Brightline, the future passenger rail service that will connect Fort Lauderdale to Miami and West Palm Beach, has announced the appointment of Patrick Goddard as executive vice president operations and Kevin Vaughan as chief revenue officer. The executives each have more than 20 years of experience in hospitality and transportation.
Goddard is responsible for all Brightline operations, including station operations, transportation, safety and security and mechanical operations. Vaughan is leading product and pricing strategy, revenue generation from direct sales and e-commerce, as well as sponsorship development.
“As we move closer to our opening date, we are continuing to prepare for the major activities to come, and to build the management capabilities for the long term success of our service,” stated Brightline president Michael Reininger. “Both Patrick and Kevin have the expertise and experience in entrepreneurial ventures such as ours, as well as a great depth of knowledge in hospitality and transportation. We are pleased to welcome them to the Brightline team.”
Patrick Goddard
Prior to joining Brightline, Goddard worked at Trust Hospitality as the chief operating officer in charge of the business portfolio of more than 35 properties around the world and has experience with opening new hotels, many of which have been launched in South Florida. He was president and managing director of Ocean Blue Hospitality, a consultancy firm specializing in hotel openings and sales, marketing and revenue management for independent hotels. Goddard also held management positions with Rosewood Hotels, Loews Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Jurys Hotels and other independent hotels and restaurants in Europe.
Kevin Vaughan
Kevin Vaughn served as president and COO of One Sky Flight, a private jet holding company where he focused on the acquisition of Flexjet and then integrating that operation into the business. Prior to that, he served as both president and chief marketing officer of the Sentient Jet Card business. Before working for private jet operations, Vaughan spent five years at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide as senior vice president customer marketing, focusing on building capabilities in customer relationship management (CRM), direct marketing and customer data capabilities. Vaughan had also worked at McKinsey & Company and The Procter & Gamble Company.