kevin m. hinton, principal kevin manages the company’s day-to-day activities and strategic growth. with particular focus on marketing including all of our special events, information technology, finance and accounting, human resources and new business development, kevin is also the primary liaison to our 4 regional sales offices. from february 2002 to november 2003 kevin served in a similar role as executive vice president. kevin’s career in the hotel business began with hilton hotels in february 1997 as assistant manager at the chicago hilton and towers, where he quickly got his feet wet serving guests’ needs and interacting with all hotel departments. after six months, he moved into the front office as one of three assistant directors. in september 1998, kevin was named towers manager, responsible for operations of the 142 concierge-level rooms, and a staff of twelve. during his tenure in this position, kevin assembled a strong team, and made improvements to the services and amenities available to “towers guests.” before leaving the hilton, kevin laid the groundwork for renovations to the guestrooms and lounge scheduled to take place later in the year. in august 1999, kevin joined hinton+grusich as vice president of operations. in that position, his primary responsibilities included the development of a new web site, conversion and implementation of new software and hardware to automate our operations, as well as new business development. in june 2003 kevin received meeting professionals international chicago area chapter’s (mpi-cac) rising star award. he has served on the mpi-cac board of directors since 2004, and is currently the president (2006-2007). prior to entering the hotel business, kevin was a peace corps volunteer, having served two years in the west african nation of mali. he studied finance and german at marquette university in milwaukee, wi before that. in march 2005, kevin was graduated from the university of chicago’s executive mba program. in his spare time, kevin is an avid skier, runner, loves to read, and listens to a wide array of music. he lives in chicago’s old town neighborhood with his wife claudia and their daughters amber and sophia.