Leland Pillsbury, Chairman and CEO of Thayer Lodging Group, to deliver keynote address at 82nd Annual Hotel Ezra Cornell, April 12-15
Why should hospitality leaders embrace uncertainty, disruption and risk when the world prizes confidence, calmness and security? Does innovation really pay? And does sustainability?
These questions and many more will be answered at Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC), April 12-15, 2007, in what will be the 82nd annual student-run hospitality conference at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. The conference theme - 'Sustainability Through Innovation' - will challenge hospitality leaders to think anew about the need to innovate in ways that balance economic growth with environmental protection.
The event includes a keynote speech to be delivered by Leland Pillsbury '69, chairman and CEO of the venture fund Thayer Lodging Group, and founder of several other successful businesses. Pillsbury will draw on his experience as a corporate executive and entrepreneur to describe the relationship between the conference theme and his own concept of 'entrepreneurship as a state of mind.' In November 2006, Leland and his wife, Mary, announced plans to donate $15 million to the Cornell Hotel School in what will be the largest single gift ever made to the school and one of the largest ever in hospitality education. The gift is being used to endow The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship, which will help students develop the skills and abilities to think like entrepreneurs. The talk will be held on Friday, April 13, at 8:45 a.m. in The Alice Statler Auditorium.
Another highlight will be a panel titled, 'Sustaining the Environment,' featuring six sustainability thought leaders: Mark Milstein, director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management; Stefan Mühle, general manager of the Orchard Garden Hotel, San Francisco, CA; Ted Ning, executive director of the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) Conference; Jim Root '77, chairman of ISPA (International Spa Association) and general manager of Spa Operations, Sea Island, GA; Sandra Taylor, senior vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility, Starbucks Coffee Company; and Mark Wuttke, principal of the Wuttke Group, LLC. The panel will be held on Saturday, April 14, at 12:15 p.m. in The Alice Statler Auditorium.
Hotel Ezra Cornell dates back to 1925, when Dean Howard Meek took a group of students to New York City to manage the Hotel Astor for a day. Upon returning to Ithaca, the students decided to hold a 'hotel for a day' to invite industry pioneers to Ithaca to see the new hotel program. On May 7, 1926, the Hotel Ezra Cornell tradition began. Today, in its 82nd year, HEC leaders treat guests to a weekend of educational events, leisure activities, and culinary delights.
For more information on HEC 82, to be held April 12-15, 2007 on the Cornell campus, visit http://www.hotelezracornell.com.
About The Cornell School of Hotel Administration
The Cornell University School of Hotel Administration is shaping the global knowledge base for hospitality management through leadership in education, research and industry advancement. The School provides management instruction in the full range of hospitality disciplines, educating the next generation of leaders in the world's largest industry. Founded in 1922 as the nation's first collegiate course of study in hospitality management, the Cornell Hotel School is recognized as the world leader in its field. For more information, visit www.hotelschool.cornell.edu
Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
