Our Instructors
Darlene
Duggan
Duggan International Group was created 2004, shortly after Darlene Duggan worked as a trade commissioner for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Darlene Duggan has over 20 years experience in developing focused marketing strategies involving all media, business planning, public relations and communications, and international trade relations. Darlene has worked in various facets of the tourism industry, from public relations activities to promote festivals, organizing a sales conference aboard two luxury cruise ships in the Mediterranean to a research study into how tourism initiatives redefined economically depressed communities. Darlene Duggan, President, graduated from Mount Saint Vincent University in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. In 2001, she completed her certificate in International Trade from George Brown College of Applied Arts & Technology, Toronto, ON.
Rhonda Burke
Rhonda Burke is a customer relationship
management consultant. Rhonda works with
organizations of all sizes to help them
build stronger customer relationships
through better use of customer information.
Rhonda has worked in Canada, USA, England,
Switzerland and Bermuda. Over the last 4
years, Rhonda has solely specialized in
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
solutions helping organizations see customer
relationships in everything that they do.
Rhonda has a diploma from Dalhousie
University in Nova Scotia. She is a
certified ACT! by Sage and Microsoft
Dynamics CRM consultant. Rhonda
specializes in working with associations and
financial service companies.
Martin MacKinnon
Martin MacKinnon is
currently involved in financial side of tech
industry in the tourism sector. Martin's strength is
working with hotel owners to help them understand their
finances and working with lenders and
investors. Martin is also a corporate
turn-around expert and business-development
consultant. Other experience in
the hotel industry includes working for Keddy Motor Inns as Director
of Corporate Planning. He was the architect
of the firm's successful restructuring under
the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. Martin is
on the board of directors for the Atlantic
Institute for Market Studies (AIMS). He also
is a director of several other Boards for
companies and is a past member of the board
of Atlantic Broadcasters Ltd. and the Credit
Union Deposit Insurance Corporation. Martin
also is a part time lecturer in the
Management Department of Saint Mary’s
University.
Greg Thomson
Greg has had a successful career in the
hotel industry since 1992. He has worked in
a number of management and executive roles
with Centennial Hotels Limited of Halifax,
Nova Scotia. This has included the areas of
Housekeeping, Guest Services, Rooms, Spa,
Purchasing, Reservations, Sales, Marketing,
and Revenue Management, and online
reservations system set-up. Greg
currently assists hotel properties maximize
their online sales. Greg
lectures a part time for St. Mary’s and
Mount Saint Vincent Universities. He has a
Master of Business Administration with
distinction from Saint Mary’s University.
Greg has also volunteered for sales training
for tourism professionals under the Tourism
Industry Association of Nova Scotia.
