Speaker Biographies Conference Producer and Co-Founder
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SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES CONFERENCE PRODUCER AND CO-FOUNDER HARRY JAVER President - The Conference Bureau, Inc. Harry Javer is the founder and president of The Conference Bureau. In 1994, Harry created and co-founded The Lodging Conference, which is now in its 21st year. Harry is the current chairman of the AH&LEF Fund Development Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the Annual Giving Campaign. The Lodging Conference has sponsored AH&LEF scholarship recipients to attend the conference for the last 13 years. With 34 years of experience creating and running conferences, seminars, concerts and tradeshows, Harry has produced events featuring such notables as: Al Gore, Rudy Giuliani, Sir Richard Branson, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Donald Trump, Pete Peterson, Bono, Charlton Heston, Anthony Robbins, Magic Johnson, Deepak Chopra, Jerry Lewis, Joe Torre, George Foreman, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Joe Montana, and thousands of America’s corporate leaders. Harry is an advisor to some of the nation’s leading live event companies including One Day University, and The Learning Annex. The Conference Bureau has also co-produced the Rock N’ Roll Fantasy Camp. A graduate of Stony Brook University, Harry resides in New York City with his wife Elizabeth and son Jack. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES MATTHEW D. AHO Consultant - Akerman LLP Matthew Aho helps clients identify and pursue opportunities at the nexus of Cuba policy and business. During his years at the Council of the Americas, the Western Hemisphere’s premiere business membership organization, Matthew led efforts to unite senior executives of select-Fortune 500 companies with officials from the U.S. departments of State, Commerce, Treasury, and the National Security Council to discuss topics including financial services, telecommunications, energy, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, and agriculture. Matthew is a recognized authority on the legal and regulatory frameworks comprising the U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba and frequently accompanies clients on trips to the island. He is also a member of the Cuba Study Group. (Not admitted to the practice of law.) Areas of experience include Cuba, International and Latin America and the Caribbean. Matthew has participated in several industry events as a panelist and has authored articles for Americas Quarterly Blog. He has appeared in numerous industry publications as an expert on U.S.-Cuba relations. Matthew received his M.A. from Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs in 2009; International Affairs, International Economic Policy and a B.A. from Bard College in 2002; Political Studies. JAMES ‘JIM’ ALDERMAN Senior Vice President, Chief Development Officer - Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants A seasoned real estate, private equity finance and development veteran, Jim Alderman brings more than 30 years of experience to the hospitality industry. As Kimpton’s senior vice president of development and acquisitions and chief development officer, Jim is responsible for directing and coordinating property acquisitions, real estate development and management contracts across the brand. In addition, he is part of the senior executive committee at Kimpton that oversees day-to-day management of all company operations. Prior to Kimpton, Jim served as a principal for Access Point Financial. Additionally, previous posts have included executive vice president, global development for the Wyndham Hotel Group and executive vice president of hotel development for Starwood Capital, as well as serving as a senior vice president, acquisitions and development for Kimpton from 2005-2007 and 2013 - present. Throughout his career, he has been involved in the acquisition, development, joint venture and financing of over five billion dollars in real estate projects on a global basis. He has helped guide the strategy and branding of hundreds of hotel projects from independent boutiques through ultra-luxury. Jim is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in real estate and serves as an executive board member for The Center of Real Estate Education and Research at the university. 2 SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES ANDREW ALEXANDER President - Red Roof Inn Andrew C. Alexander has led Red Roof Inn as its President since 2009. Mr. Alexander has successfully engineered a revival for the economy- lodging national brand by implementing a “best of class” strategy to make Red Roof Inn the preferred hotel brand in its segment. Mr. Alexander also leads Red Roof Inn’s industry-leading economy hotel management company. Prior to joining Red Roof, Mr. Alexander was an executive at Renaissance Hotels and Resorts from 1995 to 1997, and Boykin Lodging Company from 1997 to 2006. Mr. Alexander joined Red Roof in September 2007 as Senior Vice President and General Counsel and was promoted to Executive Vice President, overseeing the Finance, Human Resources, Real Estate, Risk Management and Legal departments in 2008. Before working in the lodging industry, Mr. Alexander was an attorney in the commercial finance and real estate group at the law firm of Calfee, Halter & Griswold, LLP in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Alexander earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1989 and his undergraduate degree from The George Washington University in 1986. Mr. Alexander and his family reside in Columbus, Ohio, where he is involved with several philanthropic ventures, including Flying Horse Farms. ROBERT ALTER President - Seaview Investors, LLC Robert Alter, one of the premier hotel investment and management executives in the industry, is currently President of Seaview Investors, LLC, a real estate investment management company that operates hotels in Southern California and Colorado. Mr. Alter is also Chairman Emeritus and Founder of Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. (NYSE: SHO). After founding Sunstone in 1985, he took the company public in 1995 with 10 hotels and a total enterprise value of $75 million with revenues of $30 million. During the 22 year period of Mr. Alter’s position as CEO, Sunstone acquired 125 hotel properties with over 20,000 guest rooms, and disposed of 80 hotels. Sunstone currently owns interests in 41 hotels operated under such brands as Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, and Fairmont, and has a total enterprise value over $3.5 billion dollars. Mr. Alter is past president of the Holiday Inn Franchise Association; former member of the Marriott Franchise board; and, past President of the IAHI and is on its Board of Directors. He was also on the Board of Directors of MINA; served as Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee for the American Hotel & Lodging Association; and, was Chairman of AHLA PAC. Mr. Alter is a graduate of Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. JIM AMOROSIA President, Chief Executive Officer - G6 Hospitality LLC Jim Amorosia is President, Chief Executive Officer of Motel 6 and Studio 6 and oversees all strategic direction of these brands for G6 Hospitality LLC. Amorosia has more than 30 years of hotel operations experience and is recognized as one of the key leaders in the economy segment. He joined Motel 6 in 1985 and has held management positions in various disciplines within the company. Amorosia assumed the role of President and Chief Operations Officer for Motel 6 and Studio 6 in 2007, which he held until his promotion in 2011 to President, Chief Executive Officer of Motel 6 and Studio 6. He has been featured in major industry publications for his segment expertise and industry perspective. Under his leadership, the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brand continues to grow and expand across North America. A current member of the AH&LA, two-term commissioner with the California Board of Travel and Tourism, and a past director of the Bay Area Urban League, Amorosia holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Crane School of Music and a Master of Business Administration degree from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. CRAIG AMOS Executive Vice President Capital Investments - Apple Hospitality REIT Australian native Craig Amos currently serves as Executive Vice President of Capital Investments for Apple Hospitality REIT and Apple REIT Ten Inc. Combined these companies currently hold 226 Hilton and Marriott branded hotels located in 33 states within the US. At Apple REIT Companies, Craig is responsible for overseeing the Capital Investments team, representing the interests of the owner in order to increase shareholder value through the development, protection, maintenance and improvement of hotel assets. Craig Holds a Master of Business Administration from Duke University, and is an Alumnus of the Harvard Graduate School of Design AMD Real Estate Program. He and his wife Jennifer reside in Richmond, Virginia with their two daughters. 3 SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES ADAM ANDERSON Director of Industry Relations - Expedia, Inc. Lodging Partner Services Adam is responsible for educating the hotel industry on the benefits of working with Expedia. Leveraging his experience in technology, combined with his more than five years at Expedia, Adam is an authoritative voice on trends and opportunities to help hoteliers maximize their revenue from online channels. In addition to his responsibilities at Expedia, Adam also serves on the board of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) for the Americas. Prior to this, Adam was director of PR and director of global communications for Expedia.com and Expedia Worldwide respectively, where he led PR and social media strategy for the brand. Before Expedia, he worked in marketing and PR functions