Joni Newkirk , Principal and CEO
Joni is a leading expert in the performance dynamics of consumer facing service industries, and a thought leader in the development and successful business strategies. She has over thirty years experience leading multi-faceted organizations and managing large scale projects that ultimately change the way a company does business. Her determination and willingness to take calculated risk, coupled with astute integrity, consistently lead to implementation of viable solutions to complex situations. She excels at developing solutions by inverting problems, seeing the sense in absurdity, and having unending perseverance.
Prior to Integrated Insight, Joni spent 20 years at the Walt Disney Company, most recently as Senior Vice President of Business Insight and Improvement where she was responsible for managing and driving over $8 billion in revenue for worldwide Theme Parks and Resorts, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club and Adventures by Disney. She oversaw industry leading decision analytics and consumer insight practices within the areas of Forecasting, Pricing, Revenue and Profit Management, Market Research and Industrial Engineering, helping lead the Parks and Resorts division to record revenue growth year after year. Prior to joining Disney, Joni held key management positions at both Lockheed Martin and Orlando Regional Healthcare System.
Joni holds a BA in Statistics from the University of Florida and a MS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Central Florida. She resides in Yalaha, Florida with her husband Ken and three sons.
Scott Sanders, Principal and Executive Vice President
Scott has over twenty five years experience leading large-scale strategic initiatives and operational change efforts. His unique approach of combining data driven consumer insights with quantitative analytics and predictive modeling has helped redefine the pricing discipline.
Prior to joining Integrated Insight, Scott was Vice President of Pricing for Disney Theme Parks and Resorts worldwide where he oversaw all pricing efforts inclusive of theme park and water park admissions, room rate, transportation, merchandise, food and beverage and many ancillary products and services such as Adventures By Disney and Disney’s Wide World of Sports. In his 20 years at Disney, Scott also led efforts for Resorts Finance, Marketing Finance, and Research. In 2005, under Scott’s leadership, Walt Disney World undertook its most sweeping and successful change in pricing strategy in over 30 years, “Magic Your Way”, which resulted in significant revenue lift and sustained growth year after year. This effort required an in-depth understanding of guest behavior, motivators, and barriers as well as substantial organizational change to bring together disparate pricing functions and focus on the holistic solution. Prior to joining Disney, Scott held key finance and operating executive positions with Bass Pro Shops, John Q. Hammonds Industries and Arthur Young and Company.
Scott is a graduate of the University of Central Florida where he received a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting. He resides in St. Cloud, Florida with his wife Jo Ann and two children.
Ashley Heird, Director of Business Insight and Improvement
Ashley has over fifteen years experience in the hospitality industry and federal government evaluating business development opportunities, analyzing operational efficiencies and managing complex projects. Ashley has the proven ability to approach problem solving from both a strategic and quantitative perspective while also considering the operational and customer impact of business decisions.
Prior to joining Integrated Insight, Ashley was a Director at Starwood Vacation Ownership in the project management and pre-development departments. Ashley conducted pre-development analysis of new $200-$300 million resort projects and managed the project lifecycle of resorts under development. She also identified and led several Six Sigma projects which resulted in the design of new processes and tools that reduced costs and improved communication across the company. Before joining Starwood, Ashley was the Finance Manager in the Business Planning and Development group at Walt Disney World where she was responsible for the strategic and financial analysis of growth projects and new business ideas for Disney's timeshare, resort and groups/convention businesses. Prior to obtaining her MBA, Ashley worked in the Office of Management and Administration at the White House where she directed many initiatives designed to improve the business efficiency of the organization.
Ashley has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University. She is also certified as a Six Sigma Green Belt. Ashley resides in Orlando, Florida with her husband, Neil, and daughter.
Amy Elliot, Director of Training and Business Programs
Amy is an experienced executive focused on enabling organizations to improve performance through business alignment, training, leadership development and winning talent strategies. Strengths include identifying core strategic business drivers, aligning business goals and people strategies, and implementing training and guest service programs that drive success.
Prior to joining Integrated Insight, Amy spent thirteen years at the Walt Disney Company where she was responsible for delivering integrated Human Resources strategies, developing people strategy initiatives and providing domestic and international HR support. Among her accomplishments were the development and delivery of integrated performance management and talent planning systems deployed company wide. Prior to her role in Human Resources, Amy held responsibility for training initiatives and development of service standards for Resorts Food and Beverage operations at the Disney University. Amy's leadership experience also includes roles as Sr. Director of Operations and Brand Standards for Hilton Grand Vacations and Director of Food and Beverage for Orange Lake Country Club. She spent ten years as VP of Operations for Florida Restaurants in Winter Park, FL, including the award winning Park Plaza Gardens. Responsibilities included multi-site restaurant and catering operations, service standards, staff training and marketing.
Amy is a Certified HR Professional (PHR) with the Society of Human Resource Management and a member of the American Society of Training and Development. She attended Barry University in Orlando, Florida and completed the Rollins College Crummer Management Program. Amy lives in Winter Park, FL with her husband Rob Reedy and cherishes time with her two daughters, family and friends.