Speaker: Will Guidara ’01, Co-Founder – Make it Nice

Will Guidara is the former co-owner of Make It Nice, a hospitality group that included Eleven Madison Park, the NoMad restaurants, Davies and Brook at the Claridges Hotel, and Made Nice. Under his leadership, Eleven Madison Park received numerous accolades, including four stars from the New York Times, three Michelin stars, and, in 2017, was ranked #1 on the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The restaurant also received seven James Beard Foundation awards, including Outstanding Service and Outstanding Restaurant in America.

Guidara is the author of the recently released book Unreasonable Hospitality, which chronicles the lessons in service and leadership he has learned over the course of his career in restaurants. He is also the co-founder of the Welcome Conference, an annual hospitality-driven event that brings together the best minds from the world of hospitality; and of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, an organization that represents the 500,000 independent restaurants in America. A graduate of the hospitality school at Cornell University, he has co-authored four cookbooks: Eleven Madison Park: The Cookbook, I Love New York: Ingredients and Recipes, The NoMad Cookbook, and Eleven Madison Park: The Next Chapter.