Mary Naylor, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, VIPdesk
Mary Naylor is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of VIPdesk, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. Since the company’s founding in 1997, she has grown VIPdesk to become a concierge services industry leader, offering corporate concierge services, customer loyalty solutions, experiential programs and global assistance services to 40+ blue chip clients and their collective 20+ million customers.
Mary pioneered the concierge industry in 1987 with a $2,000 loan from her mother to found Washington, D.C.-based Capitol Concierge. In less than ten years, she grew the company into the nation's largest corporate concierge service with tailored programs serving over 80 commercial office buildings. The company’s phenomenal success was the subject of an Inc. magazine cover story in October 1995.
In 1997, Mary founded VIPdesk, a national concierge service providing services via a virtual call center structure. After raising $12 million in venture funding in 1999 and 2000, VIPdesk gained national attention and attracted clients such as Mercedes-Benz, Citi, MasterCard, and BMW.
In 2010, Mary led the company’s merger with International SOS, the world’s leading international healthcare, medical and security assistance, and concierge services company. Headquartered dually in London and Singapore and operating in over 70 countries, International SOS provides services to 66% of the Fortune Global 500. VIPdesk is now a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of International SOS, and the combined International SOS/VIPdesk entity is the only concierge provider in the industry today offering a truly integrated global footprint and service delivery platform.
Mary has received numerous accolades for her business acumen including recognition in the Inc. 500, an Inc. National Marketing Masters award, the Brava! Women Business Achievement award, a Stevie Award for Women in Business, Smart CEO’s Future 50 and Smart 100, Working Woman’s National Entrepreneurial Excellence award, inclusion in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50, a National Capital Area Business Ethics award, and recognition by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a “Home-Based Champion of the Year”.
Mary has served on the Executive Committee of the Young President's Organization, and is a member of professional associations including the Luxury Board, Loyalty 360, the International Concierge and Lifestyle Management Association, National Concierge Association, Word of Mouth Marketing Association, and the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals. She is also a member of YPO and C200.
Mary is a frequent speaker on customer loyalty strategies, and is the author of Customer Chemistry (McGraw-Hill 2002). She earned her BA in Communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara.