As the CEO and founder of Avero, Damian Mogavero has unprecedented insight into the pulse of the hospitality industry and what separates the top performers from the bottom performers. During the Trends in Food & Beverage: 2016 Edition panel discussion at the 2016 Hotel Ezra Cornell Conference, Damian will elaborate on the trends in hospitality that run through the most forward-thinking, successful F&B establishments and how these trends can be implemented universally. Joining him on the panel are some of the most influential names in hospitality who embrace and embody these trends:
- Drew Nieporent: One of America’s most respected restaurateurs, Drew Nieporent is the founder and inspiration behind Myriad Restaurant Group, which has opened and operated over 36 restaurants around the world in the last five years. His restaurants have received countless accolades, and his legendary Tribeca Grill, opened in 1990 with partner Robert De Niro, continues to be a New York landmark. Most recently, his restaurant Bâtard won Best New Restaurant in America at the 2015 James Beard awards. Drew’s many personal honors include induction into Who’s Who of Cooking in America (1992) by the James Beard Foundation, as well as being named the Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Restaurateur (2009) and Humanitarian of the Year (2000). He is the first New Yorker to receive the TORCH award (2016), and other recognition includes 2011 Hospitality Innovator by Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, from which he graduated in 1977.
- Jeannette Ho: Jeannette Ho is Vice President of Revenue Management and Analytics for FRHI Hotels and Resorts, responsible for driving the company’s global strategy in the areas of revenue management, marketing analytics, customer research and insights, and performance strategy. With over 20 years of experience in revenue management and distribution, marketing analytics and customer research, brand and digital marketing, customer-relationship management, and product development, Jeannette previously held various key senior positions in international companies such as Singapore Airlines, Banyan Tree, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Over the years, Jeannette has co-authored several papers on revenue management with leading services and revenue management professors from Cornell University and the National University of Singapore.
- Jeff Zalaznick: Jeff Zalaznick is one of the co-founders of Major Food Group, a New York-based restaurant group. He and visionary chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi formed Major Food Group in 2010, and in 2011 they opened Parm, a spinoff of the initial deli concept behind Torrisi Italian Specialties. Since then, Major Food Group has opened numerous acclaimed restaurants throughout New York City, ranging from offering fine Italian fare to recreating a classic French dining experience. Major Food Group continues to take inspiration from and celebrates the history of New York, and in 2016 will be taking over the city’s iconic Four Seasons Restaurant and brasserie space in the historic Seagram’s Building to launch a concept of its own. Prior to becoming a restaurateur, Jeff worked as an investment banker for J.P. Morgan and in Guest Relations at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and created and developed two highly influential websites dedicated to food and dining. Jeff has been listed in “30 Under 30” by Zagat and Forbes, and was named a New York Rising Star Restaurateur by Star Chefs.
- Abby Murtagh: Abby Murtagh is the resident manager at the Waldorf Astoria New York. She has been employed by a diversity of enterprises and has worked with food and beverage industry giants, including renowned chefs Michel Richard, Peter Merriman, David Garcelon, Jereme Leung, and Kong Khai Meng. In the hotel industry, she began as a banquet captain at The Hotel Hershey and worked her way up to her two positions at the Waldorf Astoria. Knowing since she was 14 that she wanted a career in the food and beverage industry but unable to get a job due to her age, Abby began her own business, Abigail’s Catering Service, in her hometown of Dover, Pennsylvania, serving full-course dinners, lunches, brunches, and parties with the help of her friends and relatives acting as “employees.” In 1988, Abby was named the National Restaurant Association’s Student Leader of the Year.
- Damian Mogavero: As the founder and CEO of Avero, Damian Mogavero fosters a philosophy deeply rooted in his passion for the culinary arts, wine, coffee, hospitality, and technology, as well as his experience in corporate finance. His entrepreneurial passion and motivation to revolutionize the restaurant industry continues to fuel Avero’s growth, and earned him the 2015 Cornell Hospitality Innovator of the Year Award as well as the Harvard Business School of New York America’s Entrepreneur Award. Before becoming a restaurant-CFO-turned-entrepreneur, Damian worked on Wall Street as an investment banker at Dillon, Read & Co. A passionate oenophile and coffee fanatic, Mogavero has been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fortune Small Business, WIRED, Nation’s Restaurant News, Casino Journal, Global Gaming Business, Food Arts, and Sante, and speaks regularly at hospitality and technology conferences.
Learn more about the 2016 Hotel Ezra Cornell Conference here!
