HFTP appoints 2024 HITEC North America Advisory Council

HITEC 2024 will take place from June 24–27 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N.C., USA.

Members of the HITEC Advisory Council are selected by HFTP leadership for their experience and expertise. The roster updates annually and the 2024 HITEC North America Advisory Council will determine the education program for Charlotte. Leading the group are co-chairs: Katie Lee, chief information officer for AKA Hotels + Hotel Residences and McLean Xavier, CHTP+, vice president of technology for Innvest Hotels.

“I believe that HITEC’s education program is the cornerstone of innovation and progress in today's hospitality tech landscape,” says Xavier. “Embracing diverse viewpoints isn't just a choice, it's our cornerstone to fostering innovation and an imperative. Broadening our educational outreach with a public call for presentations is not only a celebration of that diversity but an investment in the potential of collective growth.”

The Advisory Council will kick off its program planning with a topic development meeting in January 2024. Based on the topics they identify as priority at this initial meeting, the council will continue to work over the following months to fine-tune sessions and select expert speakers to present the information. New this year is a public call for HITEC Charlotte session proposals—the council will consider these submissions, selecting unique industry-specific presentations to help flesh out the event’s noteworthy education offerings to ensure a comprehensive solution-based program. The deadline for proposal submissions is January 10, 2024.

The 2024 HITEC North America Advisory Council includes:

chair Katie Lee │ CIO| AKA Hotels + Hotel Residences

chair McLean Xavier, CHTP+ | vice president of Technology | Innvest Hotels

Ajay Aluri, Ph.D. │ founding director, WVU HIT Lab and associate professor │ West Virginia University

Zach Black | vice president | Spire Hospitality

Mike Blake | vice president of IT| Kemper Sports

Art Burger, CHAE+ │ principal │ Art Burger Consulting

Andrew Buwalda, CHAE │ general manager of IT, Finance and Operations │ Deerhurst Resort

Scot Campbell, CHTP │ CTO Concerts, North America │ LiveNation

Neil Foster, CHTP, MBA | advisor | Growth Advisors International Network (GAIN)

Roger Franke │ vice president and CIO │ Aramark Destination

Mark Gage, CHTP │ vice president and executive director, IT │ Enchantment Group

Nelson Garrido, CHTP+ │ SVP, IT │ Brookfield Properties

Ron Hardin, CHTP │ director, IT │ Sandestin Investments LLC

Michael Lederman │ vice president, IT │ The Leading Hotels of the World

Sherry Marek │ owner | Aiken Street

Shannon McCallum | vice president of hotel operations | Resorts World Las Vegas

Keryn McNamara │SVP, Hotel Technology │ Aimbridge Hospitality

Christine Moffett | CIO, Technology and Innovation | Kessler Collection

Harikrishna (HK) Patel | board director and OTA committee chair | AAHOA

Neal Patel, CHO, CHIA │ managing partner │ Blue Chip Hotels and immediate past chair │ AAHOA

Henri Roelings │ founder and CEO │ Hospitality Net

Matt Schwartz │ CTO │ Sage Hospitality Group

Prakash Shukla │ managing partner │ Wayfare VC

Rich Siegel │ president and publisher │ Hospitality Upgrade

Jason Smith │ vice president of marketing and communications │ HSMAI

Tariq Valani │ SVP of IT, Middle East, Africa, India & Turkey │ ACCOR

Ira Vouk │ author/industry consultant │ Hospitality 2.0

Lyle Worthington, CHTP │ CEO │ Worthington Tech

HFTP liaison Millicent Athanos │ staff vice president – administration & USALI │ HFTP

HFTP liaison Alison Lockett │ education coordinator │ HFTP

HFTP liaison Frank Wolfe, CAE │ CEO │ HFTP

HFTP liaison Bryan Wood │ chief learning and events officer │ HFTP