ROUNDTABLE - Cornell School of Hotel Administration

TECHNOLOGY
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
ROUNDTABLE
April 12-13, 2016
Ithaca, NY
Chaired by:
Mona Anita K. Olsen ’04
THE CENTER FOR HOSPITALITY RESEARCH
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industry through…
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chr.cornell.edu
AGENDA
TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEURSHIP ROUNDTABLE
Chair: Mona Anita K. Olsen ’04
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
5th Floor Tower, Statler Hall
Welcome Reception
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
5th Floor Tower, Statler Hall
8:00 - 8:45 a.m.
Networking Breakfast
8:45 - 9:00 a.m.
Introduction
Mona Anita K. Olsen ’04, Associate Academic Director of the Leland C.
and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship and Assistant
Professor of Entrepreneurship at The School of Hotel Administration at
Cornell University
9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Session 1: Voice of the Crowd on the Cloud
Co-Facilitators: Larry Hall ’81, President & CEO, Trillium Services Group,
LLC, and Ashwin Kamlani, MMH ’03, Founder and Chief Executive
Officer of Regatta Travel Solutions
Student Perspective: Johnny VanCora ’18
10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Session 2: For Tech’s Sake! Building Customer Loyalty via
Generational Preferences
Co-Facilitators: Josh Weiss, Vice-President Guest Technology Innovation at
Hilton Hotels Worldwide, and Mark McCarthy, Senior Lecturer of Information
Systems at The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University
Student Perspective: Kelly McDarby ’16
11:00 - 11:15 a.m.
Break
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Session 3: Back-of-House vs Out-of-House: Best Practices and Shared
Experiences with Outsourced Tech Development
Facilitator: Christopher Sanson, MMH ’06, Founder, Code Union, Inc.
Student Perspective: Mary Katherine McGue ’18
12:15 - 1:15 p.m.
Lunch (Taylor A & B)
1:15 - 2:15 p.m.
Session 4: IT Innovation: CIOs and Startups
Co-Facilitators: John Balen ENG ’82, MBA ’86, General Partner, Canaan
Partners, and Gabe Piccoli, Edward G. Schlieder Endowed Chair in Information
Systems, Louisiana State University
Student Perspective: Rachel Wells ’18
2:15 - 2:30 p.m.
Break
2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Session 5: Hi-Tech, Hi-Touch—Marketing the Extreme
Hotel or Restaurant
Co-Facilitators: Joe Tagliente ’89, Managing Partner, Lenrock Management
Group, and Lauren Hobbs, Director of Marketing, Union Square
Hospitality Group
Student Perspective: Braden Williams ’17
3:30 - 3:45 p.m.
Closing Commentary
Mona Anita K. Olsen ’04
3
PARTICIPANTS
JOHN BALEN
ENG ’82,
MBA ’86
General Partner
Canaan Partners
ANDREW BATE
CEO
SafelyStay
John Balen is the general partner
at Canaan Partners, a global
venture capital firm with interests in
technology, health care, and Israeli
investments. With more than 25 years
in venture capital and technology,
Balen has facilitated investments in
several successful startups. He serves
on the boards of Blurb, Cardlytics,
SilverRail Technologies, SOASTA,
Stayful, Switchfly, and UrbanSitter.
John’s prior investments include
Commerce One, which brought
business-to-business
e-commerce
to the masses; Echopass, a leader in
world-class contact center solutions
(acquired by Genesys); eStamp,
a pioneer in internet postage;
Everdream, an innovator in ondemand desktop management services
(acquired by Dell); ID Analytics,
the nation’s only real-time fraud
prevention system for enterprises
(acquired by LifeLock); Intraware, the
leading provider of electronic license
delivery & management; Istante, an
early pioneer in real-time analytics &
reporting (acquired by Oracle); and
Rightpoint, real-time CRM analytics
software (acquired by Epiphany).
Andrew Bate is the founder and CEO
of SafelyStay, the first dedicated
clearinghouse for the peer-to-peer
vacation rental industry, which
supports instant reservations for
major online travel agencies and
global distribution systems. SafelyStay
won the General Catalyst Innovation
Award and was runner-up for the
Best Startup Travel Innovation of
the Year at the 2013 PhoCusWright
Conference.
Neuropsychologia, NeuroLeadership, and
the Handbook of NeuroLeadership.
Andrew also founded HotelUpgrade
to reward a hotel’s most valuable
guests, and is a senior researcher and
member of the Faculty at Emory
University’s Goizueta Business School
where he focuses on neuroscience and
strategy. The Bate Strategic Scale
is the first neurological measure of
an executive’s strategic ability. His
team’s work has been published
in the Harvard Business Review,
4
Prior to joining Canaan Partners,
John was managing director at
Horsley Bridge Partners, a multibillion dollar private equity firm,
where he was responsible for investing
in venture capital partnerships and
aspiring technology companies. He
also worked as an engineer at two
entrepreneurial companies, Digital
Equipment Corp. and Codenoll
Technology. John is a graduate of
Cornell University, where he also
earned an MBA.
Previously, Andrew served in a similar
research role at The Wharton School,
and was an Analyst at McKinsey &
Co. in the firm’s travel practice with
a focus on revenue management and
loyalty programs. He was a pricing
and marketing analyst for Sentient Jet
Membership, strategist for Razorfish,
and founder of SwimAtlanta Masters
Team.
Andrew is a “Young Leader’s Fellow”
for the National Committee on
United States – China Relations, was
named one of PhoCusWright’s “35
Young Travel Leaders” in 2012, and
the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Top 20
Technology Executives in Their 20s”
in 2000. Andrew has an MBA from
the London Business School and BBA
from Emory University.
PARTICIPANTS
MARCO
BENVENUTI,
MMH ’05
Co-Founder,
Chief Analytics,
and Product
Officer
Duetto Research
HEMANT
BHARDWAJ,
MBA ’15
Founder and
Managing
Partner
Taurus Ventures
Marco Benvenuti is chief analytics
& product officer and co-founder
of Duetto, where he directs product
vision, direction, and implementation.
Formerly executive director at Wynn
and Encore, Marco founded and
managed the enterprise strategy
group, in which he led revenue
management, data analytics, direct
marketing, and online channels. Prior
to Wynn, Marco worked for Caesars
Entertainment, Expedia, and Four
Seasons. Marco has patented two
novel inventions: the pricing engine
for one-to-one dynamic pricing
and the enterprise value algorithm
for calculating the value of every
customer. He holds an MMH from
Cornell University, where he currently
serves on the advisory board of the
Center for Hospitality Research,
and a Bachelor of Science in Hotel
Administration from UNLV. As an
avid college basketball fan, Marco’s
favorite team is, of course, the UNLV
Runnin’ Rebels.
Hemant Bhardwaj is the founder and
managing partner at Taurus Ventures,
an early stage venture capital firm
investing across the United States
and Southeast Asia. Prior to founding
Taurus Ventures, Hemant was a
senior director at Pipedrive, where he
was part of the strategy and business
development group focusing on global
market expansion and technology
partnerships. In addition to his role
at Pipedrive, he has worked at and
advised other high-growth startups,
including Produce Pay, Crossboard
Mobile, ProofPilot, and FunnelFire.
Bank, where he was part of the
entrepreneurs and corporate advisory
group responsible for originating and
executing M&A mandates. Before
UBS, he worked at Citigroup and
TIAA-CREF, where he advised
asset managers, endowments, and
ultra high net worth individuals on
portfolio allocation strategies.
Before joining the startup ecosystem,
he was a director at UBS Investment
Hemant holds a B.A. in economics
from Grinnell College and an MBA
from Cornell University. While at
Cornell, he served as a fund manager
for BR Venture Fund, MBA associate
at New Atlantic Ventures, and an
investment associate at Red Bear
Angels.
5
PARTICIPANTS
JASON
BROWN ’05
Chief
Development
Officer
YOTEL
MAUREEN
CUSHING
Director of IT
Union Square
Hospitality
Group
6
Jason Brown heads YOTEL’s global
growth and development strategy. In
this capacity, he leads the acquisitions
and development teams responsible
for sourcing, negotiating, and closing
joint venture agreements, acquisitions,
and management contracts for new
YOTEL projects. He also manages
the design and construction teams
responsible for working with YOTEL’s
owners and development partners to
deliver and evolve the concept as the
brand expands.
Jason was previously at Kimpton
Hotels & Restaurants, where his
positions included director of
acquisitions and development and
director of corporate and real estate
finance. During his five years at
Kimpton, Jason managed numerous
transactions representing over $600
million of acquisitions, financing,
debt restructuring, and dispositions
and was involved in the fund raising,
investment, and asset management
of Kimpton’s discretionary private
equity real estate funds and the
KHP fund series (now KHP Capital
Partners), as well as helping to drive
corporate finance and brand strategy.
Prior to Kimpton, Jason was part
of the founding team at the start-up
luxury destination club, One Key,
and began his professional career
as a consultant with Ernst & Young
in their transaction real estate and
hospitality group where he consulted
on more than $4 billion of hotel
development projects, single asset
and portfolio acquisitions and entity
level M&A transactions. Jason is also
passionate about entrepreneurship
and has served as an advisory board
member to institutionally backed
hospitality technology start-ups. He
received his bachelor’s degree in
Hotel Administration from Cornell
University, where he majored in real
estate finance and development.
Maureen Cushing applies over 15
years of information technology
experience as USHG’s director of
IT. She is also one of the founders of
TechTable. Prior to joining USHG
in 2013, Maureen gained diverse
technology management experience
in a range of industries, including
fashion, retail, and food. She spent
six years in IT leadership at FAO
Schwarz, followed by two years
at the renowned specialty grocery
and wine shop, Dean & Deluca.
Directly prior to joining the team at
USHG, Maureen spent seven years
as the director of technology for the
national luxury retailer, Intermix,
where she helped the company
scale its technology solutions for
sustainable growth. At USHG,
Maureen applies her knowledge of
operations and technology to create
tools and efficiencies throughout the
USHG family of award-winning
businesses. Maureen is a graduate of
Adelphi University in New York.
PARTICIPANTS
IAN FORD
CEO
Undercover
Tourist.com
LARRY HALL ’81
President and
CEO
Trillium Services
Group, LLC
Ian Ford is the founder and CEO of
Undercover Tourist, headquartered in
Austin, Texas. He started Undercover
Tourist in 2000 with the goal of
making family vacations simpler and
more affordable. Utilizing his travel
and tour operator experience, Ian
built the critical partner relationships,
and developed the customer-first
service mentality and technology
backbone that has made Undercover
Tourist the largest discount attraction
ticket seller. With over 16 years in the
travel industry, Ian is also a noted
speaker and travel industry expert,
providing support and guidance to
leading media outlets. Ian is an active
member of the Austin Chapter of
Vistage (Peer Groups) and holds a BS
in Biotechnology from South Bank
University in London, England. In
his free time, you can find him on the
soccer fields or diving in the deep blue
seas.
Larry Hall has more than 35 years
of leadership experience in global,
high-growth, technology and servicebased organizations that serve the
hospitality industry.
outsourcing procurement at Fortune
500 companies.
Hall recently served as the president
and chief executive officer of PAR
Springer-Miller Systems, Inc., the
leading provider of integrated, guestcentric hospitality management
solutions to hotels, resorts, spas
and casinos worldwide. Over 950
customers in 44 countries employ PAR
Springer-Miller’s innovative, thoughtleading solutions. In December 2015,
Constellation Software acquired PAR
Springer-Miller Systems.
Prior to joining PAR SpringerMiller Systems, he served as the
president and chief executive officer
of HBSi. During his tenure, Hall led
the acquisition, repositioning, and
funding of HBSi, which defined the
discipline of Demand Management
and established the company as an
industry innovator. He also served
as president and chief executive
officer of Prosero, an Atlanta-based
provider of supply chain outsourcing
solutions. At Prosero, Hall led the
development of the Procurement
Center of Excellence, a highly
praised and innovative model for
Earlier, Hall was president and chief
executive officer of hsupply, a venturefunded e-procurement marketplace
that developed an innovative service
offering for the hotel industry. He was
also president and chief operating
officer of Talus, the global leader
in revenue management systems
and technologies.
Hall started
his career in executive positions
with ITT Sheraton Corporation
including director, hotel systems
and telecommunications worldwide,
where he managed the global
technology strategies and operations
for the multi-national hotel company.
Hall speaks frequently on a variety of
topics including managing for high
growth, entrepreneurialism, and the
venture-funded organization. He
also serves on the board of directors
of several small, high-growth firms
and several charitable foundations.
Hall graduated from Cornell
University and served on the Cornell
University Council and currently
serves on the Advisory Board for
the Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality
Entrepreneurship at the University’s
School of Hotel Administration.
7
PARTICIPANTS
LAUREN HOBBS
Director of
Marketing
USHG
ASHWIN
KAMLANI,
MMH ’03
Founder & CEO,
Regatta Travel
Solutions
8
As the director of marketing at Union
Square Hospitality Group, Lauren
Hobbs leads brand experience for
Danny
Meyer’s
award-winning
family of businesses. In tandem
with the director of public relations,
Lauren directs the team that shapes
visual identity and storytelling
across USHG. She also works cross
functionally with operations and
IT to integrate technology with
hospitality,
combining
systems
and data to strengthen the guest
experience across each restaurant.
In 2015 she co-founded TechTable,
an annual conference that brings
together leaders from the hospitality,
technology, and finance industries
to address converging opportunities
and drive shared solutions. Prior to
joining USHG in 2012, Lauren’s
diverse career began in the arts in Los
Angeles, where she managed artist
relations, production, and sales at a
contemporary art gallery, as well as
co-founded an e-commerce company
producing fine art prints. She then
moved to New York to continue
working with creative businesses
including brand experience agency
The Guild, as well as consulting for
several startups. After graduating
from business school, Lauren worked
for American Express in their small
business group, translating market
research to new product launch across
several digital platforms. Originally
from Chicago, Lauren graduated
from Duke University with a BA in
Art History and holds an MBA from
Columbia University.
Ashwin Kamlani is the founder
of Regatta Travel Solutions and
Minikast. Founded in 2010, Regatta
Travel Solutions is an online
reservation system for hotels and
destination marketing organizations
(DMO), which generated more than
$26 million in booked revenue in
2014. Regatta combines its booking
engine technology with digital
marketing tactics to drive more
direct bookings for hotels and DMO
websites. In 2015, Kamlani founded
Minikast, a universal geo-fenced
social engagement app for hospitality
and entertainment venues. Minikast
allows visitors to receive venue specific
special offers and communications,
locate their connections using GPS
and iBeacon technology, and share
social media content with their
network or the entire venue. Since
its launch, Minikast is presently
working on implementation of
its app with a variety of venues,
including cruise lines, resort chains,
gaming companies, theme parks,
and music festivals. Before Regatta
and Minikast, Kamlani worked at
Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts, where
he led the charge in the Americas
to shift the distribution mix from
tour operators and online travel
agencies to direct website bookings.
He worked on educating the hotels
on the benefits of making the shift,
brought in digital marketing talent
to boost qualified website traffic, and
streamlined the company’s website
strategy to focus on conversions. In
2007 he was promoted to lead the
charge globally at the company’s
headquarters in Mallorca, Spain.
Kamlani received his MMH degree
at Cornell University in 2003.
PARTICIPANTS
SARAH KENNEDY
ELLIS
Vice President,
Global Marketing
Sabre Hospitality
Solutions
JOSH
LESNICK ’87
Executive
Vice President
and Chief
Marketing Officer
Wyndham Hotel
Group
Sarah Kennedy Ellis is the vice
president of marketing and strategic
development for Sabre Hospitality
Solutions. Sarah manages strategy
and product marketing for Sabre’s
hospitality solutions portfolio, in
addition to supporting Sabre’s
hospitality-related
mergers
and
acquisitions activities. Since joining
Sabre in 2007, she has held a variety
of product marketing, strategy,
and technology management roles
including her most recent position
as head of Sabre Labs, the dedicated
emerging technology incubator and
trends research lab at the company’s
global headquarters. She is often
invited to speak at industry events on
the topics of innovation, emerging
technology trends, and millennial
retention, and her expertise has been
featured most recently by CNN,
MIT, and Tnooz, the travel industry’s
leading publication. Sarah holds a
BBA in business management and
journalism from Baylor University,
and an MBA specializing in marketing
and strategy from the University of
Texas at Dallas.
Josh Lesnick serves as executive vice
president and chief marketing officer
at Wyndham Hotel Group, responsible
for all aspects of marketing and
revenue generation for the company
and its 15 brands around the world.
He oversees brand marketing, loyalty
marketing, digital marketing, field
marketing, hotel distribution, global
sales, communications, customer
care, and revenue management for a
portfolio of more than 7,600 hotels.
Previously, he spent nearly two
decades working in the hospitality
industry in executive leadership roles
with Starwood Hotels and Resorts and
Hyatt Hotels Corporation. During
that time, Lesnick focused on hotel
marketing, customer relationship
management, online marketing, and
loyalty and membership programs.
He was responsible for leading the
successful rollout of the Starwood
Preferred Guest program and the
company’s field online and CRM
marketing organization.
Lesnick joined Wyndham Hotel
Group in July 2014 after six years with
Audience Rewards, where he served as
president and chief executive officer.
Audience Rewards is an industrywide marketing alliance created by
the major Broadway theatre owners
and national arts presenters to
promote the development of new
audiences and reward loyal patrons.
Lesnick earned his Bachelor of Science
degree from Cornell University’s
School of Hotel Administration and
serves on the Board of Directors of
Audience Rewards.
He is based in Wyndham Hotel
Group’s Parsippany, New Jersey
offices.
9
PARTICIPANTS
JEFFREY LIPTON,
ENG ’10, MS ’14
(ENG), PHD ’15
(ENG)
Jeffrey Lipton, PhD, is a graduate
of Cornell (AEP’10 MAE’15) whose
work has been focused on 3D printing.
His work on 3D printed foods and 3D
printing for the hospitality industry
has influenced two of the largest 3D
printing companies in America and
garnered media attention from the
New York Times, BBC, and others.
He founded Seraph robotics, which
supports life science and food science
researchers’ 3D printing needs on
all six habitable continents. He is
currently a postdoctoral associate
at the MIT Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence labs where
he is studying new applications for
robotics.
Ben Littauer is an angel investor
with expertise in internet and
communications technologies, as
well as healthcare IT. Currently,
Ben is an active member of Boston
Harbor Angels and Walnut Venture
Associates, with investments in a wide
variety of start-ups. He is a mentor for
Mass Challenge and Capital Network,
an advisory board member at TCN,
and a judge for Mass Challenge and
MITX innovation awards. Ben was
technology strategist for Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center in Boston,
where he defined the architecture
for PatientSite, which allows patients
to communicate securely with their
healthcare team and view their own
medical records. He was a consultant
to the Massachusetts Health Data
Consortium on healthcare data
security projects and co-founder,
president, and chief technology
officer (CTO) of Baranof Software,
the leading vendor of service-level
management software for messaging
and internet applications. He has
worked for Cisco Systems, Sun
Microsystems, Symantec, Lotus, and
BBN, and was also an analyst with
Ferris Research and Baroudi Bloor
International.
Dr., MIT
Computer
Science and
Artificial
Intelligence Lab
BEN LITTAUER
A&S ’78
Angel Investor
Boston Harbor
Angels and
Walnut Ventures
10
PARTICIPANTS
MARK
MCCARTHY ’86,
MMH ’98
Senior Lecturer
of Information
Systems
School of Hotel
Administration
JOSH OGLE ’08
Founder
The Original
Agency
Mark McCarthy is a senior lecturer
at the Cornell School of Hotel
Administration, where he has been an
instructor in the area of information
technology since 1998. His focus
is on reducing the resistance, fear,
and complacency inherent to the
introduction of technology in the
workplace. In addition to teaching the
required freshman course, Business
Computing, he also teaches upperlevel electives in Excel modeling and
database management. His wealth
of operational experience includes
seven years of managing private
clubs, which solidified his food and
beverage and special event planning
background, four years in the front
office of a three-star hotel property,
and entrepreneurial experiences
owning a beverage catering company
and a bed and breakfast. He earned
both his BS and MMH degrees from
the Cornell University School of
Hotel Administration.
Josh Ogle is the founder and chief
executive officer of Fresh Spin
Advertising, a digital advertising firm
with offices in New York, San Diego,
and the Netherlands. After selling his
marketing company, Josh launched
Fresh Spin in 2011. Josh has had
great success in ventures with little
capital and has built three multimillion dollar companies with less
than $50,000 in funding (two with less
than $5,000). Working under such
self-imposed operational constraints,
Josh and his team found creative ways
to be fiscally efficient. Josh’s startups
have a revenue-per-employee ratio
that is four times more efficient than
the next most efficient company on
the Inc. 500 list. Josh graduated from
the Cornell University School of
Hotel Administration in 2008. His
professional time is divided among his
advertising firms, consulting, angel
investing, and developing new ideas
for start-ups.
11
PARTICIPANTS
MONA ANITA K.
OLSEN ’04
Assistant
Professor
School of Hotel
Administration
Assistant
Academic Director
Leland C. and
Mary M. Pillsbury
Institute for
Hospitality
Entrepreneurship
KATELYN
O’SHAUGHNESSY
CEO and
Founder
TripScope
12
Mona Anita K. Olsen, PhD, is an
assistant professor of entrepreneurship
and the associate academic director
of the Leland C. and Mary M.
Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality
Entrepreneurship at the School of
Hotel Administration (SHA) at Cornell
University.
Program Norway, where she serves as
Cornell’s representative.
She has developed and currently teaches
courses focused on entrepreneurship
theory and practice. Olsen led Cornell
to win a grant with NHH (Norwegian
School of Economics) and Norway’s
Centre for International Cooperation
in Education (SIU). She has received
course development grants from the
Office of the Vice Provost (to create a
SHA course integrating cloud-based
technology with entrepreneurial
business planning) and from the Mario
Einaudi Center for International
Studies for “Global Conversations with
Entrepreneurs,” as well as the Luigi
Einaudi Chair Innovation Grant for the
International Academic Partnership
Prior to joining the SHA faculty, Olsen
was a U.S. Fulbright Grantee to Norway,
where she focused on growing iMADdu,
the educational nonprofit (501c3) she
founded in 2010. iMADdu, which
stands for “I Make A Difference, Do
You?,” empowers young entrepreneurs
through mentoring and participation
in its student apprenticeship program.
Olsen was the assistant director of the
Mason Small Business Development
Center at the office of research and
economic development at George
Mason University. She also worked
as a worldwide sales analyst for Four
Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Katelyn O’Shaughnessy is the CEO
and founder of the travel app and
website, TripScope. An award-winning
travel agent turned entrepreneur,
Katelyn’s first-hand experience in
the travel industry has motivated her
to create new, innovative technology
solutions that fundamentally change
the way consumers interact and utilize
a professional travel agent.
for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at
the School of Hotel Administration.
TripScope empowers travel agents
to create, manage, and collaborate
digital itineraries delivering both
direct connection and real-time data.
In addition to TripScope, Katelyn
holds the position of national director
to the nation’s largest young travel
professionals’ community, Millennials
in Travel, and currently serves as an
Entrepreneur in Residence at Cornell
University with the Pillsbury Institute
Since 2013, Olsen has been leading
initiatives to expand and enrich the
Pillsbury Institute’s multifaceted work
on entrepreneurship education at all
levels, from the campus to the world.
Katelyn has been awarded Travel
Agent’s 30 Under 30, Travel+Leisure
Magazine’s “Rising Star,” and
PhoCusWright’s Top Travel Tech
Innovators Under 35, and was a finalist
at the Travel Innovation Summit for
the Startup Category. Katelyn and
the TripScope team were a portfolio
company in the nation’s top-ranked
accelerator, Amplify, where she was the
first female founder to ever be accepted
into the program.
Katelyn has gone on to break glass
ceilings as a female CEO, securing
funding from Silicon Valley’s top
venture capitalists, including former
CEO of Expedia, Erik Blachford, and
partnering with some of the largest
travel companies in the industry.
PARTICIPANTS
GABE PICCOLI
Edward G.
Schlieder
Endowed Chair
in Information
Systems
Louisiana State
University
LEE
PILLSBURY ’69
Chairman
Thayer Lodging
Group
Gabe Piccoli, PhD, is the Edward
G. Schlieder Chair of Information
Sciences and a member of the cultural
computing group at the Center for
Computation and Technology at
Louisiana State University. He has
held tenured academic positions at
Cornell University, the Grenoble
Ecole de Management (France) and
the University of Pavia (Italy).
He is a prolific and highly cited
academic author and his recent
research interest is on digital data
streams (DDS) and the opportunities
Leland Pillsbury ’69 is a venture
capitalist who co-founded Thayer
Lodging Group and served as cochairman and CEO until it was sold
to Brookfield Asset Management,
where he now serves as chairman of
Thayer Lodging Group, a Brookfield
Company.
Pillsbury is also co-founder and
chairman TIG Global, EMC Venues,
and Thayer Insurance Group. He
is co-founder of HUBS1 and of
HQuant. Pillsbury earlier founded
Grand Heritage Hotels, a manager
of historic independent hotels,
and spent 20 years at Marriott
Corporation, where he revamped
pricing strategies, developed revenue
management systems, and developed
Marriott’s frequent traveler program.
He led Marriott’s entry into the timesharing business, and as Marriott’s
vice president and general manager
of Fairfield Inns and Residence Inn,
Pillsbury supervised 18,000 people
and in excess of $1 billion in capital
investment in lodging products.
they create for business value creation.
He is the director of the Digital
Data Streams Lab at LSU and the
University of Pavia.
Piccoli’s academic, teaching, and
consulting interest has traditionally
been in the area of strategic
information systems and customer
service systems. Much of his research
is applied and he is a frequent speaker
and commentator on the business
value of IT and the value creation
potential of new technology.
A graduate of the Cornell School of
Hotel Administration (SHA), Pillsbury
holds an executive MBA from the
Kellogg School at Northwestern.
He serves on the Cornell University
Council, the Kellogg Dean’s Advisory
Board; and is a member of the Cornell
University Board of Trustees. Among
other committees he is vice chairman
of the investment committee, which
oversees Cornell’s $5.2 billion
endowment. He is a member of
SHA’s Dean’s Advisory Board and
the Real Estate Council. Pillsbury was
named a Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of
1956 Visiting Professor and lectures
frequently at Cornell.
Pillsbury and his wife, Mary, are the
founding benefactors of the Leland
C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute
for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at
Cornell University.
13
PARTICIPANTS
POLINA
RAYGORODSKAYA
CEO
Wanderu
CHRISTOPHER
SANSON,
MMH ’06
Founder
Code Union, Inc
14
Polina Raygorodskaya is the cofounder and CEO of Wanderu.
com, the largest ground travel search
application in North America.
Working with major partner’s
including
Amtrak,
Megabus,
Greyhound, Boltbus, NY Trailways,
and many more to help people find
the best trip by bus or train travel at
the best price, Wanderu’s multi-modal
search was recognized as the “Most
Innovative Technology” of 2013 at
SXSW Interactive. Prior to Wanderu,
Polina founded Polina Fashion LLC,
a boutique fashion, travel, and luxury
PR firm where she represented some
of the biggest names in fashion and
produced over 100 events across the
United States.
Christopher Sanson is the founder
and lead developer of Code Union,
Inc, a software development agency
specializing in websites and mobile
apps. He has built websites for dozens
of restaurants, such as The Spotted
Pig, Jazz Standard, and Untitled at
the Whitney, and launched the mobile
app for nightlife start-up First Call.
Outside of the hospitality industry
he has worked on projects for clients
like Goldman Sachs, Cisco, and the
U.S. Department of Defense, among
others.
He was previously head of product
at start-ups Qualia and Philo, and
founder and CEO of the travel
social network Marco Polo. A selftaught programmer, Christopher
holds degrees in art history from
Princeton University and hospitality
management from the Cornell School
of Hotel Administration. An avid
traveler, he has backpacked through
over 35 countries and currently
resides in the West Village, NYC.
Her entrepreneurial work has been
recognized by national media outlets
like Business Week, the Fox Business
Channel and Legal Zoom. In 2015,
Inc Magazine named Polina one of
the “Best 30 Entrepreneurs Under
30.”
Polina earned a Bachelor of Science
in business administration at Babson
College.
PARTICIPANTS
MICHELE
SARKISIAN
President
P3 Advisors.biz
ZEEV
SHARON ’04
Co-Founder
and CEO
Hotelied
Michele Sarkisian is an expert in
growth strategy and execution
focused on aligning Purpose, People
and Profit (P3). She has 30 years of
experience helping senior executives
design and execute growth strategies
to capture market share, improve
customer experience and loyalty and
engage employees. Clients include
global hospitality brands, CPG
companies,
telecommunications,
business services, retailers, leading
financial services organizations and
more. Michele serves on for profit,
start-up and philanthropic boards/
advisory boards. She is active in the
Prevention of Human Trafficking,
focused on assisting the hospitality
industry in making a difference.
Zeev Sharon is co-founder and CEO
of Hotelied. Inspired by a deep-rooted
passion for travel and hospitality,
Zeev created Hotelied to depart
from the one-size-fits-all approach
currently dominating online travel
and to introduce personalization into
the booking experience. Having tried
his hand at almost every aspect of the
hospitality world, Zeev discovered
a void in the hotel booking process
from both the traveler and hotel
perspective, and with that, Hotelied
was born.
of large-scale hotel developments,
multibillion-dollar hotel mergers and
acquisitions and high-profile strategic
advisory assignments. As a VP at
Tishman Hotel & Realty, Zeev delved
further into the world of hotel real
estate, and was actively involved in
every stage of the hotel lifecycle, from
acquisitions and new developments to
asset management, operations, and
dispositions. With comprehensive
exposure to each facet of the
travel, hospitality, and real estate
industries, Zeev left the corporate
world in 2012 to develop Hotelied
– a rapidly-growing hotel booking
site, where travelers unlock personal
hotel discounts based on their social
media, profession and industry, travel
frequency, and other profile criteria.
Upon graduating from Cornell
University’s School of
Hotel
Administration, Zeev began his
career at Ernst & Young’s real
estate & hospitality advisory group.
In this role he worked on a variety
15
PARTICIPANTS
JULES SIEBURGH
’72, MBA ’74
Principal
Jules A Sieburgh
LLC
LAWRENCE
STANLEY
President
The Cap-X
Group, LLC
Jules Sieburgh, CHTP, is principal of
Jules A. Sieburgh, LLC a consulting
firm specializing in information
and telecommunication systems’
consulting for the hospitality
industry. Previously Jules held senior
technology positions at Sonesta Hotels
& Resorts, InterContinental Hotels &
Resorts, Host Marriott Corporation,
and Kerzner International. Jules was
responsible for providing technical
consulting to help select and make
best use of hospitality systems.
After finishing high school, Jules came
to the U.S. from the Netherlands to
obtain a BS degree from the Cornell
School of Hotel Administration and
an MBA from the Cornell Business
School.
Lawrence M. Stanley is a serial
entrepreneur and philanthropist.
He is the acting president and CEO
for Cardiac Medical Services, Inc.,
which he launched and developed
in 2000. His responsibilities include
strategic program design and business
development.
with National Cardiac Monitoring
Center,
CardioLabs,
Cardiac
Monitoring Services, and Medicomp
to provide 24/7 monitoring services
for patients domestically and abroad.
Stanley received his bachelor’s
degree from The University of
Maryland at College Park, MD. In
addition, he has over 15 years of
healthcare management experience.
Preceding the merger of Aetna
with US Healthcare in 1996 he was
responsible for the development
of US Healthcare’s Medicare Risk
program.
In 2000 Stanley launched Cardiac
Medical Services, Inc., headquartered
in Leesburg, Virginia. CMS is a
cardiac telemedicine and diagnostic
services company, which manages
patients with varying degrees of heart
arrhythmias. Stanley later established
strategic partnerships and alliances
16
Jules is a member of HFTP, has
served on many HITEC Advisory
Committees, and is a member of the
Cornell Hotel Society.
In 2007 Stanley created The Cap-X
Group, which is an equipment
maintenance management company,
servicing administrative, technology
and imaging equipment. He is also
an active board participant and
continues to expand CXG’s brand
and technology services.
Lawrence Stanley has served on the
advisory board of governors to Club
Corporation of America, and was
the ambassador to the ‘A Mind Is
Society.’ He also participates with the
Young Business Leaders (YBL), which
is an affiliate to the Community
Foundation of Northern Virginia.
Stanley is also an active supporter
and panelist for NFTE—the Network
For Teaching Entrepreneurship / DC
Chapter.
PARTICIPANTS
JOSEPH
TAGLIENTE ’89
Partner and
Principal
Lenrock
Management
Group
Joseph Tagliente is the chief
operational officer for Gopinion, a
Boston-based firm that developed a
smartphone app used by consumers
to give direct, private, and anonymous
feedback to their favorite businesses in
real-time. He is also a principal with
The Lenrock Management Group,
LP, a boutique real estate investment
advisory firm, and the managing
partner of Tage Associated Limited
Partners, a private REIT.
Previously, Talgliente was president
and CEO of Tage Corporation,
which was founded by his father, Joe
Sr. Under his leadership, Tage grew
from a small fast food restaurant
operator into a multi-faceted
corporation.
In 1989, while a student at the
Cornell University School of Hotel
Administration, Tagliente conceived,
designed, and developed the first
of his company’s hotels: The Tage
Inn in Milford, Massachusetts, co-
JOSH WEISS
Vice President
- Guest
Technology
Innovation
Hilton Worldwide
Josh Weiss is vice president–guest
technology innovation for Hilton
Worldwide, based at its world
headquarters in McLean, Virginia.
He is responsible for developing and
executing guest-facing technology
innovations for the company’s
11 global brands. In his previous
role of vice president, brand &
guest technology, Josh led in-room
entertainment, high-speed internet
access, check-in and check-out
solutions, and virtual concierge
development for the company. Prior
to joining Hilton Worldwide in
November 2009, Weiss was managing
director, delta.com, self-service, &
CRM for Delta Air Lines, where he
founding this venture with Joe Sr.
An immediate success, Tage grew
to a portfolio of four New England
properties with over 500 rooms.
In 2000, he divested the Tage
operating companies, selling the
Tage Burger King portfolio to Burger
King Corporation, and the Tage
hotel portfolio to La Quinta Hotel
Corporation.
A graduate of Cornell University,
Tagliente holds an MBA from the
Olin School of Business at Babson
College.
Joe sits on the board of advisors
for Quaker Maid Meats, a food
manufacturer, and has held seats on
the board of directors of Kayem
Foods, Inc., and The Italian Home for
Children, a non-profit organization.
He resides in Massachusetts with his
wife, two children, and their golden
retriever.
was directly responsible for all of
Delta’s self-service strategy, including
the carrier’s online technology,
as well as airport check-in kiosks,
customer relationship management
programs, and direct marketing. Prior
to assuming this position in April
2006, Weiss was director—airport
operations and strategy and had
responsibility for worldwide airport
passenger service, operational, safety,
and security support functions. A
graduate of Georgetown University,
Josh earned a BS degree in foreign
service with a specialty in diplomacy
and international security, and he
holds an MBA from Georgia State
University.
17
STUDENT PARTICIPANTS
KELLY
MCDARBY ’16
Cornell
University
School of Hotel
Administration
KASSIE
MCGUE ’18
Cornell
University
School of Hotel
Administration
18
Kelly McDarby is a senior at Cornell
University pursuing a Bachelor of
Science from the School of Hotel
Administration. Kelly hopes to have
a career path focused on hospitality
and innovation. She also has interests
in healthcare, education, and
government.
At Cornell, Kelly works as the lead
teaching assistant for Conversations
with Entrepreneurs, and she is also
a teaching assistant for Service
Operations. Both are SHA classes.
Kassie McGue is a sophomore in
the School of Hotel Administration
looking to pursue the real estate
minor with a concentration in
entrepreneurship. On campus, she
works as a hospitality entrepreneurship
coordinator in the Leland C. and
Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for
Hospitality Entrepreneurship. In
the institute, Kassie manages the
Connect Entrepreneurial Hotelies
Mentor Network, assisting with
research and coordination of events.
A teaching assistant for HADM
On campus, Kelly is also involved
in the Entrepreneurship@Cornell
program, and she is the president
emeritus of Forté Campus at
Cornell—a professional network for
undergraduate women on campus.
Following graduation, Kelly will be
joining Hilton Worldwide as an analyst
for their finance rotation program
at the company’s headquarters in
McLean, Virginia.
4180: Technology for Bootstrapped
Entrepreneurship, Kassie is especially
interested in how to apply technology
in a start-up company. With a strong
interest in the food and beverage
industry, Kassie has been working
in restaurants since she was 15 and
spent this past summer interning with
Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants.
This summer, Kassie is working for
The Chef ’s Warehouse, Inc (CHEF)
as a sales and marketing intern.
STUDENT PARTICIPANTS
JOHN
VANCORA ’18
Cornell
University
School of Hotel
Administration
John VanCora is a sophomore at
Cornell University’s School of Hotel
Administration, concentrating in
food and beverage, and minoring in
real estate. He has a passion for food
and beverage entrepreneurship and
bread baking. Since 2011 Johnny has
had his own cottage business baking
bread out of his home kitchen and
selling it at local farmers’ markets. It
is Johnny’s dream to open up his own
artisanal bread bakery.
At Cornell, Johnny is involved with the
Hotelie Entrepreneurs, the Cornell
Epicurean Society, and the Bread
Club. He is currently the hospitality
entrepreneurship coordinator at the
Pillsbury Institute, where he helps
coordinate events and does research
for the Institute.
Rachel Wells is a sophomore in the
School of Hotel Administration
interested in the intersection of data
analytics, technology, and hospitality.
She is the vice president of foundation
for her sorority, Delta Gamma, and
sits on the board for the organization
Women in Computing at Cornell
(WICC). She is pursuing a minor in
information science.
Braden Williams is a creative
entrepreneur based in New York
and Ithaca, New York. Braden
focuses on utilizing technologies to
disrupt industries that have seen
little
technological
innovation.
He is currently targeting work at
the entertainment and restaurant
industries. He is currently at the
School of Hotel Administration
at Cornell University. He was
formerly studying lighting design and
photography at Bennington College.
RACHEL
WELLS ’18
Cornell
University
School of Hotel
Administration
BRADEN
WILLIAMS ’17
Cornell
University
School of Hotel
Administration
19
NOTES
20
NOTES
21
NOTES
22
23
Cornell University
School of Hotel Administration
Center for Hospitality Research
389 Statler Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
Phone: 607.254.4504
[email protected]
chr.cornell.edu