Charles Mardiks: President
Charles Mardiks has more than two decades of strategic marketing communications and public relations experience in global travel and tourism. He previously served as the managing director of the public relations division of MMGY Global, an integrated marketing agency. He co-founded New York-based MMG Mardiks, Inc. in 2002, one of the fastest growing travel specialist public relations agencies. In 2012, MMG Mardiks merged with Ypartnership to form MMGY Global.
Prior to that he was a senior vice president at KWE Associates, a leading travel and tourism public relations agency. He has orchestrated brand-building public relations programs for longstanding clients across a broad spectrum of industries including airlines, cruise lines, car rental companies, credit cards/payment systems, hotels and resorts, tour operators, destinations and associations. Charles has worked with clients in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Charles was the architect behind image and visitation-building public relations and digital campaigns for destinations such as Colorado; Sarasota, Florida; Ft. Myers/Sanibel, Florida; Portland, Oregon; Germany and Hong Kong. He also managed ongoing public relations programs for Hertz; Midwest Airlines; Rocky Mountaineer; Travel Guard Insurance; Hyatt Hotels and Resorts; Rezidor Hotel Group; Hotel Missoni; Regent Hotels and Resorts; Peninsula Hotel Group; The May Fair Hotel, London and Atlantis, Bahamas, to name a few. His media and industry relationships are vast.
Bringing clients together with a broad range of consumer and luxury products and services, retailers and leading influencers, Charles has been instrumental in the creation of many high-profile consumer and media events, strategic alliances and business-building campaigns. He has served as a crisis communications expert and counselor on behalf of companies and governments in times of natural disaster, terrorism, and military conflict.
His work has been honored with numerous awards including the Hotel Sales and Marketing International (HSMAI) Adrian Award and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Silver Anvil. He has been featured in such outlets as The New York Times, NBC News, Inc. Magazine, Huffington Post, PR Week and O’Dwyer’s PR News and has been a guest speaker at industry events around the world. He is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME). Charles is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the School of Management at Syracuse University.
Elisa Fershtadt: Director
Elisa Fershtadt is a public relations and media communications specialist with extensive travel and tourism experience.
Her far-reaching media contacts with leading print, broadcast and digital media have landed her clients in front of a national and international audience. Stories have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NBC’s TODAY Show, ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS Sunday Morning as well as major tourism blogs and trade and business outlets. Her knowledge and careful vetting of top lifestyle influencers have provided successful partnerships for her clients. Luxury travel features have appeared in Elite Traveler, The Robb Report, Cigar Aficionado, Private Clubs, and The New York Times “T” Magazine, among others.
She has secured major coverage, including cover stories, in the industry’s leading travel trade and meetings publications including Travel Weekly, Travel Agent, Luxury Travel Advisor, Meetings & Conventions and Successful Meetings.
Elisa has expertise in marketing promotions, partnerships and product placement and crisis communications. Partnership promotions and strategic alliances include Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City’s Broadway community, ArtHamptons and Central Park Conservancy’s "Taste of Summer."
Elisa developed the strategic plans for multi-million dollar accounts such as the Jamaica Tourist Board and managed media activities for the Monaco Government Tourist Office, Meet Puerto Rico, Steve and Doris Colgate Offshore Sailing School, Forbes Travel Guide, Mexico Ministry of Tourism, Puerto Rico Tourism Company, The Lee County Florida Visitor & Convention Bureau, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotels, Regent Hotels & Resorts, The May Fair Hotel in London and the Ritz Hotel in Paris, among others.
She launched New York Sports Tours and the lifestyle division of Bedside Reading.
Lanny Grossman: Senior Associate
For the past 15 years, Lanny Grossman has specialized in public relations, luxury lifestyle marketing and consumer outreach for some of the world’s preeminent brands. From media outreach to marketing partnerships and corporate branding, Lanny applies an analytical and goal-oriented approach to creating marketing solutions for clients around the world.
He has developed and implemented campaigns for hotels, resorts and restaurants in Africa, Europe and North, South and Central America. He has also been instrumental in positioning Global Vision International (GVI) as one of the most well respected and prominent international volunteering organizations in the world.
He began his career working with notable hotel properties such as the famed Waldorf-Astoria in New York and Le Byblos Hotel in Saint-Tropez, handling U.S.-based public relations efforts on behalf of the properties. He has recently worked with Lario Hotels in Cumo, Grand Hotel via Veneto in Rome and Flemings May Fair, London.
After excelling within an agency environment, Lanny was recruited to become the director of public relations for two of America’s highest grossing and famous New York restaurants--Tavern on the Green and the Russian Tea Room. Following his time on the restaurant scene, Lanny returned to luxury hospitality as the director of public relations for the five-star New York Palace Hotel & Towers, an independent, luxury hotel in the heart of Manhattan.
Building upon his previous experience in the luxury hospitality sector, Lanny was recruited to be the director of brand communications for Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), an international hotel consortium whose portfolio boasts over 520 hotels in more than 70 countries. He raised the brand’s visibility during his more than five-year tenure through high-profile media placements and effective brand affiliations.
Lanny is on the board of OneKid, OneWorld that funds schools and education projects in Kenya, He is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and The International Spa Association (ISPA).