Wednesday, October 15, 2008
HEC Theme and Guest Speakers Announced!
Hey Guys! I’m Alison Harrigan, the HEC 84 Program Director. It’s my job to plan all the speakers, panels, student collaboration, and leisure events for HEC Weekend.
As many of you might have heard, this year Hotel Ezra Cornell will turn its focus onto Las Vegas! I made my first trip to Sin City this past July with Public Relations Director Peter Bowen, HEC Advisor Reneta McCarthy, and some random guy named Mark McCarthy (I don’t know what his deal is; he seems to hang around the Hotel School an awful lot…security should look into that) to start working on this year’s program.
I have to admit- before I went out to Las Vegas in July, I had envisioned drunk college guys wandering the strip, the classy characters of “Sunset Tan,” drive-thru weddings, more “Elvis” encounters than you would wish even on Mark Talbert, bad buffets, and strippers, strippers, strippers. Turns out, that’s only one side of Vegas. The other side is big, bright, beautiful – and only for the best of the best. You have to be at the absolute top of your game to succeed – even just to survive.
Las Vegas is the Mecca of the Hospitality Industry, and one of the very best places a Hotelie could end up. I know we’re humble folk and prefer to keep our superiority to ourselves…or just within the confines of the global hospitality sector…but, Best of the Best? Brightest of the Brightest? I believe we’ve found a perfect theme for The biggest event at The world-famous Hotel School.
With a Las Vegas theme, HEC 84 is truly going to be the “best ever.” And so far so good! By reaching out to some great resources (and using a combination of good old-fashioned Hotelie good looks and charm), we have already reined some fabulous speakers including:
Isadore Sharp – Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Four Seasons Hotel Company.
Although “Issy” may not be the first person that comes to mind when you think of Las Vegas, few can dispute that he is A Pretty Big Deal in the hospitality industry as a whole (whether his office smells of leather-bound books and mahogany remains uncertain). He will be speaking about Four Seasons Las Vegas’ influence on the strip as well as the role that Cornellians play in Las Vegas. Mr. Sharp rarely makes public appearances or speaking engagements, so we are VERY honored that he has chosen to speak at HEC 84!
Gary Loveman - Chairman, CEO, and President of Harrah’s Entertainment.
You may remember this guy from HADM 2275 (Information Systems) – he came up with the industry’s most successful loyalty program, Total Rewards. He also presided over the industry’s largest transaction ever – the $9.4 billion dollar deal when Harrah’s acquired Caesar’s Entertainment. As if these weren’t enough bragging rights, Loveman has a PhD from MIT and is a former Associate Professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration (too bad about their hockey team, eh?).
Bob Boughner - President and CEO of Echelon Resorts
Sid Vaikunta ’99 - Senior VP, Marketing and Operations
Both of these guys are executives at Echelon Place, one of the biggest developments in Las Vegas today… or should I say, yesterday (Echelon Place’s construction and development is currently on hold). We look forward to hearing their unique perspective on Las Vegas development.
Elizabeth Blau – MMH ’97 – Founder and CEO of Elizabeth Blau & Associates
If you have ever enjoyed Simon at Palms Place, Todd English’s Olives, or Jean Georges’ Vongerichten at the Bellagio Hotel, you have Ms. Blau to thank. Actually, you can pretty much thank Ms. Blau for the entire culinary landscape of modern-day Las Vegas. Ms. Blau is considered Steve Wynn’s go-to restaurant developer and one of the most influential players in the Las Vegas F&B scene. Rumor has it that Ms. Blau might be bringing some celebrity chefs with her for an out-of-this world F&B Panel!
That’s all for now, folks! Stay tuned as I will be keeping you updated with program developments every few weeks (or as often as I’m permitted to hijack the blog). If you want more frequent updates about HEC program developments, feel free to join my Wiggio group! Three easy steps:
1: Wiggio.com (you’re a member, right?)
2: Group Name: HEC 84 Program Team
3: Password: TheValley (this is what insiders call the strip)
And feel free to contact me ANYTIME! Although HEC is all about guest service, we’re really here for the students – so get in touch with me!
Happy HEC-Blogging Everyone!
4:20 PM |
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