Cornell Nolan School Of Hotel Administration Pillsbury Institute For Hospitality Entrepreneurship Unveils Industry-wide Initiative

The Cornell University Nolan School of Hotel Administration’s Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship today announced the creation of a network and a series of events, resources, and convenings for entrepreneurial individuals and organizations throughout the hospitality industry. This network will facilitate the sharing of best practices, bridging of funding sources and investing opportunities, and identification of partnership and collaboration opportunities. It was launched with a convening of 50 extraordinary entrepreneurs and thought leaders who traveled from around the country to a one-of-a-kind Summit at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa on May 2nd and 3rd.

For 100 years, the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration has prepared leaders in every aspect of the global hospitality industry that, now more than ever, includes entrepreneurs that are shaping its future. Our inaugural Summit is one illustration of how the network will support hospitality related entrepreneurship. Cornell Professor Linda Canina, the Academic Director of the Nolan School of Hotel Administration’s Pillsbury Institute

Attendees at the Summit addressed the future of what by many measures is the world’s largest industry. They included owners and operators of hotels and restaurants, innovators in travel-tech, food-tech and artificial intelligence, investors and venture capitalists, and a wide variety of others in the ecosystem of hospitality entrepreneurship. Participants ranged from recent college graduates to experienced executives and included James Beard Award winners, Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees, hospitality industry icons, government officials, and renowned thought leaders.

Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in innovation, economic growth, and social mobility in the travel and tourism industries and beyond. The success of this launch event and the plans for the network speak to the excellence of the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration, its important role in the hospitality industry, and its renowned culture and convening power worldwide. Harvard Business School Professor Emeritus Howard H. Stevenson, who is a Co-Founder of Pravi, which collaborated with Cornell and Borgata on the Summit

Thought leaders invited to facilitate engagement at the Summit included Priscilla Loomis, an Olympic athlete and sports and media entrepreneur; Ray Fernandez, the owner of two award-winning marinas who is nationally recognized for his environmental leadership; and James Sherman, a leader at Harvard Business School Angels, one of the world’s largest university-affiliated investing groups, and a serial entrepreneur and author.

Borgata is honored to have been selected to collaborate with the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration and Pravi on such a meaningful initiative for our industry. I am particularly pleased that we engaged and hosted not only entrepreneurs and thought leaders nationally, but also from here in our local community, including from Stockton University and the greater Atlantic City area. Niklas Rytterstrom, the President & COO of Borgata, who served as one of the featured thought leaders at the Summit

About the Cornell Nolan School of Hotel Administration

The Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration is the premier school for hospitality education in the world. As an integral part of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, the school is leading the world in teaching and researching the business of hospitality—marketing, finance, real estate, operations, and more, all applied to the world’s largest and most exciting industry. Top faculty, industry leaders, alumni, and students work together to generate new knowledge for the hospitality industry and form the premier network that shapes the industry every day.