Hospitality

Meridith Picarelli-Khattar never planned to run a private club. Twenty years later she leads one of the most prestigious in the Southeast — and her first year taught her that a bus with no passengers isn’t leadership.

Charlene Carter built a network of 3,800 hospitality consultants and wrote a blueprint for her own competitors. This is the story of the Velvet Standard and what it took to get there.

Josh Goodman turned a crowded Baltimore bar into a 12,000-tap global operation — surviving two failed partnerships and a near-shutdown before Coca-Cola invested in PourMyBev.

Elizabeth McKee shares how Sculpture Hospitality helps bars and restaurants cut liquor losses from 30% down to 4%, why accountability beats blame every time, and how a tough 2025 taught her what she could and could not control.

Kal Patel built hotels, a franchise, and an urgent care after a car crash, $150K loss, and a roof fall. Now he's handing businesses to his daughters.

Chloe Li left investment banking to build real value at CloudBeds, where she’s driving AI data strategy, payments, and the shift to serve larger hotel groups.

Shaun McDonald of Harri shares how restaurant operations led him to hospitality SaaS, what Fair Work Week compliance automation actually saves operators, and a cancer misdiagnosis he kept secret for years.

Ryan Magnon helped launch Capella with Horst Schultz, transformed Chick-fil-A’s drive-through, and now builds culture-first luxury hotel and food hall experiences at Ithaka Hospitality Partners.

Krystle Holguin of Colonial Country Club shares how she went from a 15-year-old HR clerk to directing people strategy at a PGA Tour club undergoing a $120M renovation.

Sean Dee shares how launching Levi.com, placing Levi's first Super Bowl spot, and finding OUTRIGGER's brand soul in an HR manual shaped his approach to commercial leadership.

Danny Owen shares how he went from house person to Hotel of the Year GM over 17 years at the same property, why he hires formerly incarcerated workers, and the prison night that changed everything.

Andrea Belfanti shares how she went from a 2008 layoff to leading ISHC, a global network of 270 elite hospitality consultants across six continents, by leading with kindness and proving that being the host is still being the boss.