Adam Peakes Promoted to President; Frank Dunsford Rejoins Company as Chief Financial Officer; Francesca Merlino Promoted to Chief Marketing Officer; Phil Anzai Promoted to Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development; and Melissa Gunderson Promoted to Senior Vice President of Global Communications and Brand
Hornblower Group announced today the promotions of several key members of its leadership team.
The updates to the senior leadership group include, Adam Peakes, promoted to President. As President, Peakes will oversee day-to-day operations of Hornblower’s divisions and build on his demonstrated ability to lead teams and effectively execute projects. Peakes has served as CFO for Hornblower Group for the past two years, helping to transform the business and shaping a new vision for the future of the company. Prior to joining Hornblower Group, Peakes served as the CFO for both Merichem Corporation, a large private industrial services company, and Noble Corporation, one of the largest privately traded offshore drilling contractors in the oil and gas industry.
Frank Dunsford will also rejoin Hornblower Group as Chief Financial Officer. Dunsford previously spent over three years with Hornblower Group, working with the leadership team to support Hornblower’s long-term direction and overall management. Dunsford will provide strategic financial insight, support growth plans and drive value creation while overseeing all financial and accounting matters related to the company. Dunsford comes from a background in private equity-backed companies and public companies, driving value creation in M&A acquisition, integrations and change management initiatives, including spending more than 18 years with large scale firm KPMG.
Francesca Merlino has been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer. In this position, Merlino will lead Hornblower’s marketing, brand, communications, revenue optimization, digital, and data strategy. Merlino first joined Hornblower Group in 2020 as the VP of Integrated Marketing and Consumer Insights. Merlino will build upon her strong foundation as an accomplished marketing and analytics leader with expertise in digital innovation, data transformation and strategic insights. Merlino’s marketing background spans more than 15 years including driving marketing strategy for iconic brands and esteemed institutions such as the Madison Square Garden Company and Guggenheim Museum in New York City. In this new role, Merlino will continue to shape the future of Hornblower’s world-class marketing group in the ever-evolving digital and technology landscape.
Additional senior leadership promotions include Phil Anzai as the SVP of Strategy and Business Development. In this position, Anzai will be responsible for driving strategic growth efforts and enhancing performance across the company. He will continue to lead the contact center, procurement, partnership, Salesforce and project management teams, ensuring alignment with strategic efforts across the businesses. Anzai has more than 10 years of travel industry experience, with previously coming from McKinsey & Company as a leader of strategy, customer experience and margin improvement engagements for travel clients.
Rounding out the leadership team, Melissa Gunderson has been promoted to SVP, Global Communications and Brand. In this position, Gunderson will continue to lead the global strategy for internal and external communications, social media content and will now oversee all brand and creative. Gunderson joined Hornblower Group in 2020 with a more than 15-year career delivering strategic and creative communications campaigns for distinguished live events and legacy brands in the entertainment and sports industries.
