Incentive Industry Loses a Pioneer: Bob Guerriero

By
Barbara Scofidio
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Bon GuerrieroThe Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE)—and the entire incentive industry—lost one of its pioneers last week with the passing of Robert “Bob” Guerriero. He was 90 years old.

In 1968, Bob Guerriero founded The Journeymasters, an agency exclusively dedicated to the promotion and delivery of incentive travel programs. His pioneering work laid the foundation for what was originally known as the Society of Incentive Travel Executives, formed by Bo, and three other like-minded professionals following their convening of a meeting at the Americana Hotel in New York City on December 4, 1973. He was the first President of the SITE Foundation and the recipient of the SITE Lifetime Achievement Award. He served 7 years on the IT&ME Advisory Council and 10 years on the Las Vegas Corporate & Incentive Travel Council.

His obituary in The Salem News described Bob as “a Renaissance man and true creative genius. He loved to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences for his clients. From toga parties in Rome, magical dinners on the Orient Express, and the first dinner at the foot of the David statue in Florence, if he dreamt it, it became a reality through his hard work and professional acumen. …Bob endeared himself to many with his vivacious personality and creativity. He had a wonderful sense of humor. A brilliant man in many respects, Bob’s talents lead him to write poetry, prose and ‘smoking hot emails.’ He was loyal, generous and a deeply principled gentleman. He will be missed deeply and his mark on this earth is forever engrained in the memories he allowed others to create through his hard work and ingenuity.”

“SITE today is testimony to Bob’s passion and that of other visionaries who could see the enduring, transformative power of travel as the ultimate element in recognition programs,” said Annette Gregg, SITE’s new CEO. “With over 2,000 members in over 90 countries, Bob has left behind a global legacy.”

Bob is survived by his wife of 28 years, Christine M. (Sullivan) Guerriero. Expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to the American Liver Foundation P.O. Box 299, West Orange, New Jersey, 07052 or at liverfoundation.org.

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Barbara Scofidio
Barbara Scofidio is Editor of Prevue and heads up the Visionary Summits, our exclusive conference series targeting senior-level meeting and incentive planners. In her 30 years in the industry, she has become known for her passion around greening meetings, growing awareness of human trafficking and promoting CSR activities as part of business events. She is currently a member of SITE's Women IN Leadership committee and the media liaison for FICP's Education Committee. She was the first member of the media ever to be invited to sit on a committee by GBTA, where she spent three years on the Groups and Meetings Committee. She has also been an active member of SITE for 30 years, chairing its Crystal Awards committee and acting as a judge. Before joining Prevue in 2014, she served as Editor of Corporate Meetings & Incentives (MeetingsNet) for more than 20 years. She has a BA in Literature/Rhetoric from Binghamton University. Barbara is based outside Boston, in Groton, Mass.

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