A Passion for excellence
Our Team
At MMG Mardiks, our professional team shares your passion for excellence. Our world of industry experience and strategic insight offers clients a powerful, customized partnership. Each account team combines senior-level professionals and specialists at the pulse of breaking trends and developments; all with media relationships allowing us to reach key audiences quickly and effectively.
Key members of MMG Mardiks include:
Charles Mardiks, Managing Director
Charles Mardiks, co-founder of MMG Mardiks, brings nearly 20 years of global travel and tourism public relations experience to a dynamic, results-driven marketing communications agency. Since the agency’s inception in 2002, he has built the firm into one of the fastest growing travel specialty agencies.
Charles directs a team of highly-skilled marketing and public relations solution providers. He and his team have orchestrated brand- and business-building campaigns for clients such as the Hertz Corporation, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Colorado Tourism, The San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Kennedy Space Center, Midwest Airlines, AIG Travel Guard, the Rezidor Hotel Group, Regent Hotels and Resorts, Regent Seven Seas Cruise Lines and Hyatt Resorts.
He is actively involved in a number of industry organizations including the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). He is a graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications and School of Management.
Roland Alonzi, Vice President, Group Account Director
With more than 12 years of experience in marketing communications, Roland has created and directed public relations campaigns for a range of top tourism, destination, and hospitality clients. At MMG Mardiks, he leads account teams including The Colorado Tourism Office and ShermansTravel Media.
Throughout his career, Roland has been an integral part of successfully promoting and positioning major international destination brands including the Jamaica Tourist Board, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, and South African Tourism, as well as top hotel brands including Presidente InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in Mexico, Doubletree Sapphire Beach Resort in St. Thomas USVI and others.
Through strategic planning and creative story development, Roland has secured high-profile placements for clients on major national and international news outlets, including NBC’s Today Show and ABC’s Good Morning America; USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, and Condé Nast Traveler, to name a few.
Roland holds a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Brian Major, Account Supervisor
Longtime travel writer, editor and public relations executive Brian Major oversees the media relations programs for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, AIG Travel Guard and the Hertz Corporation.
Prior to joining MMG Mardiks, Brian managed public relations activities for Lindblad Expeditions, a small-ship expedition cruise line, generating coverage for the firm in prestigious publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times and Conde Nast Traveler, among others.
Brian served as director of public relations at the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) leading several communications initiatives including the successful launch of CLIA’s first trade event, cruise3sixty. Prior to joining CLIA, he was an account supervisor for Lou Hammond & Associates, representing Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL).
Brian’s expertise in travel journalism is far reaching as well; he served as cruise editor of Travel Agent magazine for eight years, and in the same position for four years with Travel Weekly magazine.
Brian graduated from Long Island University with a B.A. degree in Journalism.
Mara Begley, Senior Account Specialist
Mara Begley is a ten-year veteran of the travel public relations industry. She currently provides senior-level counsel on traditional and new/emerging media and oversees brand-building campaigns for MMG Mardiks’ clients.
Mara has represented leading travel brands, destinations and individual hotel properties around the globe including: Sarasota, Fla.; Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort (Fla.); Hyatt Resorts; Regent Hotels & Resorts; Fairmont Hotels & Resorts; The May Fair (London); The Benjamin (New York); Swissotel, The Watergate (Washington, D.C.), to name a few.
Mara has been the public relations architect on new property openings; special events; and business-building marketing alliances with such companies as Williams Sonoma, Shape magazine, and Ford. She has also led the agency in its outreach to the entertainment industry, establishing client relationships with such film and TV companies as Focus Features, Sony Pictures, Miramax, E! Entertainment and The Style Network, etc.
Mara earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from St. Mary’s College.
Joanne Bloomstein, Senior Account Specialist
Joanne Bloomstein, is a senior public relations professional with deep experience in the publishing arena. At MMG Mardiks, she oversees media outreach for clients such as Elite Traveler magazine and Shermans Travel Media.
Previously, Joanne has worked with such leading publishing companies as Hachette Filipacchi (book publishing division) and Conde Nast publications. She successfully managed the public relations efforts for Gourmet Magazine’s Gourmet Institute and Gourmet Wine Cellar events, as well as for Architectural Digest’s three-city Architecture Days tour. Prior to that, she managed public relations for the Vail Film Festival, sponsored by Best Life Magazine and Billboard Magazine’s redesign.
She served as vice president of enews.com, the largest online magazine retailer, and as the director of public relations and corporate communications for Times Mirror Magazines, publisher of Field & Stream, Yachting, Golf Magazine, Ski, Skiing, Popular Science, TransWorld SNOWboarding, and numerous other titles.
She received a Bachelor’s Degree from Tufts University and earned a Master’s Degree in English Literature from Georgetown University.