Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship
The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship engages leading industry experts and faculty to educate students and provide them with experiential opportunities to learn all aspects of entrepreneurship. To support these critical goals, the Pillsbury Institute offers students, entrepreneurs, and faculty an expanding range of courses, programs, and activities focused on advancing students’ entrepreneurship knowledge and mastery.
“Welcome to the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship (PIHE), the entrepreneurial hub of the Nolan School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. In our role as directors, we steward the institute and execute the vision of our founders, Lee ’69 and Mary Pillsbury and our Advisory Board and serve as an integral component of Cornell’s tradition as an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.”
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Engagement
At all stages of ideation, the Pillsbury Institute offers students, entrepreneurs, and faculty a broad range of courses, programs, and activities in which to engage.
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Corporate Relations
Giving Opportunities
Support an academic entrepreneurial program or finance a space where students can brainstorm and collaborate on business ideas and ventures.
Jason Spillerman is a principal and co-founder of Vibrant Development Group, Vibrant Leasing Strategies and Vibrant Ventures. Prior to founding Vibrant Development Group, Jason was a senior consultant at MRA International, a leading development consulting and strategy firm.
Jacqueline Grace is Chief Executive Officer for Beam Living. From a career spanning more than 20 years, she has experience developing teams and driving operational growth strategies across the hospitality and financial services industries.
Dayna Blank is Chief People Officer at Playa Hotels & Resorts, where she has developed and spearheaded a high-performance culture since joining the company in 2014. Her two-way recruitment philosophy and individual-focused incentives contribute greatly to Playa’s employee satisfaction and retention.
Robert Gregor ’00, JD ’07, a practicing attorney and the founder and owner of Gregor Hotels, has been named the inaugural executive director of the Leland C. and Mary M. […]
Jonah Gershon ’24 won $20,000 in the Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition and is working on Spekld, his idea to package and sell brown butter.
COVID-19 insights and tools for the hospitality industry
The Cornell Nolan School has developed a collection of resources to equip all sectors of the hospitality industry with tools and guidance as its leaders continue to navigate the unprecedented impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
