Birmingham-based The Townsend Hotel has added Maria Finateri as corporate catering sales manager and Annie Whalen as catering sales event service manager.
Finateri, who began her hospitality career more than a decade ago as a college student serving as floor manager at East Lansing’s Walnut Hills Country Club, is responsible for establishing new relationships among the area’s business community to further grow the luxury property’s corporate catering clientele.
Previously, Finateri worked as beverage and hospitality manager for Darden Concepts in Cincinnati and, most recently, sales and marketing manager for Blackfinn Ameripub in Royal Oak and Clinton Township. She is a former board member of the Royal Oak Restaurant Association and current member of The Junior League of Birmingham.
Finateri, of Royal Oak, earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in social science from Michigan State University.
Whalen has had a career in the sales and special events industry spanning more than 20 years. In her new role, Whalen is responsible for overseeing the planning and execution of the luxury property’s volume of special events and catering contracts.
Prior to joining The Townsend Hotel team, Whalen served as special event and travel coordinator for the University of Michigan School of Public Health Risk Science Center. She also spent five years planning student and alumni social events at the historic Michigan Union on U of M’s central campus.
Additionally, Whalen served as sales manager and event planner under Chef Kelli Lewton at 2Unique Catering in Royal Oak and managed operations for several restaurants in Ann Arbor and throughout southeast Michigan.
Whalen, of Redford Township, graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s of business administration in management.
