Jess Berkin
Chief Brand Officer at LEFT LANE- Claim this Profile
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Topline Score
Bio
Patrick Grumley
Jess is an incredibly well-rounded executive with deep experience in brand management, marketing, and public relations. It is an absolute pleasure to write a recommendation on her behalf. Jess brought our brand at Mint House to life while navigating a complex stakeholder arena. There are few people, both internal and external to any firm, that don't want to share their ideas on brand, partnerships, and experiential activations. Jess has the rare skill of making sure everyone is heard, while remaining focused with her team on the highest-impact initiatives. While being comprehensive, I continued to be impressed with her ability to articulate a vision and quickly execute partnerships. This was realized through several partnerships with well-established firms like Chief, to finding that next growing start-up to showcase our pulse on industry trends. I'm excited to continue to watch her climb to new levels of leadership and responsibility.
Vince Kooch
I had the pleasure to work with Jess during her time at Marriott. She was a tremendous partner through the years and always pushed to put forth the best finished product. We worked hand in hand on several events, activations and marketing programs. Jess was always firm but fair through the process and worked hard to deliver against the goals of a program. She always clearly defined expectations and is on top of communication. I know her teammates also looked to her for direction as she was clearly the expert in the room. I would love the chance to work with Jess again, she would be an asset to any organization.
Patrick Grumley
Jess is an incredibly well-rounded executive with deep experience in brand management, marketing, and public relations. It is an absolute pleasure to write a recommendation on her behalf. Jess brought our brand at Mint House to life while navigating a complex stakeholder arena. There are few people, both internal and external to any firm, that don't want to share their ideas on brand, partnerships, and experiential activations. Jess has the rare skill of making sure everyone is heard, while remaining focused with her team on the highest-impact initiatives. While being comprehensive, I continued to be impressed with her ability to articulate a vision and quickly execute partnerships. This was realized through several partnerships with well-established firms like Chief, to finding that next growing start-up to showcase our pulse on industry trends. I'm excited to continue to watch her climb to new levels of leadership and responsibility.
Vince Kooch
I had the pleasure to work with Jess during her time at Marriott. She was a tremendous partner through the years and always pushed to put forth the best finished product. We worked hand in hand on several events, activations and marketing programs. Jess was always firm but fair through the process and worked hard to deliver against the goals of a program. She always clearly defined expectations and is on top of communication. I know her teammates also looked to her for direction as she was clearly the expert in the room. I would love the chance to work with Jess again, she would be an asset to any organization.
Patrick Grumley
Jess is an incredibly well-rounded executive with deep experience in brand management, marketing, and public relations. It is an absolute pleasure to write a recommendation on her behalf. Jess brought our brand at Mint House to life while navigating a complex stakeholder arena. There are few people, both internal and external to any firm, that don't want to share their ideas on brand, partnerships, and experiential activations. Jess has the rare skill of making sure everyone is heard, while remaining focused with her team on the highest-impact initiatives. While being comprehensive, I continued to be impressed with her ability to articulate a vision and quickly execute partnerships. This was realized through several partnerships with well-established firms like Chief, to finding that next growing start-up to showcase our pulse on industry trends. I'm excited to continue to watch her climb to new levels of leadership and responsibility.
Vince Kooch
I had the pleasure to work with Jess during her time at Marriott. She was a tremendous partner through the years and always pushed to put forth the best finished product. We worked hand in hand on several events, activations and marketing programs. Jess was always firm but fair through the process and worked hard to deliver against the goals of a program. She always clearly defined expectations and is on top of communication. I know her teammates also looked to her for direction as she was clearly the expert in the room. I would love the chance to work with Jess again, she would be an asset to any organization.
Patrick Grumley
Jess is an incredibly well-rounded executive with deep experience in brand management, marketing, and public relations. It is an absolute pleasure to write a recommendation on her behalf. Jess brought our brand at Mint House to life while navigating a complex stakeholder arena. There are few people, both internal and external to any firm, that don't want to share their ideas on brand, partnerships, and experiential activations. Jess has the rare skill of making sure everyone is heard, while remaining focused with her team on the highest-impact initiatives. While being comprehensive, I continued to be impressed with her ability to articulate a vision and quickly execute partnerships. This was realized through several partnerships with well-established firms like Chief, to finding that next growing start-up to showcase our pulse on industry trends. I'm excited to continue to watch her climb to new levels of leadership and responsibility.
Vince Kooch
I had the pleasure to work with Jess during her time at Marriott. She was a tremendous partner through the years and always pushed to put forth the best finished product. We worked hand in hand on several events, activations and marketing programs. Jess was always firm but fair through the process and worked hard to deliver against the goals of a program. She always clearly defined expectations and is on top of communication. I know her teammates also looked to her for direction as she was clearly the expert in the room. I would love the chance to work with Jess again, she would be an asset to any organization.
Credentials
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Certified Brand Strategist
Section4Dec, 2021- Nov, 2024 -
Member
ChiefDec, 2021- Nov, 2024
Experience
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LEFT LANE
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United States
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Real Estate
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1 - 100 Employee
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Chief Brand Officer
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Aug 2022 - Present
LEFT LANE is a vertically integrated hospitality and real estate company specializing in the acquisition and transformation of hotels and multifamily properties that share a common thread of textured histories and progressive cultural landscapes. With a commitment to community engagement through placemaking, LEFT LANE creates transformational moments of exceptional rarity through compelling design, dynamic guest experiences and warm, anticipatory service. The LEFT LANE portfolio includes Bardo Hotels, debuting in 2024 with a two-acre luxury urban resort in the heart of Savannah, GA. The firm plans to acquire, convert or develop $1.5B in projects over the next 5 years in high-growth U.S. secondary markets such as Savannah GA, Memphis TN, Pittsburgh PA, Providence RI, and Phoenix AZ. Show less
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Mint House
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United States
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Hospitality
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100 - 200 Employee
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Head of Brand
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Apr 2021 - Aug 2022
Led brand management, brand marketing, comms and interior design teams at Mint House, a tech-first residential hospitality brand. Assembled and scaled the brand department, establishing brand identity and positioning, tone of voice, interior design standards, property playbooks, social media strategy, brand partnerships and programming. Led brand management, brand marketing, comms and interior design teams at Mint House, a tech-first residential hospitality brand. Assembled and scaled the brand department, establishing brand identity and positioning, tone of voice, interior design standards, property playbooks, social media strategy, brand partnerships and programming.
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Porter & Sail
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United States
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Travel Arrangements
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1 - 100 Employee
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Chief Marketing Officer
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Jun 2020 - Apr 2021
Oversaw brand and marketing for e-commerce startup, allowing travelers to bank future stays at a distinctive collection of design-obsessed hotels without committing to dates. Led strategic brand development, digital + social marketing, communications and partnerships across the customer journey to support growth objectives, unlock distribution and revenue and reimagine the future of travel in a post-pandemic world—ultimately culminating in an exit to Luxury Escapes, one of the world's fastest growing travel companies. Show less
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Makeready
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United States
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Hospitality
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1 - 100 Employee
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Corporate Director of Brand Experience
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Jan 2020 - Jun 2020
First brand experience hire overseeing brand strategy, local positioning and marketing activation for a curated collection of hotels, restaurants, spas and retail across the U.S. Led concept development, strategic partnerships, guest programming and deployment across the portfolio including R&D and positioning for pipeline builds. First brand experience hire overseeing brand strategy, local positioning and marketing activation for a curated collection of hotels, restaurants, spas and retail across the U.S. Led concept development, strategic partnerships, guest programming and deployment across the portfolio including R&D and positioning for pipeline builds.
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Marriott International
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United States
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Hospitality
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700 & Above Employee
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Global Director, Experiential Marketing, Luxury Brands
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Dec 2016 - Nov 2019
First experiential marketing lead for Marriott’s luxury portfolio—a coveted global collection of eight of the world’s best luxury hotel brands. Led brand experience strategy and activation including concept development, creative direction and production for high-visibility portfolio initiatives including Marriott Bonvoy program development. Managed multi-million-dollar budgets, distributed field and property teams, global KPI development and PR, social and experiential agency partners.
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Senior Manager, Global Brand Communications, Luxury + Lifestyle Brands
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Jul 2012 - Dec 2016
Led global public relations and experiential marketing strategy and activation for JW Marriott and Autograph Collection Hotels with more than 200 properties in over 50 countries combined. Responsibilities included pre-opening positioning & hotel/restaurant launch communications and media campaigns, strategic partnerships, hotel programming and thought-leadership strategy.
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Baltz & Company
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United States
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Public Relations and Communications Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Account Supervisor
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Mar 2010 - Aug 2012
Led public relations strategy and brand development for a diverse range of hospitality, food & spirits and chef personalities such as Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Rosa Mexicano, Edi & the Wolf, Food & Wine Festivals by American Express, Belcampo Meat Co., Masaharu Morimoto and Jefferson’s Bourbon. Led public relations strategy and brand development for a diverse range of hospitality, food & spirits and chef personalities such as Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Rosa Mexicano, Edi & the Wolf, Food & Wine Festivals by American Express, Belcampo Meat Co., Masaharu Morimoto and Jefferson’s Bourbon.
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Lou Hammond Group
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United States
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Public Relations and Communications Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Senior Account Executive
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Jul 2008 - Mar 2010
Provided strategic public relations leadership to luxury hospitality and destination clients including Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Ocean House, Virginia and Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureaus and Emerson Resort & Spa. Led global media relations, social media strategy, partnerships and pre-opening efforts.
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Account Executive
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Jul 2007 - Jul 2008
Provided strategic public relations support to luxury hospitality and culinary clients including Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Tavern on the Green, Great Performances and Barton G. Led global media relations, social media strategy and programming efforts.
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Education
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Connecticut College
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Sociology
Community
