As Senior Vice President, Sales, Customer Engagement and Industry Relations, Kelly Phillips leads Hilton’s strategies and efforts against the corporate transient market, including global travel intermediary partnerships. Collaborating closely with Hilton senior management and her global counterparts, she defines strategies and drives initiatives that align and maximize sales efforts.
Phillips brings nearly 30 years of hospitality experience to her role. She began her Hilton career at the Hilton Chicago and Towers in 1989 as part of Hilton’s Professional Development Program and was promoted to Business Travel Sales Representative. From 1991-1997, she was promoted several times, serving as Director of Business Travel Sales, Director of Travel Agency Sales, and Managing Director of Sales - Travel Partner Relations, where she was given the additional responsibility of managing the retail travel agency sales organization.
In 1998, Phillips was promoted to the position of Managing Director of Alliance & International Sales, where she led the sales and marketing integration of Hilton International and Hilton Hotels Corporation, serving in this capacity until 2000.
From 2000 to 2003, Phillips worked for Travel CLICK, a provider of marketing and intelligence tools to the hospitality industry, where she served as Vice President, Central Division, reporting directly to the Chairman and CEO.
In 2003, Phillips joined Hilton International as Vice President-Business Development, overseeing sales, marketing and revenue management for the Americas. In 2006, Phillips was named Vice President-International & Leisure Sales for Hilton Hotels Corporation. In this position, Phillips oversaw Hilton Worldwide Sales offices in Central & South America, the Caribbean and Canada, the leisure sales offices, airline industry sales and the internationally-focused sales organization.
In 2013 Phillips was promoted to Senior Vice President, Transient Sales, Distribution & Leisure, leveraging her deep background in corporate transient and leisure sales, and expanding her scope to management of Hilton’s partnerships with online travel agencies (OTAs). At the start of 2017, she assumed her current role.
Phillips attended Pennsylvania State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing. She is based in the Washington, D.C. area.