Wendy Kheel ‘84

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Wendy Kheel ‘84, Vice President – Tourism Insights for the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, shares with us what it means to her to be a Hotelie for Life®.

“Going to back to college to get a masters (then called a MPS) from the Hotel School was the smartest career decision I have ever made. I have an undergraduate degree from Northwestern in theatrical design and worked for several years as a costume designer in Chicago. The time came when I was going to have to either move to NYC or Los Angeles to further my theater career and I didn’t want to do either. So, after a few years in Ithaca working with my brother who owned the Dugout (some of you may remember that infamous bar), I realized I needed a business education. Off I went to the University of Miami for an MBA for two reasons…relatives who lived in Miami that I could freeload off of and the fact that Miami offered the ability to earn an MBA in 12 straight months, not two years. But, here’s the thing. Potential employers could not get over my theater background or see any value in it. What to do? I happened to be visiting Ithaca and went up to the Hotel School to talk about auditing some classes. But, because I had the MBA, they offered me a Finance graduate teaching assistantship if I would enroll for a master’s in hotel administration. Sweet! This was the turning point in my career and life. I now had an education that made me valuable, particularly to PKF in Philadelphia my first job out of grad school. I was well on my way for a career that has been rewarding and fun, with many, many wonderful friendships made along the way among fellow Hotelies. Thank you, Hotel School!”

Wendy is pictured here with a friend she made in the Galápagos Islands.

Rachel Etess Green ‘98

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Rachel Etess Green ‘98, past Vice President, Owner Relations and Asset Management at Loews Hotels, shares with us what it means to her to be a Hotelie for Life®.

 

“Being a Hotelie for life is something that gives me great pride and joy. The Hotel School is a special place that one can only appreciate by truly experiencing it. The ties that I have to my classmates, alumni, and students through this shared experience are unbreakable. I get such pleasure being back on campus, meeting the current Hotelies, and experiencing the school again through their eyes.”

Rachel is pictured with her husband, Jason, and children Caroline (16) and William (13).

Rachel Etess Green ’98 and family.

Kevin Jacobs ‘94

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Kevin Jacobs ‘94, EVP & Chief Financial Officer for Hilton Worldwide, shares with us what it means to him to be a Hotelie for Life®

“To me, being a Hotelie for Life means you have the privilege of being part of the amazing community of the Cornell Hotel School. The connections I’ve made and relationships I’ve formed through the SHA network have been incredibly fulfilling for me both professionally and personally, both in terms of the benefits I’ve received (not the least of which is the fact that I met my future wife there!) and the opportunities I’ve had to give back.

Engagement with the SHA and CHS provides many opportunities to support the community, whether that support is through contributing your time on campus or through mentorship, hiring Hotelies or helping them get hired, or simply forming new friendships through the network, and that support only makes the network stronger. It’s a symbiotic relationship that lasts a lifetime – thus Hotelies for Life!”

Kevin is pictured with his wife, Amanda, and twin daughters, Cate and Sam, at their summer vacation home of Nantucket. The additional photo is with some of the 100 Hotelies and guests who attended the 2017 CHS holiday party at their home in Bethesda, Maryland.

Lee Pillsbury ‘69

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Lee Pillsbury ‘69, Chairman – TenX Healthcare Systems, Chairman – TLG Investment Partners, Managing Director – Thayer Ventures, shares with us what it means to him to be a Hotelie For Life®.

“I’m a Hotelie For Life. I’m fortunate to be part of the best network in the country. It has empowered my success, strengthened my family, and supported me when I struggled. It is at the core of how my life works: Network-Connect-Collaborate.”

Lee is pictured here with his wife of 49 years, Mary, aboard their center console boat, Intrepid, that they tow behind their yacht, Double Eagle (named as such because both Lee and Mary are licensed jet pilots).

Rod Clough ‘94

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Rod is pictured here with his daughter, Rory, and their dog, Parker.

Rod Clough ‘94, President – Americas for HVS, shares with us what it means to him to be a Hotelie for Life®.

“Reflecting on my years at the Cornell Hotel School, I now realize what a truly extraordinary learning environment it was. Cornell is a community unlike any other that fosters experiences to develop leaders and caretakers of the world’s hospitality industry. Cornell starts a fire within each… of us, that inspires us to never stop a journey of learning and propels us every day to rise to a level of excellence.

Collaboration and the importance working together to get things done is another top-of-mind Hotelie experience. Not to mention the gentle push that our instructors, administrators, and Statler leaders gave us to keep us on our toes and to keep us continually seeking to achieve more. We learned that we can do great things if we work hard enough, and we can reach these heights by joining hands with our classmates.

I am proud to call myself a Hotelie and the lessons I learned while at Cornell, and the staff that inspired me to start my journey of learning and excellence, stay with me to this day.”

Joe Lavin ’75

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Joe Lavin ‘75, President of HarborStone Hospitality, shares with us what it means to him to be a Hotelie for Life®.

“When I hear the expression, Hotelie for Life®, I know that it is a term that resonates with me. It means a lifelong commitment to engagement through and with the Hotel School. It means leadership, innovation, mentorship, networking, recruiting, financial support and friendship.

Not a day goes by when I don’t touch the SHA in some fashion. Whether it be through either of my children, Allie ’07 or Tyler MMH ’10, a CHS event, the CHS Foundation Board, the Pillsbury Institute, as an Entrepreneur in Residence or just hanging out with my Hotelie friends.

Every job I ever had was through some connection with a Hotelie or the School. I have made it a point to give back by recommending prospective students while mentoring students and grads as they move up in their careers (and hired quite few along the way). Having taught a class at the School for six years as adjunct faculty, some of my industry expertise hopefully found its way into the minds of future industry leaders.

The philosophy of Hotelie for Life in our students and grads is what sets us apart, not only from other hospitality programs, but any business school, anywhere. We must do whatever we can to preserve, protect and defend this culture.”

Joe is chair of an annual golf outing, now in its 27th year. The vast majority of participants are Hotelies (25 of the 39 shown here) across the generations. Alongside is a picture of their 25th anniversary group at Kiawah Island. Joe is front, left of center, in a pink shirt; his son Tyler, MMH ‘10 is front, far left.

Ali Hoyt ’12 and Chad Wemischner ’13

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Ali Hoyt ’12 and Chad Wemischner ’13

Ali Hoyt ’12, Senior Director, Consulting & Analytics at STR, and Chad Wemischner ’13, Business Manager at Breakthru Beverage, shared what it means to them to be Hotelies for Life®.

“As students cooking in culinary lab, studying for prelims, working a weekend shift at the Statler, and perhaps most importantly, spending countless hours together through HEC, we felt what it meant to be a Hotelie. What we couldn’t see then (including that we would get married six years later), was… what it meant to be a Hotelie for Life – to always feel a sense of belonging among lifelong friends and talented colleagues that all share in a common “Statler Hall” experience. For us, this means helping current and future students have equally impactful experiences. Most recently, at our wedding among Hotelie friends and mentors (classes 1956-2013), we worked with a number of current students to help make the weekend a reality. HEC 94 Board Members Ward Simcox ’19 and Isabella Mayer ‘19 organized a group of students to bartend and coordinate all the little details. Bradley Chen ’21 baked our wedding cake. And Richy Petrina ’01 married us. It was a true Hotelie event and was yet another reminder of how fortunate we are to have found our Hotelie family!”

Michael Harney ‘77

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Michael Harney ’77 on a tea buying trip to Kyoto

Michael Harney ‘77, Vice President & CEO of Harney Teas, shares with us what it means to him to be a Hotelie for Life®.

”I have been a Hotelie for Life® since birth. I was born in Ithaca as my father, John, was attending the School of Hotel Administration and graduated as part of the super class of 1956. Also my mom worked at the School. In fact, my Godparents were none other than Bob Beck, former Dean, and Mary Loughnan, who scheduled classes for Hotelies. I graduated with the Class of 1977 and its many luminaries. Chuck Feeney assigned me the hard task of living Paris and learning about wine as my first job. An added benefit was that Chuck introduced me to my bride: Brigitte. Many years ago, I applied some of my superior education at Cornell and decided it was a good deal to become a lifetime member of CHS. Although my last son graduated 4 years ago, I love to go to campus and see the action: Minds being molded.”

Geoff Gray ‘08

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Geoff Gray ‘08, General Manager of the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa, shares with us what it means to him to be a Hotelie for Life®.

“Hotelie for Life® to me means a shared connection that is irreplaceable. Along my journey I have enjoyed getting to know many within our hotelie family and have found that our unique network is found in every environment – moving to a new city, starting with a new company, embarking on a new project or traveling to a new part of the world. Regardless of graduation year, we are all hotelies first sharing a common bond of our times at Statler Hall. Our humble network of hotelies are there to support each other at any time. I believe our responsibility is to continue the tradition of service to others by caring for future hotelies as they become a Hotelie for Life®.”

Geoff is pictured here with his girlfriend Natalie and their 5-1/2 month-old daughter, Elle.

Arthur Adler ‘78

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Arthur Adler ‘78, Chairman, JLL Hotels & Hospitality, Americas shares what it means to him to be a Hotelie for Life®.

Art Adler ’78

“Simply put, being accepted as a transfer student and attending The Cornell School of Hotel Administration was truly life-changing. My experience as a student was transformative and being an alum of The Hotel School has influenced my career and personal life each and every day. In addition to its world-renowned reputation, the power of The Hotels School’s network is incredible and has impacted me throughout my career. A co-worker at a summer job was attending Cornell and initially sparked my interest in a career in hotels. I was hired by a Cornell graduate for both my first and second jobs out of school. A countless number of colleagues and industry peers are alums. And those are just a few examples – not a day goes by that I don’t run into a fellow Cornellian and you can immediately feel the shared bond. Many of my best memories involve Cornell Hotelies – fun fact: during the spring of my senior year, I played the Cornell golf course more than 25 times and golf with clients has been a major part of building strong, trusting business relationships.

 There are so many aspects to our business – Cornell provided me with the opportunity to explore a bit of everything, which allowed me to test out roles in F&B, consulting and ultimately, transaction and advisory services. I was able to work hard and truly develop my passion for this industry. And a true Hotelie gives back: my loyalty to the Hotel School led me to remain extremely active, including endowing the Directorship of the Center for Real Estate and Finance and serving on the Deans’ Advisory Board, as well as numerous guest lectures. One of my biggest honors was twice speaking at the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series! I am so proud to be a #hotelieforlife.”