed all media planning, keyword definition and PPC campaigns. Successfully positioned the School as the primary provider of 14 government appointed loan distributed delivering more £1 million GBP per month in start-up loans. • Digital Sales & Marketing: Managed 3 exterior agencies (social, PR and digital) and all median planning managing digital spend of £5K per week. • Brand Ambassador: Represented the school at various events including meetup events for tech startups,managing the commercial partnerships with tech incubators • Branding: Designed logo, and marketing collateral ensuring and video & editorial content • Sales Presentations: Direct sales presentations and networking at incubators, workspaces, meet-up groups, and networking groups for the creative and tech verticals. • Team Management: Recruited and lead sales team of 6 defining KPI’s and managing the entire sales pipeline. • Offline Marketing: Produced all marketing collateral, copywriting and producing video content.

As Founder and Owner of Luxury Hotel Representation Company I offered Sales, Marketing and PR to independent boutique hotels in the USA and Bahamas. Promoted luxury boutique hotels managed accounts B2B and B2C in omnichannel environment. Subject matter expert in entertainment and luxury leisure accounts. Negotiated and secured contacts with clients included The Greenwich Hotel, The Standard Hotels, The Hotel on Rivington, Shutters on the Beach and Hotel Casa del Mar and Royal Villas Europe. • Contract Negotiation: Secured contracts as sole UK representative for The Greenwich Hotel, The Hotel on Rivington, Shutters on the Beach and Hotel Casa del Mar. Positioned the UK as top international feeder market managed brand launch in the UK. • Account Management: Managed key accounts and consortia securing contracts for clients with Warner Music, Warner Films, Sony Music, Sony Films. Saatchi and Saatchi, H&M & Amex • PR Secured editorial press coverage in Vogue, Elle, Conde Nast Traveller, and Red Magazines • Website Design: Designed website and set-up online newsletters to trade and consumer press • Digital: Increased online digital footprint negotiating contracts with high end OTA’s Mr and Mrs Smith, Hip Hotels, Tablet Hotels, Kiwi Collection and Starfish Distribution providers for Vogue Magazine and Johanssens Guides.

As Account Director I was the sole representative in UK & Scandinavia for Andre Balazs Properties and growing key travel agent accounts in the UK. . I managed the client relationship for the Hollywood, Downtown and Miami Standard Hotels, Chateau Marmont & Mercer Hotels specialist in the entertainment segment. Deputised to manage the brand launch of The Miami Standard acting as Director of Sales and Marketing: 3-month secondment to Miami. Additional specialism in the Film Industry running a concierge service for US Film Producers when they came to London, Hotel booking and Diary Management Service.

• Team-Member: Team-member on corporate events for up to 600 Pax in UK and Spain • Event Manager: Produced and managed events for up to 150 Pax. Managed budget up to £250K • Shipping: Produced commercial invoices up to £2 million GBP. Reduced off-load of event material from 2 days to 6 hours.