Centerplate, a partner to North America's sports, convention and entertainment venues, announced the expansion of vice president of sales and marketing Kay Towner's responsibilities to include a more active focus on driving incremental business of behalf of the company's clients.

A respected executive on Centerplate's senior management team, Towner will be instrumental in guiding the company's business development efforts on behalf of the company's client-partners. She will direct the company's local marketing plans and will develop customer acquisition programs for national roll-out.

Further, Towner will be instrumental in guiding the company's overall business development strategies as Centerplate continues to expand it presence across North America.  

"Kay's deep sales and marketing experience in the hospitality industry will enable her to supercharge our business development efforts on behalf of our clients," says Bob Pascal, Centerplate's CMO.

Towner's industry credentials include serving as the vice president of sales, marketing, and event services for the Pennsylvania Convention Center and more than two decades of catering sales experience earned at premier convention resorts in the Sheraton and Marriott organizations.

Additionally, Towner served as national director of sales and customer relations for the convention center division of Aramark, the outsourced services company.

"I am delighted by the opportunity this new role affords me to support Centerplate's clients," says Towner. "I have spent my entire career focused on the meetings business and its participants; I am eager to leverage all of my experience to benefit our clients to a meaningful degree."

Towner's new responsibilities come at a key time for the company and its clients. The company has recently added several new client-partners such as the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the Baltimore Convention Center, the Cobo Convention Center in Detroit, and the University of Notre Dame's athletic facilities.