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Team Profiles

Meet the FreemanGroup Team

BILL FREEMAN
Since 1985, Bill Freeman has focused his company's efforts in providing a simple, measurable and practical approach to help tourism and hospitality businesses succeed in setting industry standards of excellence. With over 20 years of experience, Bill has successfully grown FreemanGroup into one of the leading consulting and training companies in the tourism and hospitality industry.
Freeman has undertaken quality initiatives with a diversity of clients throughout the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, ranging from government and tourist boards to hotels, casinos, cruise ships and airlines. As head of FreemanGroup, Bill is responsible for the operational, financial and strategic management of the company, as well as establishing a long term management structure, capable of sustaining growth over the next generation.
Prior to forming FreemanGroup, Bill earned a degree in Hotel Management from Manchester Metropolitan University in England. His previous work experience includes time working with the Trusthouse Forte Hotels in the United Kingdom, where he worked as Human Resources Director, Food & Beverage Director and Training Manager, among others. In 1982, Freeman further expanded his portfolio, working as Vice President of Quality Assurance for the Rosewood Hotels in the U.S. In his capacity, he was instrumental in overseeing quality service standards for hotels like The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas; the Remington Hotel in Houston; the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles and the Hotel Hana Maui in Hawaii.
Freeman enjoys his interaction with hotel management and employees, working tirelessly in the pursuit of new ideas that have the potential of making the management of service delivery easier and more effective for all, whilst providing the guest/visitor with the value they seek. Overall, he takes pride in establishing, maintaining and growing the FreemanGroup brand and believes that his company is well set to expand itself long term.
Bill Freeman
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PATRICK O’BRYAN
Chief Operating Officer
As C.O.O., Patrick O'Bryan is in charge of the day-to-day operations of FreemanGroup, including the Sales, Training and Measurement Divisions. Patrick’s extensive practical experience in hotel operations allows him to take on the responsibility of lead consultant to the firm’s clients in designing and implementing customized solutions to their service challenges. He also leads the team involved in FreemanGroup’s strategic planning for growth, new products and service development.
Patrick came to FreemanGroup in 1997 with extensive experience in Human Resources, Food & Beverage and Casino/Gaming operations. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Human Resources Management from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Working in the field as a FreemanGroup Project Director, Patrick has become one of the firm’s most accomplished consultants able to facilitate all of FreemanGroup’s product and service strategies. His duties also include managing the firm’s internal quality assurance, including recruitment and development of FreemanGroup Trainers and Analysts. Positions held prior to his promotion as C.O.O. include Vice President of FreemanGroup Operations and Director of the Caribbean Hospitality Training Institute.
Patrick O'Bryan
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KEM YOUNG
Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Kem Young is responsible for managing all financial, legal and contractual transactions with the FreemanGroup. With a B.A. in Economics, Young has been successful in bringing legal and CPA functions in-house at the Dallas Corporate headquarters.
Kem has been a member of the FreemanGroup Executive Committee since 1999 and is the founding member of the FreemanGroup Board of Directors. The committee has been instrumental in setting the goals of the company and making those goals a reality.
Prior to joining FreemanGroup, Young held various positions in corporate banking, among them serving as Vice President Branch Management, Vice President Commercial Lending and Vice President Automated Systems. In addition, Kem also worked in corporate real estate, where she managed multi-million dollar commercial real estate joint venture.
Kem Young
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SEIDY ELIZONDO
Executive Director of Central America Operations
Seidy brings 15 years of experience in the Tourism Industry of Central America to the FreemanGroup team. She worked for 8 years at the Costa Rica Tourism Institute, and since 1999 has managed the offices of FreemanGroup Costa Rica.
She's been in charge of negotiations, coordination and execution of numerous projects in the Central America and Caribbean regions, working particularly with Governments, Hotel Associations and International Organizations.
Her professional background, extensive experience and contacts, has allowed FreemanGroup to maintain a very dynamic presence in the Region, offering clients (specially Government Sectors) a very diligent and personalized attention to the demands for improving the quality of service and operational development of their human resources.
Seidy Elizondo
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KEDRICK MALONE
Executive Director of International Development
Kedrick Malone joined FreemanGroup in November 2005 after three and a half years as Director of Tourism for the British Virgin Islands. As FreemanGroup's Executive Director of International Development, Kedrick's primary role is to make FreemanGroup's extensive tourism offerings even more relevant to the rapidly changing needs of the industry, particularly destinations. His innovative implementation of tourism industry service standards in the British Virgin Islands has established new benchmarks for service development in the region.
Kedrick holds an MBA from Baruch College, City University of New York and his accomplished and diverse background includes 12 years with the IBM Corporation in marketing, management, sales, customer service and systems engineering where he earned sales and service awards. He also served as Deputy Permanent Secretary to the Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands where he spearheaded the development of the Territory's first Film Commission. As an entrepreneur, he started his own consulting company, NorthStar Services, where he provided management, marketing and information systems services. In his last capacity before joining the FreemanGroup, Kedrick served as Director of Tourism for the British Virgin Islands where he successfully navigated the Territory's tourism sector through the post 911 period, whilst repositioning and restructuring the sector and the Tourist Board with innovative and proactive marketing, product enhancement and organizational development programmes, leading the destination to its best ever performance in 2004-2005.
Kedrick Malone
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DAVID EDWARDS
Vice President of Operations
David has 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He has directed, and managed over 20 food and beverage operations. Edwards earned his degree in Hotel Management and Catering Operations in England and immigrated to the United States in 1984. He has held several positions including; Assistant Food & Beverage Director of the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, New York; Food & Beverage Director of Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ; Director of Operations for Burke & Burke Specialty retail Coffee stores in New York, NY and Assistant General Manager of the Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa in Houston Texas.
Earlier in his career, Edwards had a previous stint with FreemanGroup. During this time David worked as the company's Senior Hospitality Trainer. He organized, designed, supervised and conducted training programs for hotel, casino and resort properties, as well as implemented systems for increased staff performance, guest satisfaction and profitability.
A few of the properties Edwards has worked with include: MGM Grand Casino Resort, Nevada; Atlantis Casino Resort, Bahamas; Fairmont Hotel, California; Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel, California; Caneel Bay Resort, USVI; Mauna Lani Hotel, Bay and Bungalows, Hawaii; Ihilani Resort & Spa, Oahu; Maui Prince Hotel, Hawaii and the Grand Bay Hotel, Florida.
In addition to his corporate experience, Edwards has also developed, owned and operated 5 successful restaurants and nightclubs.
David Edwards
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JAMES HOGG
Managing Director FG Europe
James has 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He has been a Hotel General Manager/Operations Director for over the last 10 years in Europe and the USA (Las Vegas). Hogg earned his degree in Hotel Management and Catering Operations in England and completed his apprenticeship with the London Hilton Group in the early 1990's. He has held many General Manager positions including; The Mill and Old Swan, Horsley Management Centre, Sunningdale Park, Latimer House and Latimer Conference Centre and his last position as Director of Operations for Skylofts at the MGM Grand a 5 Diamond resort that he helped to create.
During his career he has organized, supervised and conducted training programs for hotel, casino and resort properties, as a General Manager he has implemented systems for increased staff performance, guest satisfaction and profitability. Hogg's proudest achievement is the training and system changes to win the highly converted AAA 5 Diamond award in 2007 and 2008 for Skylofts at the MGM Grand which is a 51 bedroom boutique hotel with an average rate of over $1,000 per room.
Hogg's role in FreemanGroup Europe is to build upon the relationships with our existing clients and establish FreemanGroup as the leading provider of Service Management within Europe. This will be achieved by using best practice in the World Hospitality market where FreemanGroup are recognized as a leader.
James Hogg
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PAM SENTER
Executive Director - Measurement
As Executive Director of the Measurement Division, Pam Senter spearheads FreemanGroup's Quality Inspection clients and analysts. Her team plays a key role in the successful analysis of the company's training and development programs in the U.S., Central America and the Caribbean. Pam productively manages numerous projects within the Measurement Division, as well as updates the technological tools necessary to conduct appropriate reporting and analysis for clients. In addition, her expertise in the field, allows her to carefully analyze mystery shopping results and customize client standards to provide them with appropriate recommendations and guidance.
Pam manages measurement accounts such as Kor Hotel Group, Benchmark Hospitality, MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Detroit, Peabody Hotel Group, and Miami Visitors and Convention Bureau. Additionally, she successfully organizes an island-wide Quality Inspection program for the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Aruba Ministry, British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts and Cayman Islands. Pam is the Qualifying Agent for FreemanGroup Measurement's Private Investigator's license and is a member of the Mystery Shoppers Providers Organization.
Prior to joining FreemanGroup, Pam earned a B.A. in Marketing from Texas Tech University. Her previous work experience includes time spent working in the hospitality industry with a variety of hotels and restaurants.
Pam Senter
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GREG MARQUART
Executive Director – Training
Gregory Marquart has an array of hospitality experience allows him to manage the day to day operations of the Training Division. Marquart is in charge of hiring, scheduling and coordinating FreemanGroup trainers for all client work, as well as interacting with clients to ensure satisfaction.
During his time with the FreemanGroup, Gregory has worked with a number of luxury hotels including the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York, New York; Acqualina, A Rosewood Resort in Miami, Florida; Viceroy in Palm Springs and Santa Monica, California, and Maison 140 in Beverly Hills, California, among others. Marquart has also spearheaded several hotel openings, including The Ivy Hotel in San Diego, California; Gramercy Park Hotel in New York, New York and the Mandalay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition, he has worked with numerous world-class casinos and hotel groups including MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada; Caesar's Palace in Atlantic City, New Jersey; the Peabody Hotel Group and the KOR Hotel Group.
Prior to joining the FreemanGroup, Marquart earned a B.A. in History at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas. His previous hospitality work experience in hotels includes time working in a management capacity in various Rooms Division Departments. Marquart's Food and Beverage Experience includes management experience in various upscale restaurant and nightclub concepts.
Greg Marquart
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BARBARA GARBACZ
Executive Director - Product
Barbara has been with FreemanGroup since 1990 and, during that time, she has been responsible for the firm’s day-to-day operations, trainer development, finances and business management. Barbara has been instrumental in the company’s tremendous growth, both domestically and internationally. She developed, organized, and managed many projects, including opening a company office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and implementing destination-training systems with government clients. She has directed and been actively involved in every aspect of the company’s training business, from development to implementation. Prior to joining FreemanGroup, Barbara spent over 15 years in restaurant and hotel operations where she held a variety of food and beverage positions throughout the United States, culminating in appointments as Executive Assistant Manager at several Hyatt hotels. She was also part of the corporate team assigned to opening hotels during Hyatt’s early expansion years.
Barbara Garbacz
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PAT MOORE
Director of Business Development
A marketing graduate from the University of North Florida, Pat has nearly 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Since joining FreemanGroup in 1999, Pat Moore has been essential in FreemanGroup's sales and business development arena.
At FreemanGroup, Moore is responsible for the sales, business development, business and trade show strategy development, as well as marketing. Moore has been vital in securing numerous FreemanGroup clients, including two government accounts. In addition to her day-to-day sales office responsibilities, Pat works closely with many of the FreemanGroup Caribbean office clients.
Prior to joining FreemanGroup, Pat successfully organized hospitality industry tradeshows and seminars at William H. Coleman, Inc., where she was promoted to Vice President and General Manager. In 1994, Pat opened her own company, Travel Promotions Management, which specialized in the organization and management of pre-scheduled appointment shows in the tourism industry. At Travel Promotions, some of her clients included the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, CHA, Exposimex S.A., Quintana Roo Hotel Association and ConsumerScan.
Pat Moore
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RICARDO BAGNASCO
Project Director - Training
With 25 years in the hotel industry Ricardo Bagnasco is the Account Manager for FreemanGroup. Ricardo meets with clients to identify and recommend improvements needed for their staff. In addition, he implements some of the company's successful employee training programs based each client's needs.
In his 15 years at FreemanGroup, Ricardo has created, customized and implemented four and five-star standards of service for various luxury resorts, casinos, marinas and cruise lines. Additionally, he has executed numerous grand opening events for clients to ensure a seamless operation.
Hailing from Guatemala, Ricardo has held many different positions in the food and beverage division in the hospitality industry, most of which comes from five-star hotels. Subsequently, he opened and managed various independent restaurants, a position that would help later him in his important role at FreemanGroup. Ricardo also has been a member of the Chamber of Commerce for the many cities he has lived in.
Ricardo Bagnasco
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KRISTYN HOFHEINS
Project Director - Training
After graduating from Utah State University with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration, Kristyn entered the entrepreneurial world when she founded and operated California Tan in Logan, Utah. After successfully operating the business and subsequently selling it, Kristyn joined Robert Redford’s renowned Sundance Resort near Provo, Utah. At Sundance, Kristyn was responsible for all quality issues related to service as well as being responsible for all Human Resource functions.
In 1994, Kristyn joined the FreemanGroup team and quickly established herself as one of the most sought after trainers in the group. Her work with the Government of Bermuda, The Manhattan East Group, The Boulders, The Mandalay Bay and others cemented her position as a Project Director with vision, talent and a tremendous work ethic.
Kristyn has become one of the key members of the team, in that she is now directly responsible for coordinating and updating the extensive Instructor Development Program that is so popular with the client base and so critical in the development of all FreemanGroup personnel. She continues with ongoing project work and remains in high demand with the FreemanGroup client base.
Kristyn Hofheins
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BENJAMIN AVANT
Project Director - Training
Benjamin Avant goes well beyond his job description as the Project Director of Training. He not only coordinates and organizes FreemanGroup's training sessions, but he also participates in measurement activities and arranges hotel grand openings. Some of his clients include The Island Hotel in California, Kona Village Resort in Hawaii and CordeValle in California.
In his two years with FreemanGroup, Benjamin has accomplished some notable feats, such as facilitating ITS training for Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, where he also took on a management role. In addition, he produced a customized Foundations™ ITS DVD library complete with FreemanGroup logos and marketing materials. Benjamin is trained and certified as a Corporate Etiquette and International Protocol Consultant by The Protocol School of Washington. For many years he has been involved with non-profit organizations in a variety of leadership roles.
After graduating from the University of Louisiana at Monroe with a bachelor's in business administration, Benjamin worked as a computer systems analyst for nine years and as a business etiquette consultant in Dallas. He also worked in Las Vegas as a croupier for Mirage Resorts and spent five years with the Bellagio Hotel and Casino. These combined experiences have made Benjamin a superior project director of training.
Benjamin Avant
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MICHELLE SZMAJDA
Project Director - Training
Michelle Szmajda is a Project Director with the FreemanGroup. Michelle has over 10 years of hospitality experience primarily in Food & Beverage, Hotel Operations and Training.
Prior to the FreemanGroup, Michelle worked as the Training Manager at South Seas Island Resort for two years preparing the resort for re-opening after Hurricane Charlie devastated the property in 2004. South Seas Island Resort is a 330 acre luxury property owned by Blackstone and operated by LXR with over 500 units and 800 employees.
Michelle has worked for National Chain restaurants "Longhorn Steakhouse," "Starbucks" and "Chili's" in managerial capacities in Philadelphia and North Carolina. Michelle also managed "Bistro 41" an upscale dining room and wine bar located in Florida.
Michelle began her work career at SEI Investments, a Private Banking and Trust operation in Philadelphia where she gained a great deal of customer service, sales and training experience. As an account representative for SEI Investments Michelle presented sales presentations and software training to bank clients across the United States.
Michelle Szmajda
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BILL WALTERS
Project Director - Measurement
In 1995, Bill entered FreemanGroup and quickly established himself as one of the key point persons for project development. In his capacity as Project Director, Walters is responsible for managing FreemanGroup's client portfolio with the Measurement Division, as well as recruiting, training and handling scheduling of projects for analysts.
Among some of Bill's main accomplishments at FreemanGroup are the development of generic standards in use today for hotels and casinos, as well as participating in multiple evaluation programs with all Measurement clients. Walters has played a key role in benchmark projects for Puerto Rico, Aruba and independent hotel clients throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Bill's extensive portfolio in the hospitality industry includes over 30 years of experience as a hospitality consultant; he has performed consulting projects in 40 countries, including some in Western Europe, the Middle East, and North, Central and South America. In addition, Walters has managed openings of restaurants and bars like the 901 Tower in Dallas, as well as a portfolio of luxury clients worldwide, including the Four Season, InterContinental, Rosewood, Preferred and Peninsula. Prior to his role as a consultant, he was an owner/operator of restaurants in Dallas and Santa Fe.
Bill Walters
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MELANIE SNOOK
Director of Administrative Services
Melanie Snook takes on many responsibilities for FreemanGroup as the Director of Administrative Services. As an assistant to FreemanGroup CEO Bill Freeman and COO Patrick O'Bryan, Melanie takes a leadership role by conducting daily administrative staff meetings, managing production projects for the training division, as well as training contract data input workers.
Since joining FreemanGroup as an entry level administrative supporter, Melanie has accomplished many administrative advances for the company, including the organization of the first in-house Instructional Techniques Seminar.
After attending Remington College and being certified as a medical assistant, Melanie worked as a receptionist for Lockton Dunning Benefits and as an administrative assistant for the Ensearch Corp. legal department. Her years of experience in office management and administrative services help make FreemanGroup the well-oiled machine it is today.
Melanie Snook
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