Maria Gomez

Maria Gomez-Laurens was born in Mexico City and moved to San Diego in the early 80s. Her father was a Diplomat for the Mexican Government, and her mother was an entrepreneur. As the only child, Maria was privileged to travel to many parts of the world with her parents and meet many people in different cultural settings. Attending and planning special events with her father sparked her interest in what would eventually become her true passion. At first, her creativity led her to choose advertising, marketing, and design as a college degree, but just a year after graduation, she changed her career to follow her passion in event production and design, and began working in what would be a 20-year career in the hospitality industry. Through the years of her employment with Hilton Hotels, she was a three-time winner of "The Circle of Excellence" award. This is granted to the sales producers with the top 5% sales for the nation and is the highest honor one can receive with the company worldwide.

After 20 years in the hospitality industry, Maria Gomez-Laurens joined HelmsBriscoe, where she manages global accounts and specializes in Central Mexico and South America. Maria continues to strive for excellence and feels that the true measure of one's character in any chosen field is the ability to be able to adapt, be compassionate, listen to your customers, pay attention to details, be respectful and honest, and most of all, practice a sense of integrity.