The Future Food Equation: Rethinking Growth, Value & Survival in F&B SEPTEMBER 28, 2026 | NEW YORK, NY
PROGRAM
ABOUT PILLSBURY INSTITUTE FOR HOSPITALITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP ROUNDTABLES The Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship Roundtables afford a unique opportunity for a select group of approximately 25 distinguished senior-level executives, esteemed educators, Cornell faculty members, and accomplished scholars to convene, facilitating the exchange of experiences and ideas. Additionally, a limited number of discerningly chosen students may actively participate in these intellectually stimulating conversations. Structured into multiple focused sessions, each segment of the roundtable commences with a concise presentation or thoughtprovoking question presented by the moderator. Following the initial remarks, the forum opens for dynamic and engaging discussions. The intimate size of the gathering ensures that all participants have ample opportunities to pose questions and articulate their perspectives. SC Johnson College of Business faculty members and students often observe the roundtable discussions and interact with the invited attendees during session breaks.
WELCOME Welcome to The Future Food Equation: Rethinking Growth, Value & Survival in F&B Welcome, and thank you for joining us as the Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship marks its 20th anniversary. For two decades, the Institute has brought together entrepreneurs, industry leaders, faculty, and students to examine the questions shaping hospitality. Today’s roundtable continues that work by focusing on a particularly urgent question: How do we build food businesses that are financially viable and resilient while preserving what makes them distinctive and meaningful? This is not intended to be a traditional conference or a series of presentations. Each of you was invited because of the perspective and experience you bring to the conversation. Throughout the day, we encourage you to speak candidly, ask difficult questions, challenge assumptions, and share both what has worked and what has not. Our discussions will examine the changing economics of food, the opportunities and risks that come with growth, new ways businesses are creating value, and the elements of hospitality that must endure. We may not arrive at simple answers, but we hope the exchange provides practical insight, sharper questions, and new relationships across the foodbusiness community. Thank you for contributing your time and perspective. We look forward to a thoughtful and productive day together. Lilly Jan Assistant Teaching Professor Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration SC Johnson College of Business
AGENDA Monday, September 28 Cornell ILR-NYC Conference Center 570 Lexington Ave, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10022
8:30 a.m.
Arrival & Networking Breakfast
9:00 a.m.
Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:15 a.m.
Session I
10:30a.m.
Coffee & Conversation
10:45 a.m.
Session II
12:00 p.m.
Networking Lunch
1:00 p.m.
Session III
10:30a.m.
Coffee & Conversation
2:30 p.m.
Session IV
3:45 p.m.
Closing Reflections
4:30 p.m.
Networking Reception II Bar at Hotel Seville 22 E 29th St, New York, NY 10016
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS 9:15 a.m.
Session I: The Math Isn’t Mathing: Rethinking the Economics of Food The traditional economics of food businesses are under increasing strain. Labor, occupancy, ingredients, financing, and technology costs continue to rise, while customers remain highly sensitive to price and value.
10:45 a.m.
Session II: Scaling the Magic: From Great Concept to Great Company Growth requires more than replicating a successful product or experience. It requires leaders to determine what must remain consistent, what must become systematic, and what must evolve as the organization becomes more complex.
1:00 p.m.
Session III: Beyond Four Walls: Redefining What a Food Business Can Be A food business is no longer defined solely by what happens within a restaurant, store, or production facility. Businesses are creating value through content, community, partnerships, retail products, experiences, licensing, digital channels, and other extensions of the core brand.
2:30 p.m.
Session IV: Looking Ahead: What Changes, What Endures, What Comes Next? Looking ahead requires more than predicting the next trend. Leaders must determine which changes are structural, which are temporary, what deserves investment, and what should remain central even as the industry evolves.
HOST Lilly Jan is a food and beverage management academic, consultant, and chef, with nearly 20 years in hospitality and foodservice, with experience across the industry in catering and events, retail, television production, and more. She currently teaches courses in food and beverage management, food culture, foodservice facility design, and hospitality leadership at Cornell University’s Hotel School.
LILLY JAN Assistant Teaching Professor Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration
Her research interests include food culture, restaurant culture, and career opportunities and progression for historically marginalized populations in foodservice as it relates to education, training, inclusion, cultural competency, and workplace environments. A frequently invited speaker for executive education, conferences, and industry-related events, Jan speaks on food and restaurant trends; and food and beverage culture as it relates to women, racial and ethnic minorities, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. She served as the faculty director for James Beard Foundation’s Women Entrepreneurial Leadership Program from 2021-2024. As a consultant, she has worked with Fortune 100 companies to craft hospitality offerings, industry NGOs to research trends, and F&B entrepreneurs having helped usher food trucks, on-demand food delivery, consumer packaged goods start-ups, and retail food stores to market. Prior to joining Cornell, she was the director of culinary operations for Newbury College in Brookline, MA, where she also served as a faculty member and academic advisor, teaching a range of classes across culinary and hospitality management. She has also taught at Le Cordon Bleu and Boston University.
PARTICIPANTS
NICOLE ALLEN, MMH '01 Owner Hospitality Consultant
Nicole Allen is a dynamic leader with a proven track record of driving innovation and operational excellence across diverse industries. With extensive experience in the Contract Food Service sector, Nicole has established herself as a visionary strategist and skilled operator, adept at leveraging cutting-edge technology to optimize service labor management. In addition, Nicole’s unique blend of entrepreneurial drive, operational expertise, and strategic advisory experience are assets when driving organizational success and strategic innovation. Nicole also has had the esteemed honor of being invited to participate in both roundtable discussions as well as guest lectures at her alma mater, The Nolan School of Hotel Administration at the SC Johnson College of Business, on topics related to operations systems and their intersection with labor constraints. Nicole is also a member of the LCS Strategies Consultancy as a leadership and development trainer and advisor.
PARTICIPANTS
CODI BATES Owner & Operator Bates Co.
Codi Bates is a restaurateur, creative entrepreneur, and community advocate based in Lawrence, Kansas. She is the co-owner of Bates Co., the hospitality group behind The Burger Stand, Bon Bon, Taco Zone, and The Cider Gallery. A James Beard Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership and Chef Bootcamp fellow and board member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, Codi is committed to building equitable, sustainable food systems. As a mother of three and a passionate advocate for independent restaurants, she brings both heart and strategy to her work, bridging food, policy, and community with purpose.
PARTICIPANTS
DANIELLE BEAM Executive Director Food Education Fund
Danielle Beam grew up in a working-class family in New Jersey, the eldest of four children raised by a single mother and a community that modeled the power of a village. Recruited to play basketball at Ramapo College, she quickly became passionate about issues of access and equity after seeing how opportunity varied so drastically among her teammates. That commitment led her to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching and a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership, with research centered on how transformative experiences can expand social and economic mobility for young people. After more than a decade in higher education, Danielle joined the Food Education Fund (FEF), where she now serves as Executive Director. Under her leadership, FEF has expanded to serve over 1,000 New York City high school students through hospitality focused workforce development programming, secured the largest fundraising campaign in its history, and deepened partnerships across finance, hospitality, and philanthropy. Nationally recognized on the NCAA Diversity Spotlight Award, the Cherry Bombe Power List, and Who’s Who in Nonprofit Leaders, Danielle is known for her strategic creativity, her servant leadership, and her belief that hospitality sits at the center of education, community, and opportunity.
PARTICIPANTS
ANDY BROWN Owner & CEO Andy’s Pizza
Andy Brown is the chef and owner of Andy’s Pizza, the DMV’s award-winningest pizzeria. Never formally trained in pizza-making, Andy developed his renowned stone-deck-oven-fired New York-style pizza and cold-fermented dough through years of near-obsessive trial-and-error, firing pizzas at home using a commercial pizza oven and tracking his results in spreadsheets comparing yeast percentages. In 2018, Andy opened his first Andy’s Pizza location in the suburbs of Washington DC, scoring the lease only after winning the landlord over with a slice. A major milestone for the Bethesda native came in 2021, when Andy clinched the gold medal for best traditional pizza at the World Pizza Championships, a recognition that helped fuel Andy’s Pizza’s rapid expansion to nearly 15 locations across the DC region. Andy’s has since consistently been named the region’s best pizza by Washingtonian magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, DC Modern Luxury and the Washington City Paper, and was also selected as both one of the city’s top restaurants and best pizzas by The Washington Post.
PARTICIPANTS Elaine Chon-Baker is the Founder and Managing Director of Mokja Ventures, a Washington, DC-based boutique venture fund partnering with restaurant and hospitality technology companies. Mokja, which means "let's eat" in Korean, honors her heritage and the close bond she shares with her parents and six sisters.
ELAINE CHONBAKER Managing Director Mokja Ventures
Elaine began her career in environmental engineering before moving into global telecommunications, technology startups, and ultimately the restaurant and hospitality industry. This unconventional path shaped her approach to investing and advising: staying curious, thinking across disciplines, and helping entrepreneurs recognize opportunities others might miss. She works with entrepreneurs and operators as they navigate growth, fundraising, strategy, and inflection points, bringing strategic clarity informed by experience across multiple industries. Her work brings together hospitality, technology, capital, and storytelling to explore how ideas become businesses, businesses become brands, and brands shape culture. She believes deeply in the power of food to build community and in culinary education that develops technical skills, leadership, and lifelong confidence in the kitchen. Beyond investing, Elaine advises startups, nonprofits, and public agencies. She is an Entrepreneur in Residence and guest lecturer at Cornell University, a frequent guest in American University's Conflict Cuisine and Gastrodiplomacy courses, and a public speaker. She serves on the Board of the Jacques Pépin Foundation, advises Black Women in Food/Dine Diaspora and the Edna Lewis Foundation, and served for seven years on the Advisory Board of the James Beard Foundation Women's Leadership Programs.
PARTICIPANTS An enthusiastic coach with two decades of hospitality leadership, Steve finds joy in learning alongside others to solve problems and create value. At Starbucks Coffee Company and AB InBev, he led teams to bring systems thinking, kaizen, and coaching to more than 20 different branded concepts across 12 countries.
STEVE CROWLEY Co-Founder, Principal & Head of Products & Services Service Physics
PARTICIPANTS Faith is a commercial strategist and trusted partner to hospitality and travel executives, guided by two career north stars: brand strategy and guest experience. She currently serves as Chief of Staff to the CEO, Americas at PONANT Explorations, a French luxury expedition cruise line owned by Groupe Artemis, where she drives commercial performance, organizational design, and guest experience transformation.
FAITH EARLEY ’21 Chief of Staff, Americas BBQ Ponant Explorations Group
A SoCal native now based in New York City, Faith brings creativity, rigor, and brand-driven thinking to every organization she works with. Faith Earley is a dynamic professional with a passion for guest experience and brand strategy. A graduate of Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration, she has honed her skills in creative problem-solving, project management, and strategic planning across and beyond the hospitality industry. With a track record of innovation at organizations like Spencer Stuart and Universal Studios Hollywood, she
PARTICIPANTS
LISA FEHILLY Vice President of Marketing BBQ Holdings & PMI
Lisa Fehilly is Vice President of Marketing for BBQ Holdings and PMI, where she shapes brand strategy across a portfolio of food and beverage concepts. With 26 years in hospitality spanning Darden, Walt Disney World, and The Alinea Group, she has built her career at the intersection of brand storytelling, guest experience, and operational reality. Her cross-format background, from full-service and theme park dining to fine dining, gives her a distinctive view of how food businesses build lasting value as consumer expectations and economics shift. Outside of work, she enjoys connecting with fellow leaders across the industry and sharing what she's learned along the way.
PARTICIPANTS
PAUL FIALA, MMH ’97 COO Next Hospitality
Paul has more than 25 years of food and beverage leadership experience. Currently, Paul is the Chief Operating Officer at Next Hospitality where he leads engagements for individual ownership groups, REITS and PE firms. Paul also led food and beverage for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Leading operations, strategy, and finances for 250 food and beverage outlets in 50 hotels across Canada, United States, Mexico, South and Central America, and the Caribbean for this international luxury hotel company with direct oversight of $900M in annual revenue. During his tenure, he introduced over 20 new restaurant and bar concepts including Jean Georges Philadelphia, Marcus in Montreal, Milos in Cabos, Mina’s Fish House in Oahu, Zuma in Boston and multiple local chefs including Greg Vernick, Gavin Keyson, Alon Shaya, Gerard Craft, Eric Anderson, and Jonathan Sawyer. Paul’s extensive development and renovation experience has led him to work with some of the most exclusive designers in the world such as Avroko, TAL, Meyer Davis, Zebulon, Martin Brudnizki, Alexander Waterworth and EDG. Paul earned his master’s degree in hospitality from Cornell University. He resides in Westport CT with his wife Katie and his three sons, Jack, Alex and Harry.
PARTICIPANTS Diane Hirschenhaut works in operations and analytics for Groupe Bourdoncle, a Parisian restaurant group with roughly 30 establishments across France (Îlede-France, Normandie, Arcachon, Saint-Tropez and the Alps) and in the US (Las Vegas).
DIANE HIRSCHENHAUT Junior Consultant Groupe Bourdoncle
A 2025 graduate of ESCP Business School, Diane also holds a background in Brand Strategy from LSE and organizes events on a semi-professional basis, exploring placemaking and hospitality experience design in practice. She developed a research framework, Safe Place Theory, examining hospitality venues as spaces that generate both cultural belonging and economic value, drawing on case studies in Megève, Deauville, and Paris. She is coauthoring an article based on this research for The European Business Review. This fall, Diane begins an MA at NYU's Gallatin School, building an individualized curriculum at the intersection of hospitality, urban development, and cultural identity.
PARTICIPANTS
JOHANNA JACKSON, MMH ’23 Supply Chain Analyst Union Square Hospitality Group
Johanna Jackson brings over a decade of operations experience to her current role on the supply chain team at Daily Provisions, part of Union Square Hospitality Group, where she manages inventory, food cost analysis, vendor relations, and procurement across 14+ locations in the US. Her work blends hands-on operational problem-solving with a growing analytical toolkit, building forecasting and riskmodeling tools for vendor transitions and inventory stockouts, and developing new models that flag runout risk and track food cost trends for the executive leadership team. Johanna is drawn to the operational puzzles behind keeping a multi-unit hospitality business efficient and resilient, and brings a builder's mindset to the system that helps teams move faster and make better-informed decisions in a fastchanging industry.
PARTICIPANTS
TELLY JUSTICE Chef & Owner HAGS
Telly Justice is the chef and owner of HAGS. A proud trans woman who has been working in the food industry for over a decade and a half, Telly has devised a food philosophy that puts people and relationships first, ego last. Her hard work has led to her being recognized as a Michelin Young Chef NY Winner 2023, a James Beard Foundation nomination for Best Chef New York 2023 JBF, a James Beard Foundation nomination for Emerging Chef in 2022, a Star Chefs Community Award Winner 2022, and, most recently, a part of the 2025 class of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs. At HAGS, Telly oscillates between serving flamboyant and outrageous tasting menus as well as fun and inclusive Pay What You Can meals.
PARTICIPANTS
SHINHAN SID KIM CEO Sage Partners Group
Sid Kim is a chef, restaurateur, broadcaster, and educator whose thirty-year career has been built at the intersection of food, culture, and storytelling. He co-founded Vatos Urban Tacos in Seoul - named the Hottest Restaurant in the city by CNN and a New York Times Hot Table - and went on to build over twenty restaurant outlets across four countries spanning Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, and Bali. His food and beverage expertise runs from concept development and menu engineering to multi-unit operations and international market entry, and he currently serves as CEO of Sage Partners Group, advising major Asian F&B brands on U.S. expansion and North American brands entering Asian markets. On camera and on mic, Sid has introduced hanwoo beef to global audiences on The Cooking Channel's Korean Food Made Simple and guided viewers through Korea's craft beer scene on CNN's With Me as Your Guide. He has lectured on food, culture, and identity at UC Berkeley, Cornell, and Loyola Marymount University, where he is co-developing the LMU Teaching Kitchen - a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary academic space that uses food as a lens for examining history, migration, and culture. His current media projects include Recipes of the Unfortunate, an original documentary series exploring dishes born from war, colonization, and survival, produced by Emmy-nominated Sam Gollestani; Off the Menu, a YouTube series uncovering the hidden histories behind the food we eat; and the Drink of Choice podcast, co-hosted with Korean-American entertainment lawyer Han Kim.
PARTICIPANTS Christine Kondra is a hospitality executive, entrepreneur, and policy advocate redefining what modern restaurant leadership looks like. Originally from Washington, DC, Christine began her career in the biopharmaceutical industry, working across Manhattan, Boston, and London as a strategic consultant focused on growth strategy, sales optimization, and operational performance. She later returned to hospitality, bringing a disciplined, data-driven leadership approach rarely seen in independent restaurants.
CHRISTINE KONDRA Co-Founder, CoOwner & CEO The Bee Foundation for Brain Aneurysm Prevention, Cornerstone, & Barque Hospitality Group
In 2010, Christine transitioned into the culinary world as a private chef on Nantucket before co-founding one of the Main Line of Philadelphia’s most respected dining destinations. Today, she serves as CEO of Barque Hospitality Group and Co-Owner, General Manager, and Wine Director of Cornerstone, a FrenchAmerican restaurant featuring an award-winning wine program with more than 1,200 labels and a nationally recognized Women in Wine initiative. Under Christine’s leadership, Cornerstone evolved from a 14-seat BYOB into a full-scale restaurant and wine shop known for operational excellence, sustainable growth, and strong community engagement. Her leadership philosophy blends strategic rigor with genuine hospitality, proving profitability and purpose can coexist. Beyond operations, Christine is a national advocate for independent restaurants and public health policy. She cofounded The Bee Foundation for Brain Aneurysm Prevention in 2014 and serves as its Strategic Director of Policy & Research. She meets monthly with Congress and federal agencies including HHS, CDC, and NIH/NINDS, alongside bipartisan lawmakers and their lobby firm, Arnold & Porter, to advance dedicated research funding and improve healthcare access. She also advocates annually on Capitol Hill with the National Restaurant Association and collaborates with the Independent Restaurant Coalition to support small business policy. As a female founder, Christine champions sustainable leadership, strategic scaling, and community-centered entrepreneurship. Her work demonstrates that hospitality is not simply about serving guests, but about building institutions, influencing policy, and leading with intention.
PARTICIPANTS Dan Leyva, a 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 – Food & Drink Honoree, recently founded Taco Azul, a modern casual Mexican taco restaurant in Boston. Dan has led the growth and expansion of numerous companies over the last 10 years, including Wings Over, 7th Street Burger, Tacombi, Ithaca Hummus, MealPal and more. Originally from San Francisco, CA, Dan is a firstgeneration graduate from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell in 2014.
DAN LEYVA ’14 Founder & CEO Azul Mexican Kitchen
Dan is an active entrepreneur investing in Omsom, Nguyen Coffee, Alaskan Salmon Company, CapatainAI, Lunchbox and more! Dan is passionate about growing the hospitality community and has launched the Smileable Eating Club to connect individuals pushing the boundaries of the industry. Dan has lectured at Cornell and is an active Entrepreneur in Residence.
PARTICIPANTS Laura Magali is a hospitality and HR leader with nearly 15 years of experience across restaurant operations, training, talent, and organizational strategy. After serving as Chief of Staff at Alicart Restaurant Group, she joined Empowered Hospitality, where she partners with hospitality businesses to build high-performing teams and scalable people solutions.
LAURA MAGALI Managing Director Empowered Hospitality
PARTICIPANTS Micheline Mendelsohn is a hospitality executive, entrepreneur, and concept developer who has built her career transforming culinary ideas and talent into compelling, marketable hospitality brands.
MICHELINE MENDELSOHN CEO Sunny Side Restaurant Group
As Chief Executive Officer of Sunny Side Restaurant Group, the Mendelsohn family’s Washington, D.C.-based hospitality company, Micheline leads strategy, development, marketing, partnerships, and growth across the group’s portfolio. She has played an integral role in creating and expanding concepts including Good Stuff Eatery, We, The Pizza, and Santa Rosa Taqueria, working across every stage of development—from the original idea and brand identity to real estate, opening, marketing, franchising, and expansion. Micheline is also the founder of Powerhouse Hospitality, a hospitality advisory and development company that works with acclaimed chefs, culinary personalities, and brands to turn talent and ideas into new business opportunities. Through Powerhouse, she developed Bumblebirds by Carla Hall, a Southern fried chicken concept, as well as Porchetta by Chef Marc Murphy, a concept centered around Italian-style porchetta. Her work extends beyond restaurant development to chef representation and strategy, brand partnerships, licensing, culinary events, media opportunities, and the creation of concepts designed to translate a chef’s identity into a scalable hospitality brand. With a background in journalism and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Chicago, Micheline brings together storytelling, business strategy, hospitality, and relationship building. She is particularly passionate about identifying the opportunity behind a great chef or idea and building the concept, partnerships, and platform needed to bring it to a larger audience. Micheline is a founding member of RE:HER, supporting women leaders and entrepreneurs throughout the hospitality industry, is a Partnerships Advisor for the Culinary Diplomacy Project, and a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier.
PARTICIPANTS
ABE NG ’95 CEO Sushi Maki
Abe Ng is the founder and CEO of Sushi Maki – South Florida’s award-winning leader in innovative Japanese cuisine, serving fresh, premium-quality fare in relaxed, modern, and out-of-the-box environments throughout Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties (including restaurants, airports, sports arenas, universities and gourmet markets). In this role he oversees the strategic development and management of the 22 locations owned and operated under the Sushi Maki and Canton Chinese brand names, and is a partner with Whole Foods Markets for sushi stations in the South Florida region stores. A Miami native, Ng (pronounced “ing”) serves on various boards, including the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, National Christian Foundation, Baptist Health Foundation, Cornell University Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship Advisory Board and the Florida Restaurant Association. Abe was recognized as one of the Miami Herald’s 2011 20 Under 40 and the South Florida Business Journal’s 2010 40 Under 40. Abe was recently honored as Ultimate CEO by the South Florida Business Journal and in 2015 was a regional finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. Abe, the former chapter chair for YPO Miami, is a 1995 graduate of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration and the owner/president manager program at the Harvard Business School. He currently lives in Miami with his wife Christina (Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences ’96) and their three children.
PARTICIPANTS Nina Oduro is a social impact leader and cultural strategist working at the intersection of equity, economic opportunity, and systems change across the global food system.
NINA ODURO Co-Founder Dine Diaspora | Black Women in Food
She is the Co-Founder of Dine Diaspora, a creative agency that develops culturally grounded storytelling, marketing, and experiences that connect brands and people through food and culture. She is also the CoFounder of Black Women in Food (BWIF), a nonprofit that has built a community of more than 30,000 members and supporters while raising and investing over $730,000 to support the advancement of Black women across the food and hospitality industries. Throughout her career, Nina has designed and implemented initiatives for organizations including the James Beard Foundation, Meta, IREX, and the International Organization for Migration. Nina is an Aspen Ideas Fellow and co-author of The Contemporary African Kitchen with Chef Alexander Smalls. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Essence, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, and other leading publications. She holds degrees from Columbia University and the University of Virginia.
PARTICIPANTS Richy is an Ithaca native and 2001 graduate of The Cornell Hotel School. His industry experience has mostly focused on the luxury client space, particularly through the lens of wine, spirits, and gastronomy – with leadership roles in all three tiers of the beverage alcohol industry. Professionally, he spent 10+ years with LVMH where in 2013 he launched Moët Hennessy Private, their direct-toconsumer private client sales channel which has continued to flourish in The Americas, EMEA, and APAC.
RICHY PETRINA ’01 Founder Ithaca Wine Ventures
Through Ithaca Wine Ventures – the boutique consultancy he founded in 2019 – his team serves exceptional global clients at the intersection of luxury + hospitality + food & beverage. Closer to home, Richy is helping build a constellation of hospitality concepts in downtown Ithaca – starting with The Boatyard Grill, Ithaca’s favorite waterfront restaurant since 2001. Philanthropically, Richy is dedicated to the Hotelie ethos of ‘Life Is Service’. Through the James Beard Foundation, he serves on and helped launch The Beverage Awards Committee – committed to highlighting excellence throughout the beverage industry. Related to Cornell, he has remained actively involved with its global alumni and local community by mentoring students, serving on the University’s Council, and guest-lecturing frequently. He is a proud volunteer leader in the Cornell Hotel Society, the external non-profit founded in 1928 that serves Hotelie alumni on six continents. In 2024, as the CHS Global President, Richy hosted 50+ small events in 34 cities around the world.
PARTICIPANTS Vince Slaugh is an assistant professor at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration. He received his PhD in operations management from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and joined the Nolan School faculty in July 2016, after spending one year as a visiting faculty member in supply chain management at Penn State University's Smeal College of Business.
VINCE SLAUGH Assistant Professor Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration
In his research, Slaugh focuses on the optimal design of service systems, especially workforce management for labor-intensive, care-oriented operations. Methodologically, he uses stochastic models to both develop high-level managerial insights and inform tactical choices. Industry collaborations in three rich application domains drive his research: nursing home staffing, hotel housekeeping operations, and child welfare systems. Each of these three industries touch on central service design questions for hundreds of thousands of workers or caregivers in the United States and even more hotel guests, nursing home residents, and children in foster care. His work is in Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, Production and Operations Management, and Interfaces.
PARTICIPANTS
MICHAEL STERNBERG CEO Sternberg Hospitality
When it comes to starting successful restaurants, Michael has been there and done that. After starting his career with Morton’s of Chicago, he is perhaps best known for his role as founder and managing member of iconic DC restaurants The Occidental, Sam & Harry’s, The Caucus Room, and Harry’s Tap Rooms. Michael went on to serve as Restaurant Division President of Centerplate Inc., and CEO of Rare Steakhouses, a fine-dining Steakhouse company with restaurants in DC and Wisconsin. He has been President and CEO of Sternberg Hospitality since 2014. As a volunteer leader, Michael served on the Board of Directors of the National Restaurant Association from 1998 to 2015, served as Chair of Destination DC, the convention and tourism management organization for Washington DC, helped found and served as Chair for the American Experience Foundation, an organization founded to counter the effects of 9/11 on tourism in DC, and was a Founding Executive Committee Member for Visit Fairfax, the Fairfax County, VA, tourism management organization. Most recently, Michael was Co-Chair of the Advisory Council of the Virginia Tech Graduate School for Hospitality and Tourism Management.
PARTICIPANTS Elizabeth is the founder and CEO of Oyster Sunday and OS BENEFiTS. Her hospitality career started in the back of house in New Orleans before she moved to New York to join Momofuku, where she managed PR and marketing for the group's New York restaurants, led market research for its U.S. expansion, and built partnerships with organizations including The World Bank, Sweetgreen, Patagonia, and MAD in Copenhagen.
ELIZABETH TILTON Founder & CEO Oyster Sunday & OS BENEFiTS
Before launching Oyster Sunday in 2019, Elizabeth was on the original leadership team at W&P, a vertically integrated design and manufacturing company. As Head of Brand, she ran a department that launched 300+ products, including collaborations with Williams-Sonoma, West Elm, Lucasfilm, and Food52. She's been featured in Bon Appétit, USA Today, Bar & Restaurant Magazine, and Back of House Magazine, and by the James Beard Foundation. She was a 2021 Art of Plating Rising Talent Finalist and has spoken on Oyster Sunday and OS BENEFiTS at Tales of the Cocktail, the James Beard Foundation, FAB Conference, Friends in Food, New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, The Chef Assembly, and more. In 2023, she was selected for Idea Village's VILLAGEx Accelerator on behalf of OS BENEFiTS. In 2024, Oyster Sunday was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies. In 2026, OS BENEFiTS was named Louisian
PARTICIPANTS Uwe Voss presently is the Global CTO at HelloFresh Group (www.hellofresh.com). He previously held the roles of HelloFresh CEO North America Group, CEO USA (HelloFresh, Factor 75, Green Chef, EveryPlate), and COO USA at the company. Before joining HelloFresh he worked as an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company Chicago where he focused on serving clients on strategy and operations topics. He holds a doctorate’s degree from RWTH Aachen University and a master's degree in business administration from HHL Leipzig (Germany)
UWE VOSS CTO HelloFresh
PARTICIPANTS Maeve Webster is the founder and president of Menu Matters, the food and beverage consultancy she launched in 2015 to cut through the industry’s flood of data and find the why behind consumer behavior. She built the firm to be the source she felt was missing, one willing to step back and ask what all the available information was really saying about consumers, culture and the future of food.
MAEVE WEBSTER President Menu Matters LLC
Her perspective is grounded in a rare blend of handson and analytical experience: a Le Cordon Bleu culinary degree, an MBA, and four years owning an award-winning café, paired with a double degree in political science and history and an early career in theater. Together they shape an approach that is rigorous, human and built for storytelling, whether on stage or in a data report. Across more than two decades, Maeve has advised manufacturers, operators, commodity boards and agencies, and she is most often invited to speak not about what’s trending but about what’s coming and what it means for a given audience. She has earned the Ogilvy Award for Research & Communication Innovation, serves on the Bayer and HZPC Culinary Councils, co-hosts Menu Matters’ podcast, The Mess Hall, and has been quoted as a food-industry expert by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NPR and the BBC.
PARTICIPANTS Douglas G. “Doug” Zeif is Founder and Principal of Next Hospitality Advisors, a global hospitality consulting firm specializing in food & beverage strategy, concept development, operational excellence, asset repositioning, and profitability. Doug is also Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Echelon Kitchen & Bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, an acclaimed live-fire restaurant recognized as a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant, and creator of Hunã, the city’s awardwinning island-inspired speakeasy.
DOUG ZEIF CEO Next Hospitality Advisors
Prior to founding Next Hospitality Advisors, Doug spent nearly a decade overseeing global food and beverage operations for more than 100 luxury hotels and resorts owned by The Blackstone Group, with responsibility for more than $1.5 billion in annual revenue and $700 million in operating profit. His initiatives increased profitability by approximately 80 percent. Blackstone remains a Next Hospitality Advisors client. Earlier, Doug was a key executive behind the growth of The Cheesecake Factory. Joining shortly after its second restaurant opened, he helped develop the systems, menu philosophy, procurement strategies, culinary standards, and operating infrastructure that supported its national expansion and was part of the leadership team that guided its 1992 IPO. Throughout his career, Doug has developed, repositioned, or operated hundreds of hospitality businesses and partnered with many of the world’s leading chefs and brands. A native New Yorker, he began his hospitality career at 14 as a bagel baker—an experience that shaped his enduring philosophy: exceptional hospitality begins with taking exceptional care of people.
PARTICIPANTS Dana is a veteran accounting professional with over 20 years of experience working to deepen industry knowledge and foster key relationships within the restaurant industry. Dana works to nurture strategic relationships to introduce services to restaurant clients and other industry professionals. Additionally, she adds value by cementing relationships with important players in the restaurant industry.
DANA ZUKOFSKY Managing Director Aprio
Over the course of her focused career, Dana has been responsible for partnership, personal and sales tax returns, as well as cash flow analyses, fundraising projections and advisory services. In addition to overseeing all financial activities, she led payroll reconciliations, food cost analyses, monthly and year-end financials, informationgathering for external tax preparers and new manager training. During her four-year tenure, Dana was part the growth of the Bobby’s Burger Palace brand from a fourunit to a 14-unit enterprise. An adept communicator, Dana masterminded a podcast series on industry trends and best practices that was named among the best podcasts for restaurant owners by the tip-distribution software company, Kickfin. She also arranged and hosted Restaurant CFO Bootcamp, an intensive training program for restaurant leaders. She speaks at internal and industry events regarding trends in the restaurant industry. Dana earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Florida and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Baruch College. She serves on the board of Branded Strategic Hospitality and LoopAI and volunteers with the food rescue organization City Harvest as well as The Giving Kitchen. She was recognized by Crain’s New York Business two years in a row as one of New York City’s most notable women in accounting.
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Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship Nolan School of Hotel Administration Cornell University 189 Statler Hall Ithaca, NY 14853 e: pihe@cornell.edu w: pihe.cornell.edu