Our Principals
Ronald
Kurtz
President
Prior to founding MRG in 1989, Ron's experience included over twenty
years in general management and senior marketing positions in both
large and entrepreneurial organizations competing in U.S. and
international markets.
Ron was employed twice by three different executives to help with two
start-up, two turnaround, and two fast-growth companies in the airline
and cruise industries.
As founding president of Sea Goddess Cruises, Ron defined the business
strategies and established the organization that launched the company
and quickly led to its recognition as the industry's finest cruise
line. He also served as the chief marketing officer of Norwegian Cruise
Line, Windstar Sail Cruises, and The French Line.
Ron held executive positions at and played a major role in the
turnaround of Quality International (now Choice Hotels) and the
American Express wholesale package, tour, and charter business. At both
Northeast Airlines and Pan Am, Ron developed and coordinated their
first marketing planning systems.
Ron earned his MBA degree at Harvard Business School where, upon
graduation, he worked for a year on the faculty. His BBA degree is from
the University of Texas. A frequent writer for trade publications and
speaker at industry functions, he is the author of the book Market
Research: Strategy and Techniques, published by The American Management
Association.
Carrie Turner
Executive Director, Professional Recruiting
Carrie Turner is an experienced consultant and recruiter, and currently
focuses her efforts on sourcing top quality talent for small and
mid-size consulting firms based in North America.
Carrie’s experience as a consultant and a recruiting manager for
a big 5 consulting firm give her a unique perspective on consulting
talent, and have made her very successful both in recruiting candidates
and ensuring that they are successful in their new positions. From her
years in the field, she has a crystal clear understanding of what it
takes to be successful as a consultant, and she has supplemented that
with a broad knowledge of human capital across a wide range of
consulting functions.
With experience in financial services as well as consulting, Carrie
understands not just her clients’ recruiting needs but their
broader business needs as well. She takes a strategic approach to
recruiting and human resources, and places a priority on long-term
client relationships in order to maximize returns from their recruiting
investments.
Carrie earned her MBA in Managerial and Organizational Behavior from
the University of Chicago and B.A. in Psychology from Cornell
University. She began her career with American National Bank in
Chicago, later absorbed by JP Morgan Chase, and worked extensively with
BearingPoint (formerly KPMG Consulting) as a consultant, recruiter, and
recruiting manager. She also has experience working with the Federal
Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Michael
Smith
Executive Director, Marketing Research
Michael Smith has over 25 years of experience in marketing, research,
strategic planning, business development and organizational management
for a variety of companies in the transportation, travel &
hospitality and construction industries.
These companies include Ryder System, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal
Caribbean Cruise Line. Prior to joining MRG as a senior associate and
project director, Smith provided consulting services to clients in
advertising, barter media, professional sports, travel, and non-profit
organizations. Smith has both his BBA in Marketing and MBA from Florida
International University in Miami, Florida.
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