New office location
in Sydney, Australia set to open January 6, 2014
DELRAY BEACH, FL: Paragon Events is officially adding its
first international office location, set to open its doors in Sydney, Australia
on January 6th, 2014.
The Sydney office will be led by Paragon staff member
Kristen Antony, who is relocating to the area in late December.
“I am beyond excited about Paragon Events’ expansion and the
opportunity for me to move to Australia to head the Sydney location,” says
Antony. “The decision to open an office in Sydney was very strategic. Travel
between Australia and the United States is booming, and Paragon Events wants to
capture a piece of that market. We can offer our event management, destination
management and incentive travel services to Australian corporations traveling
to and planning events in the US, and vice-versa.”
Antony currently serves Paragon Events as a Meetings Manager.
Her duties include sponsorship strategies, registration creation, and project
management of small- to mid-size meetings and special events. Antony also holds
the role of Chapter Administrator to the Pittsburgh chapter of Meeting
Professionals International (MPI), a global association of individuals in the
meetings and events industry with hundreds of chapters worldwide. Paragon
Events currently manages six MPI association chapters.
Antony will continue to offer event management services to
her American clients as well as continue to support MPI Pittsburgh, but the
Sydney office location will allow Paragon Events to dive further into the
growing destination management and incentive travel industries.
Currently, over 1.1 million Australians travel to the US
annually, for both business and personal purposes. Australian travel
expenditures in the US hit $5.4 billion in 2012, a 10% increase from 2011.
"We plan to expand our international client base with
our new office in Sydney,” says Renee Radabaugh, President and Managing
Director of Paragon Events. “We have had the opportunity to work with many
international businesses as they plan large-scale corporate events and
participate in incentive travel. Our Sydney location will allow us to offer
even better service and continue to grow."
The Sydney office will be the seventh Paragon Events
headquarters worldwide; office locations already exist in Delray Beach,
Florida; Orlando, Florida; Los Angeles, California; Pittsburgh, PA; Richmond,
Virginia; and Washington, DC.
The Sydney-based office will also expand Paragon Events'
already internationally recognized internship program, which boasts a 93% job
placement rate. Paragon Events will begin employing Australian interns in late
2014, with plans to partner with Australian universities and offer internship
programs in event management, destination management, marketing, accounting,
and graphic design.
Paragon Events is an award-winning event
planning firm specializing in meeting planning, corporate brand strategy,
association management, high-end society events, destination management,
corporate incentive travel and full-service marketing and advertising.
