Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series

Stephanie Linnartz is the president of Marriott International, Inc. She is responsible for developing and executing all aspects of the company’s global consumer strategies, including brand, marketing, sales, and revenue management. She also oversees Marriott’s global real estate development, design, and operations services functions. Linnartz was previously Group President of Consumer Operations, Technology, and Emerging […]

Nala Holmes serves as Vice President of Acquisitions at Pyramid Hotel Group, a leading hotel management company based in Boston. In her role, Nala is responsible for the company’s strategic growth efforts, sourcing and executing on acquisitions, new developments, and third-party management engagements across the United States and Caribbean. Nala joined the company in 2014 […]

Kevin was born in New York City and was raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  He graduated from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration in 2005 and earned his MBA from George Washington University in 2013.   Kevin began his nine-year NFL career when he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders.  Kevin spent seven seasons with the […]

Cécile Belaman is a Managing Director with Bain Capital, one of the world’s leading alternative investments firm with $130 billion in assets under management. Bain Capital is active in private equity, public equity, credit, venture capital, and real estate in North America, Europe and Asia. Ms. Belaman is part of the EMEA Investor Relations team […]

Warren Fields, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pyramid Hotel Group, has grown the Bostonbased management firm from three hotels in 1999 to over 120 hotels in the United States, Caribbean, and Western Europe today. Prior to assuming the responsibilities of President and CEO, Fields was Chief Investment Officer responsible for all aspects of business […]

Cindy Estis Green’s career began in corporate marketing and senior operations roles for Hilton International. After founding the data mining consultancy, Driving Revenue, and selling it to Pegasus Solutions, Ms. Estis Green spent twelve years as managing partner of The Estis Group. A prolific writer, Estis Green is co-author of several groundbreaking studies including Distribution […]

Dan Leyva was born and raised near San Francisco, CA. In 2010, Dan moved to Ithaca to attend the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. While at Cornell, Dan worked at the Statler Hotel. He started as a bellman and worked his way up to the Director of Guest Services via HLDP. In 2014, […]

Yvette Thomas-Henry is Regional Vice President and General Manager of Four Seasons Resort Nevis. In this role, Thomas-Henry becomes the first female and first Caribbean native to take the helm of the 350-acre resort. Born in St. Thomas, USVI and raised in St. Croix, Thomas-Henry has returned home to the region, becoming the first Caribbean […]

Mark S. Hoplamazian was appointed to Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s board of directors in November 2006 and subsequently named president and chief executive officer in December 2006. Prior to his present position, Hoplamazian served as president of The Pritzker Organization (TPO), the principal financial and investment adviser for Pritzker family business interests. In January 2021, Hoplamazian […]

Kutina Ruhumbika is a well-rounded full-service restaurant and hospitality executive with experience within large corporate environments and smaller independent operations. Her past accomplishments include being the Vice President of Human Resources for Barteca Restaurant Group (www.barcelonawinebar.com) (www.bartaco.com) scaling the business into a multi-unit, multi-state locations. She is currently the Vice President of Human Resources for […]