Summit Executive Programs is located in Darien, Connecticut. We provide services to corporate, travel industry and individual clients. Our business is built on more than 40 years of collective experience in the Incentive Travel and Meeting Services Industry.

The key success factor in this business is the establishment of relationships at both the client and the supplier ends of the value chain. Here lies our strength. Directors of the various functional areas of Summit are energetic, experienced and skilled. They have a wealth of experience and have built outstanding rapport with their contacts along the supply continuum. Our list of contacts is extensive throughout the world. We only work with suppliers of the highest reputation for service quality.

The services we provide to design, plan and operate travel events or to assist clients plan their own meetings are based on this extensive experience.
 

Products and Services

Summit’s skilled professionals provide a unique combination of service quality and creativity offered on a cost plus fee basis. The initial benefit to the buyer is their ability to raise the standard of meeting and travel services while positively impacting the bottom line. Through Summit, clients have access to the most experienced, highly trained and skilled group of meeting planners as well as a large cadre of the most sought after travel staff in the industry.

Our team of experts enables us to provide you with a wide range of services including destination selection, itinerary planning, supplier negotiation and purchasing, pre-trip communication, on-site operations, post-program billing and participant feedback.

In addition, we have developed an on-line internet based Meeting Management System which is available as a fee based service to independent and corporate meeting planners.

GeneralCologne Re
AXA Advisors
Teradyne
Elof Hansson
United States Beverage
Octave Communications
 

Testimonials

“I returned safely at home and the first thing I want to do is to thank both of you for your fantastic hospitality and the challenging and delighting meeting in the Alps. I enjoyed it so much that it will make it easier to face the challenges of the next couple of days and weeks to come.

“Forgive the impersonality of e-mail but I do not want to wait until next week to record my thanks in writing.

These skiing meetings have, as you know, been somewhat cathartic for me. The first one coincided with a big career/professional challenge and this one coincides with some really exciting glimpses of the future, thanks to the work of Joan and her team and your support.

For me both experiences have huge learning opportunities; the sharing of information with colleagues in the business, the technical and theoretical input, and last but not least, learning to ski and the process of self discovery that comes with experience!

I really can not thank you enough, not only for the opportunity but also for your generosity. I have to balance the need to retain your professional independence and yet exploit both the relationship between your company and mine and also, of course, leverage your market expertise.

Trust me, I shall find a way.“

“Having returned to earth with a (business) bang on Thursday and Friday it has taken until now to get round to thanking you for the invitation to your 2001 client meeting. This was a splendid occasion, superb location, excellent hospitality and a fine opportunity to meet so many esteemed colleagues from the industry.

Your team did you proud with the smooth organization and "nothing is too much trouble" attitude.

Best Wishes to you and your team. In the meantime many thanks again for the invitation. I hope you decide to hold events like these in the future.“

To provide creative, cost effective services to corporate and individual travel clients and to travel industry professionals.
 

To be recognized as an industry leader in the design, planning and operation of creative Meetings and exciting Incentive Travel events that exceed our clients’ expectations.
 

We know how to operate events at the highest quality standards and have a cost structure that will be extremely competitive and profitable. Summit is recognized by its clients as a leader in the Industry for the outstanding value provided to them. We sustain this reputation by:
 

• Measuring the quality of our services as indicated by customer satisfaction… and by reacting to make the changes required to effect a WIN-WIN for both Summit and our clients.

• Implementing processes to manage our client interactions and exceed their expectations.

• Maintaining the highest skilled and motivated professional team in the industry through above average compensation and annual training for all members of our staff. This is evidenced in our business philosophy to be signed by all members of our team annually:

We believe in:

• Cooperatively working with Business Partners to upgrade their skills and service through regular (post-program or at least annual), honest evaluation and constructive feedback.

• Recognizing that the structure of the organization and the strategy of providing high quality, low cost services are dependent on the efficient application of new technologies as they emerge.

Gary J Pearson is Summit’s founder. He was educated in Australia receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics (BEcon) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Science (B.Sc.) and a postgraduate degree in Education. He received an MBA from the Darden school at the University of Virginia. He previously held positions as lecturer of college level courses in Australia and Marketing Branch Manager for IBM Australia responsible for a staff of 110 and revenue of $150 million. Mr. Pearson was most recently an Account Executive for a leading Performance Services company in the USA for eight years working in Fortune 500 companies to improve the performance of personnel. He left them in 1999 to found Summit.
 

Karen Walz is Director of Program Planning. She received her degree in marketing from Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota and worked in Retail before entering the Performance Services Industry in 1990.

As a Senior Program Manager for a large Performance Services company she was responsible for the planning of multi-million dollar meetings and incentive travel programs for major companies including General Reinsurance, Canon, GTE, US West, Citicorp, General Tire, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq and Boehringer Mannheim. These programs were as diverse in nature as the spectrum of industries they represent ranging from a Buyers Fair / Trade Show, to new product introductions, a three city Road Show, an international External Board Meeting and a President’s Club Sales Incentive.

Karen moved to Connecticut in 1998 to follow her husband Rudi’s career and brings her wealth of experience to the Planning function at Summit.
 

Debbie Donahue is Director of Administration. She has been in the hospitality business for twenty-two years. As the owner operator of Restaurants in Darien and Stamford, CT for fifteen years, she interacted daily with the public developing highly tuned skills in managing customer satisfaction. She also had responsibility for all accounting functions including journals and ledgers for cash receipts and disbursements of this business and for all tax related financial reporting.

For seven years she was manager of two local facilities for Tennis Clubs Inc. during which time her responsibilities paralleled those of her restaurant experience and added database management skills. Currently she maintains a database of more than 2000 entries.

She is bright, enthusiastic, and a delightful contact for our clients and their participants.
 

Jim Coviello has responsibility for all creative and print production for Summit. Jim has 30 years of industry experience including design of brochures and promotional material for GE Corporation, Pepsi Cola and Cheesbrough Ponds. He has managed the production of annual reports for Westport Bank and Trust and the collateral material for more than a dozen computer hardware and software companies.

In addition, Jim was adjunct professor at Fairfield University for ten (10) years teaching continuing education courses in “Commercial Art and Production Basics” and “Mechanical Art and Print Production”

Jim and his wife Patty live in Norwalk, CT.
 

Sandee Le Tourneau is Director of Meeting Operations. She obtained her Bachelors Degree from Gustavas Adolphus College and then began her fifteen year career in the hospitality industry. Her broad industry experience includes work with a number of larger incentive travel houses and most recently a large Performance Services company.

As Senior Trip Director she has managed, operated and negotiated more than 80 meetings, incentive programs and special events both domestically and internationally. These programs have ranged in size from 30 to 4000 participants; have been located in Australia, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and the USA; and they have represented companies such as GE Capital Finance, Canon, Verizon, General Reinsurance, Chevrolet and Chrysler-Jeep.

She has held multi-million dollar budget responsibility and managed staff on-site of up to 15 people in operating these events. She left the Performance Services company in 2001 to join Summit.