Peregrine Hospitality Hires Karen DiFulgo as Chief People Officer
Peregrine Hospitality, a full-service hospitality company known for its precision, agility, and ownership mindset in managing world-class resorts and hotels, announced that Karen DiFulgo has joined the firm as chief people officer. She succeeds Ed Eynon, who will retire as Peregrine’s chief human resources officer later this summer, after a 45-year career.
“At Peregrine, we believe the guest experience starts with our people,” said Greg Kennealey, CEO of Peregrine Hospitality. “We’re grateful to Ed Eynon for his outstanding leadership and the strong foundation he’s built over the course of his tenure. As Karen steps into this role, we’re excited to welcome her to our executive team. Her track record of building high-performing, people-first organizations makes her the ideal leader to carry our talent strategy forward.”
“It’s been an honor to help shape Peregrine’s culture and industry-leading performance,” said Eynon. “I’m proud of what we’ve built as the organization has grown and evolved. I have every confidence that Karen’s leadership and vast industry experience will ensure Peregrine continues to grow with purpose.”
With nearly three decades of human resources leadership experience in the hospitality industry, DiFulgo most recently served as Chief People Officer at Hornblower Group, a global travel and transportation company with operations across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. There, she led a global team of more than 200 HR professionals supporting 10,000 employees, restructured the HR function, implemented scalable systems to support growth, and played a key leadership role in the company’s transition to new private equity ownership.
Prior to Hornblower, DiFulgo served as chief people officer at Benchmark Global Hospitality, where she oversaw talent strategy across a portfolio of more than 110 properties and led the integration of multiple acquisitions, including the company’s merger with Pyramid Hotel Group. Earlier in her career, she held senior HR roles at Gaylord Hotels, The Brickman Group and TNS Healthcare.
“I’m thrilled to join Peregrine Hospitality at such a dynamic moment in its growth and development,” said DiFulgo. “Hospitality is ultimately about people, and I look forward to partnering with the leadership team to continue to invest in our talent, strengthen our culture and create meaningful opportunities for our teams to thrive.”
DiFulgo holds a bachelor’s degree in human resource management from the University of Baltimore. She serves on the Human Resources Committee of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and is an executive board member of Women in Lodging/Forward. She is also a founding member of the Forward Advisory Board, focused on advancing women in hospitality leadership.
Neenan Archistruction Announces Leadership Update
Neenan Archistruction announced that long-time Neenan architect, David Kurtz, has been promoted to chief operating officer.
The inclusion of a COO with architecture experience speaks to Neenan’s dedication to operating from a uniquely multi-disciplined perspective.
With more than 22 years’ experience at Neenan Archistruction, Kurtz most recently served as principal architect for the firm’s commercial and education design division. In this role, he has proven a track record of project strategy and coordinating multi-disciplinary teams to align on direction. Leveraging this personal experience with the design-build process, Kurtz is poised to provide thoughtful oversight to Neenan’s operations.
Mallory Lynn of Signarama Winner of the 2025 Women in Signs award
Signarama, a professional, full-service sign design company based in Brighton, is proud to announce that the company’s Marketing Manager, Mallory Lynn, has been named a 2025 Women in Signs award winner by “Signs of the Times Magazine”. The award was presented at the International Sign Association Expo in Las Vegas. The fifth-annual program honors exceptional women who have excelled in ownership/management, fabrication, installation, design, sales or marketing. Mallory was one of five award winners from a field of 308 nominations.
Mallory joined Signarama in 2014 and has made a big impact, both for the company and its clients.
“Mallory is so much more than just an employee: she’s an icon in the Signarama family,” said Dawn Homa of Signarama. “Her creativity knows no bounds. From marketing and social media to event planning, she has elevated everything she touches. Her creativity, vision, and dedication have been crucial to making Signarama’s Marketing presence and events truly unforgettable.”
“I really like that you can touch base with everybody because every type of business needs a sign,” Lynn says. “It’s never the same thing every single day. That’s how I’ve stuck with it for so long and I really enjoy it.”
Her favorite part of working in signs is using her experience and knowledge in graphic design and animation to propose concepts that help realize customer visions, as well as working on Signarama Brighton’s branding and marketing. She received a digital marketing certification after enrolling with the Digital Marketing Institute.
The sign industry is progressing for women, Lynn says. She appreciates awards and nominations that bring everyday women into the spotlight, not just owners but also those in production, marketing, design and sales.
“It’s really important to talk about their stories, create a network of women you can go and talk to, bounce ideas off of,” she adds. “The tide is changing a bit and it’s really refreshing to see women coming together, building themselves up, complimenting each other.”
