In his role as Corporate Director of Brand Marketing, Nikolai leads a team of property-based Marketing Directors and an HQ team, overseeing strategic planning, marketing communications, public relations, and more for Virgin Hotels. -Develops annual strategic brand marketing plans and owns end-to-end strategy execution.-Owns all brand marketing initiatives, working closely with Digital Marketing, Social Media, and Field Marketing teams to grow Virgin Hotels' brand awareness and revenue goals.-Owns the relationship with Virgin Red and manages all brand marketing opportunities in the loyalty space, including launching the earn & redeem customer proposition, and developing a Cobrand Credit Card in the US in partnership with Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Voyages, and Synchrony/Mastercard.-Develops and secures key brand partnerships, managing all aspects of the Partner lifecycle: sourcing and negotiating, onboarding and deployment, and managing performance.-Owns the relationship with the brand-level public relations agency to ensure effective communications strategies and appropriate channels.

•Oversee all aspects of marketing and public relations for St. Regis and W Hotels in Miami.•Spearhead the development and execution of highly effective marketing communications, advertising, public relations, social media, and reputation management strategies.•Achieve and outperform established revenue, pace, and room night targets by effectively developing, managing, and optimizing digital marketing channels. 2021 results: 145% to budget and ROAS of 25:1.•Cultivate and maintain positive relationships with external agencies for advertising, PR, and social media.•Create engaging and dynamic programming and establish partnerships for various outlets, such as restaurants, bars, spas, and fitness centers.•Provide dynamic and comprehensive leadership to marketing team members, including delivering training, mentorship, and support to direct reports.•Demonstrate expert knowledge of current marketing and industry trends, innovations, and standards.•Review marketing analytics and results to determine strategy effectiveness and adapt plans.•Gain key insights into competitor strategies through market research and data analysis.•Align objectives and bridge communications with cross-functional teams to understand needs, identify pain points and inefficiencies, and gather requirements.•Maintain responsibility for overseeing and allocating large-scale budgets.

-Lead marketing strategy and creative execution for the $850 million flagship St. Regis hotel -Managed effectiveness of all marketing channels to ensure revenue targets are met-Supervised external agency relationships for advertising, public relations, and social media -Secured feature coverage in top tier media, including Departures, Forbes, Robb Report, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc. -Set social media content strategy and created a highly successful influencer program -Established strategic partnerships with luxury brands including Graff Diamonds, Harry Winston, Neiman Marcus, The Webster, and the National Young Arts Foundation -Planned and executed signature activations connecting the resort to Miami’s marquee event circuit: Art Basel, South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Int’l Boat Show, Fashion Week -Secured promotional placements via on location filming, photo shoots and celebrity visits

-Positioned W’s first Retreat & Spa concept in the Caribbean, a luxury island retreat with a destination spa and an Alain Ducasse restaurant-Collaborated with the Puerto Rican Tourism Company to establish identity for island of Vieques -Delivered tone-setting coverage resulting in ad equivalent value of $21 million in 2011, the highest among Starwood’s 1000+ hotels-Supervised local, national, and international external agency relationships-Developed marquee destination programming; including film festivals, culinary events, and concert series

-Introduced W brand to the Minneapolis market-Managed multi-targeted database marketing initiatives for hotel and its outlets-Planned and executed hotel’s $500,000 opening launch event, with 800+ attendees-Developed all media and communication for the hotel, including web content, printed and electronic brochures, and a digital media library of images and collateral

-Provided strategic direction to senior management, merchants, and marketing regarding seasonal trend initiatives-Conducted global trend research, analysis, and forecasting via seasonal trend trips to Europe, Japan, and throughout North America-Utilized the trend curve with merchant teams to deliver new, exciting, and differentiated assortments that drove sales and profitability-Built strong vendor relationships, working with design teams to ensure newness withinproduct offerings