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Hospitality | Tourism 2025: JAIN, AKHIL
Jain has run Landmark Hospitality Group for over a decade. With nearly 500 employees, the hospitality company manages, owns and develops hotels in North Carolina and Virginia under brands such as Marriott, Hyatt and Radisson. The company also expanded into housing in 2021, developing a 287-unit luxury apartment complex in Hampton. As part of the […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: HARDIE, MOLLY AND ROBERT
H7 Holdings is a private family investment company that owns and manages Keswick Hall and Golf Club in Albemarle County and the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Venture capital firm Level One Partners invests in the health care and life sciences sectors. The couple also runs the H7 Foundation, supporting educational and nonprofit endeavors, and […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: BALTIMORE JR., THOMAS J.
Park Hotels & Resorts fell off the Fortune 1000 list this year, after ranking No. 957 in 2024. The lodging real estate investment trust reported more than $2.59 billion in 2024 revenues, down from more than $2.69 billion in 2023. Nonetheless, it had a 2.9% year-over-year increase in comparable and total revenue per available room. […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: MCCLENNY, RITA
A Southampton County native, McClenny has been working to bring tourism and film productions to Virginia since 1991. She ran Virginia Film Office, a division of the Virginia Tourism Corp., for two decades before becoming president of the state agency in 2012. As Virginia Film Office head, McClenny was responsible for bringing high-profile TV and […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: CARROLL, JAMES
A former Navy fighter pilot with a Harvard MBA, Carroll parlayed his financial management expertise into running one of the largest independent hotel operators in the country. Founded in 2000, Crestline Hotels & Resorts operates about 18,300 rooms in 28 states and Washington, D.C. In January, the company announced its acquisition of Five Senses Hospitality‘s […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: GEORGE, MICHAEL
A 40-year hospitality industry veteran, George founded Crescent Hotels & Resorts in 2001. The company operates more than 120 properties in the U.S and Canada. Its hotel portfolio includes Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and InterContinental Hotels Group brands, along with the Latitudes: Lifestyles by Crescent collection of independent hotels and resorts. In 2024, the company announced […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: EVANGELISTA, ALLIE
A native of Brazil, Evangelista arrived in Bristol in 2022 with more than 20 years of experience in hospitality and gaming. She previously worked for Penn National Gaming and joined Hard Rock to lead the state’s first casino, which opened three years ago in a temporary home. Since then, the $515 million Hard Rock Hotel […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: DESAI, NEEL
Desai joined LTD Hospitality Group in 1998 as the second generation of the family-owned hotel development and management company co-founded by Desai’s father in 1983. As a managing principal, he oversees property management and the profitability of its portfolio. Following in those entrepreneurial footsteps, Desai invested in Dallas-based fast food franchise Super Chix Chicken & Custard[...]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: WOOLARD, KERRY
Woolard manages operations for the 1,300-acre winery and estate purchased by the Trump family in 2011 after Patricia Kluge declared bankruptcy. Eric Trump Wine Manufacturing now owns the property, which includes a hotel and event facilities, and Eric Trump is its president. Billed as the state’s largest winery, the business opened a cidery business in […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: SPADONI, MARK
Spadoni joined the nearly 260-year-old Omni Homestead in 2021. He has worked in the hospitality industry for more than 40 years, working at The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa in Georgia for about 20 of those years. The Bath County resort was founded in 1766. Omni Hotels & Resorts purchased the property from […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: FLEET, CLIFFORD B. ‘CLIFF’
Fleet became the ninth president of the world’s largest living history museum in 2020. Prior to that, he was CEO and president of 22nd Century Group and, before that, president and CEO of Richmond-based tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris USA. He’s also an adjunct professor at William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business. The […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: NASSETTA, CHRISTOPHER J.
Nassetta is the longtime president and CEO of one of the world’s largest hospitality companies. Hilton has a portfolio of 8,600 properties and 24 brands in 139 countries and territories. Nassetta joined Hilton in 2007 after investment firm Blackstone acquired the company in a $26 billion deal. Hilton went public again in 2013, and by […]
