Vice President, Global Sales & Alliance Engagement
Around the office you’re know for:
The American who lived in Europe for 20 years. I have recently moved back to the United States, and I am still readjusting to the American lifestyle. One of the biggest changes has been to my meal schedule. After years of sitting down to start dinner between 10-11pm, I am slowly getting used to having dinner much earlier. I am already in bed now by 9pm!
Meeting or event experience you’ll never forget:
Over the course of my career, I have had the great fortune of being a part of a number of impressive events. My last event pre-COVID is one that I will always remember. The event required a 3 day build and AV set up for a complex table mapping in an operating banana plantation with no event resources at all, not even electricity. The location was Tenerife, a volcanic island in an area that averaged only 2 days of rain per year. Hours before the event, a sudden storm emerged off the Atlantic coast, causing our entire team to scramble to cover the tables and multiple projectors in plastic. We all thought the event was ruined, but luckily the rain stopped 45 minutes before the start of the event, giving us time to turn around the venue and deliver an event that won a number of industry awards. I will never forget the mix of emotions that day, and the joy I felt at the end of the event!
The one Rhode Island secret I’m willing to share:
Rhode Island has wonderful local products, but one that I love more than anything else is Del’s lemonade. This frozen lemonade slush is a summertime classic, and a must for anyone visiting the state from May to September. It checks all of the boxes, it is pleasantly sweet, deliciously refreshing and has just the right amount of tanginess to leave one wanting more.
Robert Lee is a Rhode Island native and spent over two decades living in Europe. He brings 15 years of international DMC experience to Hosts Global. Prior to joining the Hosts Global team, he led the business development efforts in Barcelona for Spaintacular DMC and delivered numerous industry award winning events over the course of his career. He was the 2019-2020 president of the Association of Destination Management Executives International (ADMEI) and helped to implement a DMC specific education program for use in universities worldwide. He is passionate about the future development of the MICE industry and driving growth by representing the best DMC professionals in the world through the Hosts Global Alliance.
Robert received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from Davidson College and later obtained his Destination Management Company Professional designation from ADMEI.