While women have an outsized representation in the hospitality industry—especially in the role of meeting planners—the number of females in upper management and c-suite roles continues to lag behind those of men. Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League, is a hotel, CVB and meetings industry veteran who took a hammer to the glass ceiling years ago.

At the helm of a lifestyle boutique hotel brand that is poised for a sizeable growth spurt in by 2020, Dream Hotel Group CEO Jay Stein literally worked his way up from the kitchen, craving to cook up inspiration to start some type of career.

With a background in financial analytics, one could argue that Mulberry Development Principal & CEO Michael Buono was as equipped as anyone to weather the economic collapse of 2008 that tore through the construction and real estate industry like a Category 5 hurricane.

One thing is undeniable: The close-shave timing of his entry into the hospitality development business couldn’t have been worse. “The word on the street was we were the last project that was funded [as a lender] in Manhattan by HSBC before the financial meltdown took place,” Buono said of his Ace Hotel New York project. “What I saw was fear and lots of instability because the market just imploded.”

Karen Kotowski resigned as CEO of the Events Industry Council (EIC), a post she has held for 10 years.

The trends revealed in the future of business events study by Marriott and PCMA, as presented at Convening Leaders 2019, touched on the following areas: emotional intelligence, orchestrated serendipity, multimodal design, bigger than oneself and sense of place.

Destination DC President and CEO Elliott Ferguson shares his take on the government shutdown and how it is—and isn’t—impacting meetings and travelers visiting Washington, D.C.

Meetings Today's Tyler Davidson talks with Frank Passanante, Senior Vice President of Hilton Worldwide Sales - Americas, about the iconic brand's Golden Anniversary.

Meetings Today’s Tyler Davidson talks with Destination DC chief Elliott Ferguson about the federal government shutdown and how Washington, D.C., is navigating it. They also discuss hot spots for planners and attendees to visit and see while in D.C.