John W. Villari
Contractor Marketing Manager/CORT Events
Where were you when you received your 40 Under 40 award? I was in Los Angeles at our branding agency, working on a new logo and product designs for our company, when I got the word from our PR firm owner Stephanie Forte of Forte PR.
What’s been your biggest accomplishment since you were awarded? Besides being a single father to two amazing 8-year-old girls, a successful transition I have made in my career was going from a creative director role for Boyd Gaming to a marketing manager role for one of the largest event furnishings companies in the U.S.
What do you want to accomplish?I hope to continue to flourish in marketing and be an amazing role model for my daughters.
Is there anything you learned the hard way? Patience. Everything happens for a reason and on its own timeline.
What’s the best spot for a lunch meeting? Le Thai in downtown Las Vegas. Ask for a table in the back where it is quieter and get the Thom Kha. It is amazing.
Who is your business hero, local or global? Richard Branson. I love this quote from him: “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and by falling over.”
If you ran Las Vegas, what’s the first thing you would do? I would ask that these large corporations that reside in and employ the people of this city take care of the locals. Invest more into the schools that produce your future employees and consumers.
Loni Gray, field marketing manager for Brown-Forman, poses in Harmony Park in Henderson Tuesday, March 19, 2019.
Loni Gray
Field Marketing Manager — Jack Daniel’s, Brown-Forman
Where were you when you received your 40 Under 40 award?I was working for Brown-Forman as a National Account Manager.
What’s been your biggest accomplishment since you were awarded? Having my second child, Maxwell, this past August.
What do you want to accomplish? I want to be a role model to my children and show them that as a working mother, you can balance it all. And do it well.
Is there anything you learned the hard way? I’ve learned more things the hard way, rather than the easy way. But I found the most valuable lesson has been to have tough conversations early on, before conflict has time to manifest.
What’s the best spot for a lunch meeting? Milo’s at the Cosmopolitan. It has great food, excellent service and the best grilled octopus.
Who is your business hero, local or global? Sara Blakely, founder and CEO of Spanx. Her relentlessness and creativity is inspiring.
If you ran Las Vegas, what’s the first thing you would do?Grab a really strong coffee.
What’s the best advice you have to offer? Stay true to yourself and be mindful of how your personal “brand” is showcased to others.
This story originally appeared in the Las Vegas Weekly.