AMR Meetings & Incentives Welcomes Michael Lyons as Executive Vice President

7/15/2010 - Michael J. Lyons, former President and CEO of destination management company GEP Philly and once named Philadelphia Supplier of the Year by Meeting Professionals International, has been appointed Executive Vice President of AMR Meetings & Incentives (AMR) an incentive travel/meetings management firm based in Newtown Square, PA.

AMR Meetings & Incentives is the product of a joint venture between two leaders in the meetings, hospitality and travel industry both in the U.S. and abroad: Apple Vacations headquartered in Newtown Square, PA and the Rosso Group in Milan, Italy.

“We are honored to have Michael Lyons take the helm of AMR”, said Paolo Rosso, CEO of AMR Meetings & Incentives and Paolo Rosso Incentives. He went on to say, “I have all the confidence in the world that Mike will take us in a very productive direction. His track record speaks for itself.”

John Mullen, Chairman & CEO of Apple Vacations added, “We’ve got the industry leader of tour operators in Apple Vacations, the highest quality hotels and resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean with AM Resorts, unparalleled destination management services with Amstar DMC and now we’ve hired the best in the business to make AMR Meetings & Incnetives a premier meeting and incentive planning company. Bringing Mike onboard has taken the group one step closer to complete vertical integration of all of our companies”.

In his new role, Mr. Lyons will be responsible for the day-to-day operations and all sales efforts for the company. “ I am delighted to take on this wonderful new position”, said Lyons. “We have a unique opportunity to make a mark in this business because of the superb reputation of our parent companies” he added.

Mr. Lyons’ background covers 36 years of extensive experience in the meetings and travel industry. As President and CEO of Global Event Partners, Philadelphia (GEP Philly), he oversaw the growth of the company from a start-up operation in 2002 to its naming as one of the 100 fastest-growing companies in the region. In addition, the company received multiple awards for service excellence and is the only accredited destination management company in the state of Pennsylvania.

Prior to his tenure at GEP, Lyons held several senior level positions with some of the industry’s best known names including McGettigan Partners, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, EGR International, and Rosenbluth Travel. Mike serves on the board of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB) and recently completed his second term as Vice President, Finance for the Philadelphia Chapter of Meeting Professionals International. He has served on the Advisory Board of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corporation.

Mike is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and is a professional actor in his spare time with numerous credits in films (“The Sixth Sense”, “Annapolis” and the upcoming “The Dark Fields” among others), television, commercials, and over 350 live appearances as a product spokesperson on home shopping network QVC.


For more information go to www.amrossoincentives.com.



Contact:
mlyons@amrossoincentives.com