Fred R. Biesecker - Ice Miller LLP
Fred Biesecker is a partner in the Business Litigation Group. He concentrates his practice on appellate litigation, business litigation, federal and state contract and procurement issues, litigation involving government entities, insurance coverage issues, securities arbitration and litigation, public affairs, and professional liability. He joined Ice Miller in April 1984.
Vail R. Brown - Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing - Smith Travel Research
Vail R. Brown is Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing for Smith Travel Research (STR), the leading authority on lodging industry performance trends. STR benchmarks hotel occupancy, rate, and revenue through its STAR program. In 2007, STR expanded their benchmarking efforts outside of North America with the creation of STR Global and now receives data from over 37,000 hotels worldwide. Their commitment to confidentiality and accuracy has set the industry standard for over twenty years.
Mrs. Brown oversees the worldwide sales and marketing efforts for the STR Family of Companies. Along with lodging specific sales and marketing, Mrs. Brown’s efforts are directed towards expanding the company’s relationships with third party vendors by promoting new products and services. She is often featured as a guest speaker at international, national, regional and state conferences. Mrs. Brown currently is the Vice-Chair for the AH&LA Women In Lodging (WIL) Council and holds a seat on the HSMAI Foundation Board of Directors.
Prior to joining STR, Mrs. Brown was the Director of Membership Development for the Tennessee Hotel & Lodging Association and Greater Nashville Hotel & Lodging Association. Mrs. Brown is a graduate of Western Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Environment Studies. She resides in Nashville, TN.
Phil Bruno - Speaker/trainer, Consultant - Treat 'em Right, The Total Customer Experience
Phil Bruno, professional speaker, trainer and consultant, works with organizations to exceed internal and external customer expectations. He does this through engaging keynote speeches and training sessions. Bruno began his professional career in Corporate America looking for ways to meet the needs of his own organization, Anheuser-Busch, but his appreciation for excellent customer service began much earlier.
Bruno was raised on "The Hill," a famed Italian-American neighborhood in St. Louis known for its sense of community, hospitality, and great Italian restaurants. Bruno's first jobs included helping with his father's painting business and working as a bus boy for Cunetto's House of Pasta. Both were small family-owned businesses that survived purely upon quality of product and exceptional service.
In 1980, Bruno graduated from Parks College of St. Louis University with a B.A. in Travel, Tourism and Transportation, essentially a business degree with an emphasis on service. While in college, he developed a relationship with Anheuser-Busch and, for the next 17 years, applied what he had learned in a series of hospitality management positions with the Fortune 500 giant.
He managed tour & gift shop operations in Florida and New Hampshire, progressing with larger staffs, more budget and responsibility culminating at the Anheuser-Busch Corporate Tour Center at AB world headquarters and then for 6 years at Grant's Farm, the Busch family estate and original Busch Gardens. His trademark strength was increasing employee satisfaction with large staffs that in turn led to excellence in Guest satisfaction.
Since 1999 Phil has worked independently as a speaker, trainer and consultant throughout country, with hundreds of clients and thousands of audience members spread across all industries.
Bruno says, "We are way beyond satisfaction now. The Experience Economy is upon us and if you don't know what that means, you need to slap yourself and dial in before it's too late... If you are not satisfying customers, you're just not in business anymore. People rate their entire experience when purchasing products or services between competitors. The new breed of employee is doing the same thing with their employment experience. You can't exceed customer expectations until you provide a very positive experience for your employees. "The answer, Bruno found, came from one of his clients who simply said you have to "Treat 'em right." Thus the name of his company, Treat 'em Right, The Total Customer Experience.
Thom England
Hospitality & Culinary Instructor
at Ivy Tech State College
Thom England has been a culinary instructor at Ivy Tech Community College for five years. In this time, he has taught most of the classes in the Culinary Arts degree including both lab and business classes. England specializes in soups and sauces as well as sausage-making and wine education.
Before arriving at Ivy Tech, England was the general manager of Chateau Thomas Winery. This experience included starting and running a banquet facility, wine production, and wine sales. While in this position, he also traveled to purchase grapes and judged in wine competitions around the country.
Previously, England worked in a variety of management positions in restaurants and private clubs; mainly in New York. He has been a local leader and has traveled the country and to Italy to study the food cultures. England has also been a recipe editor for Indianapolis DINE Magazine and a contributing editor for 33 issues. He has been a contributing editor to Gannet Publications and has been a professional reviewer for Modern Garde Manger, Thomson Delmar Publishing.
Chef England has been director of Slow Food Indy. He has researched Indiana food ways and worked with people across the country in developing menus and sources to serve a local meal.
Rob Evans - Holiday Inn at IPFW and the Coliseum
For more than 25 years, Rob has held senior positions in both the foodservice and accommodation sectors in Canada and the U.S., and he came to The Focus Family in March 2008.
Rob married Babette a Fort Wayne native and now is the proud father of twin boys.
Prior to moving to Fort Wayne Rob Evans was appointed President and CEO of the Ontario Restaurant Association in April 2007. The ORHMA is the largest provincial hospitality industry association in Canada, with over 4,000 members representing more than 11,000 establishments across The province.
Prior to his appointment at the ORHMA, Rob served as an Executive Member and Director on the ORHMA Provincial Board of Directors, as well as Regional President for
the ORHMA Windsor region. He is a past board member of the Windsor Convention and Visitors Bureau, and as an ORHMA representative, has served as a Director on the
Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) board. In addition, Rob spent time on a Tourism Advisory group, promoting our industry as a solid career option through speaking
engagements and video presentations.
Rob’s extensive career also encompasses 7 years with the Atlanta-based hotel ownership and management company Lodgian, 10 years experience in the accommodation
industry in Halifax, Nova Scotia as well as serving two terms as President of the Nova Scotia Restaurant & Foodservices Association. He represented the Province of Nova Scotia on the maiden SeaSell voyage, a cruise to Baltimore, Philadelphia and other ports-of-call on the Eastern Seaboard to promote Nova Scotia tourism.
Rob began his career in 1985 when he joined Canadian Pacific Hotels & Resorts (now Fairmont Hotels) after graduation from college, working at The Algonquin Hotel in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, The Royal York in Toronto, Ontario, and The Lodge at Kananaskis / Hotel Kananaskis in Kananaskis Village, Alberta.
Amber Anthony Fox - National Director of Sales - Hospitality - Signature Worldwide
With 20 years of hospitality industry experience, Amber Anthony Fox is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with hospitality organizations throughout the Eastern United States and Canada.
In addition to a bachelor’s degree in communication arts with an emphasis in public relations from Georgia Southern University, Fox brings to Signature a wealth of hospitality sales and marketing expertise.
Prior to joining Signature, Fox was most recently with Accor North America as a senior manager responsible for leading sales efforts in new renovation markets. Fox also held the title of senior manager of regional marketing for the same company. Her other experience includes being a sales and marketing project manager, and a director of sales and marketing for Impac Hotel Group; a sales manager for two Atlanta-based Sheratons; and a meeting coordinator for a Westin in Atlanta. Fox also served as a hotel account executive for Southern Marketing Services, an advertising agency in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
While in these positions, Fox successfully planned and implemented the local marketing for over 25 opening hotels, and provided sales and marketing support to over 180 hotels. She also developed and managed a sales program for a new brand.
Fox’s experience with a wide range of brands gives her in-depth understanding of what hoteliers need. She is extremely capable of finding the right training programs to help clients improve employee performance and attain their desired business goals.
Kimberly Harms (PR Panelist)
Associate Director of Media Relations
Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association
Kimberly Harms has experience in broadcasting, media relations, marketing, and working with volunteer organizations. She is currently the Associate Director of Media Relations for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association and a board member of MTWA (Midwest Travel Writers Association) and member of SATW (Society of American Travel Writers). Her photography has appeared in Northwest Airlines & Southwest Airlines In-flight magazines, AAA publications, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune along with others. She currently is a contributor to Indy’s Child magazine, TripAdvisor.com, Examiner.com.
Amanda Hite
CEO and Founder of Talent Revolution, Inc.
Amanda Hite, CEO and Founder of Talent Revolution, Inc, is a Change Agent who's bringing sexy back to corporate thinking and people performance. An Army kid who lived in 32 homes by the age of 18, Amanda earned her Masters in Street Smart Psychology.
Amanda started her career in the service industry 17 years ago and, by the age of 19, was running a retail establishment and became General Manager of her first restaurant. Amanda quickly worked her way to becoming a Director for Thomas & King, a 7,600-employee company and the nation's eighth largest franchisee. Leading T&K's Recruiting, Training and Talent initiatives, Hite became well known for developing innovative HR tools such as LeaderQuest, a web-based career development application, and for leveraging social media to engage talent.
In 2008, Amanda, along with her Dream Team, founded Talent Revolution, Inc., THE relevant talent acquisition and consulting agency. TR's dynamic group consists of experienced former Executive and C-Level Industry leaders mixed with emerging Web 2.0 Influencers and game changers. TR uses innovative 21st Century solutions to help companies maximize their Return On Talent.
As a thought leader, Amanda has been featured on the cover of Nation's Restaurant News, if frequently requested to be a keynote speaker on the topics of recruiting and engaging talent in the 21st Century, and is a Board Member on the Association of Hospitality and Recruiting Executives (AHRE).
Amanda has a passion for the future generation of leaders. She often volunteers her time, passion, and talents to youth leadership and community programs where she inspires young people to be true to their authentic selves, unleash their talent's potential, and live their Ultimate Career Lifestyles.
Robin Scott Hunden
President - Hunden Strategic Partners
Rob Hunden offers extensive experience in managing the feasibility and implementation of major real estate projects as well as organizational development. Since launching Hunden Strategic Partners, he has been a sought after consultant for dozens of hotel, convention, mixed-use entertainment and retail projects as well as other tourism and economic development projects and master plans. He also has experience moving organizations to a position of focus and action through strategic planning initiatives.
Robert F. Inselberg - Wooden & McLaughlin
Robert F. Inselberg concentrates primarily in various aspects of real estate, finance and corporate law. His experience includes representing clients of many sizes in a variety of real estate acquisitions, dispositions and development projects and involvement in sophisticated transactions both locally in central Indiana and throughout the country. Rob also focuses on leasing transactions and has represented both landlords and tenants in a variety of retail, restaurant, office, industrial and mixed-use projects.
Rob represents both borrowers and lenders in various commercial loan transactions, including both senior and mezzanine lending. This work has included extensive dealings with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loans. Rob’s corporate practice consists of advising clients on the selection and formation of business entities and the acquisition and sale of business assets.
Rob has earned professional accreditation from the U.S. Green Building Council as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Associate (“LEED Green Associate”), which is a designation demonstrating core knowledge of green building principles and practices and the LEED Green Building Rating System for the support of sustainable design, construction and operation of buildings and neighborhoods.*
In 2009 and 2010, Rob was selected as an “Indiana Super Lawyers Rising Star” in the field of Real Estate Law. Candidates for Rising Stars must be 40 years old or younger and have been in practice for 10 years or less and are selected following peer nomination and an independent research process conducted by Law and Politics Magazine. Approximately 2.5 percent of lawyers in the state receive this distinction.
* “LEED Green Associate” and the LEED Green Associate logo are trademarks owned by the U.S. Green Building Council and are awarded to individuals under the license by the Green Building Certification Institute.
Anthony Juliano (PR Panelist)
Asher Agency
Anthony Juliano has worked at Asher Agency as a marketing strategist, writer, and public relations manager since 2004. He also is adjunct faculty member at Indiana Tech, teaching communication and marketing, and at IPFW, where he teaches social media and marketing. Anthony's prior experience includes marketing positions at Parkview Health and Barnes & Thornburg, LLP. He has a B.A. in English from Salem State College in Salem, MA , an M.A. in English from Indiana University, and an MBA from Indiana Tech.
René Lewis
Director of Human Resources - Signature Worldwide
As the director of human resources for Signature Worldwide, Lewis is responsible for talent management, employee relations, workforce planning, change management, company communications, leadership training and strategic organizational planning.
Lewis brings nearly 15 years of human resources experience to Signature, with 10 of those years being at the leadership level. She has held manager and director positions while working for such companies as Red Envelope, Orange County California, Gap Inc. and Caterpillar Logistics Services.
Lewis holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from The Ohio State University. She is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), as well as a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA).
As a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the American Society for Training and Development, Lewis is a frequent speaker at company events and has often worked with clients regarding employee relations programs, recognition and progress.
Roxanna Lopez
Operations Manager, Green Key Global
With more than 20 years experience in various areas of the hospitality and travel industries; Roxanna has specific expertise in the design and execution of customized quality assurance programs, the development of the related training programs designed to ensure consistency, as well as quality of data collection in the field. As an independent consultant, Roxanna worked with a premier cruise line to create their web-based Environmental and Public Health Policies and earned her LEED Green Associate accreditation in 2009. Currently Roxanna manages the on-site verification inspection process for the Green Key Eco-Program.
In partnership with LRA Worldwide, Roxanna has worked on some of the higher profile accounts throughout the world, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts (Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific), the 4 & 5 star properties of Summit Hotels & Resorts (Europe, Asia), Hilton Hotels Corporation, Delta Hotels, and independent resorts. In addition to running client quality assurance programs, she has also helped develop client service standards when called upon, including those for SAS Radisson. She has also served as an Operations Manager for LRA’s project with Choice Hotels International, overseeing the logistics and training of 25 consultants charged with performing more than 6,500 annual evaluations.
Prior to joining LRA, Roxanna gathered a wealth of experience in both the hotel and cruise industries in a variety of sales, guest service, operations and programming positions. Within the cruise industry she has worked for Crystal Cruises and the Holland America Line
Michael Rabinowitch
Wooden & McLaughlin LLP
Michael “Misha” Rabinowitch’s business litigation practice is focused in the area of employment law, representing employers in cases involving sex, age and race discrimination, sexual harassment and the Americans with Disabilities Act. He is often involved in actions where injunctive relief is sought in connection with non-competition agreements and protection of trade secrets and proprietary information. He also provides advice and counsel to employers on proper employee policies and handling the day-to-day issues that confront human resources professionals.
Also, Misha often represents national and regional commercial real estate developers and property owners in litigated matters, including land use, boundary disputes, disputes with tenants, condemnation, purchase agreements, and shareholder disputes.
He has tried cases to the bench and to juries in both state and federal court.
He lectures frequently at employment law seminars and has written a number of published legal articles.
Misha currently serves on Wooden & McLaughlin’s management committee.
Jacob Schpok
Program Director
Indiana Small Business Development Center
Jacob Schpok considers himself a computer geek in a love/hate relationship with small business development. For the past two years, Jacob has been the Program Director for the Indiana Small Business Development Center (ISBDC), a non-profit organization with a mission on having a positive and measurable impact on the formation, growth, and sustainability of small businesses in Indiana. Jacob is responsible for growing the Indiana economy through providing ISBDC Business Advisors with access to market research and financial diagnostic tools that are used to help develop strategic plans for Indiana businesses. These resources were previously only available to large corporations and are now free and proven valuable for entrepreneurs statewide.
Ken Wasco
As an educational entertainer, Ken Wasco weaves academic theory and work place reality into humorous, uplifting, and enthusiastic sessions that wake up an audience to the power of focus and personal potential. Trainers, education coordinators, and executives from international associations, corporations, and civic groups have invited Ken back again and again to rev up their meetings, charge up their teams, and motivate their people. The topics Ken addresses are diverse, and all of them speak to situations that are common to everyone, no matter their walk of life or the size of the group. Whether holding a one-on-one mentoring session or keynoting a convention for hundreds of professionals, it's obvious that Ken "walks his talk" by putting his fundamental communication principles to work for himself daily.
A believer in life-long education, Ken has a slow start, working hard to achieve a succession of personal and professional accomplishments. Participants in Ken's seminars quickly get in sync, finding it easy to relate to someone who repeatedly had to pry open doors that had been closed by others.
People who meet Ken are surprised to learn that he was painfully shy and introverted as a child. Told that he would always have a "tough time of it," he didn't let others slow him down. He kept his goals in mind, always balancing family, education, and work place reality. Ken now holds graduate degrees in management, systems, and communications, and is a catalyst employed in marketing and research leadership with GFS.
Kendra L. Williams (PR Panelist)
Travel editor
Midwest Living
Kendra is the travel editor at Midwest Living magazine, and brainstorms ideas about which parts of the Midwest to cover and why, then oversees the production of those stories to completion. She also oversees the magazine’s annual newsstand-only travel bookazine called Best of the Midwest and is part of a team to create the new Midwestliving.com Zoom, an online travel tool that reviews each of the thousands of destinations writers and editors have visited during the past three years. She has been a writer and editor for 15 years, working as a reporter and editor at newspapers in the Chicago area and Virginia before joining Midwest Living. She has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s degree in English from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Janie Wiltshire
Janie Wiltshire is a hotel VETERAN with a career that spans over 25 years. She began as a desk clerk and worked her way through the industry with positions including Guest Services Manager at Hyatt, Director of Sales at Sheraton, General Manager at Marriott, and Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing. Janie opened the first Homewood Suites for Hilton Hotels and operated their training center property. Her hands-on approach to hospitality separates her from many speakers today.
Over a decade ago, Janie started Due West Company and has worked with thousands of hotels and corporations worldwide. She travels internationally as a recognized public speaker and trainer for the hospitality industry. She is a frequent guest speaker to virtually every international hospitality brand. Hear her once and you’ll see why brands bring her back to their audiences.
Janie’s personal story of courage and determination will touch your heart. Not only does she know the hotel industry inside and out, she inspires her audience to greatness every time. Her delivery is passionate and focused on her life experiences. She goes beyond a motivational moment and creates a sense of urgency for YOUR results.
Michael Wukmer - Ice Miller LLP
Michael Wukmer is a partner at Ice Miller LLP, chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property and Competitive Business Practices Group and founder of the firm’s Internet, Technology, and Social Media Practice. Mike is a no-nonsense litigator whose practice is focused on achieving quick, meaningful and practical solutions to business disputes and challenges of every degree of complexity. Mike’s approach is entrepreneurial in its style, aggressive in its delivery, and above all, unequivocally dedicated to the attorney-client relationship, often going above and beyond to meet or exceed client expectations and satisfaction.
Substantively, Mike’s practice prioritizes and follows the business of his clients, whatever industry they may be in or wherever they may go. One significant area of Mike’s practice consists of emergency business disputes in which he is asked to help protect and preserve the company’s assets or to prosecute or defend “bet the company” lawsuits with competitors. This typically involves disputes involving the protection of intellectual property, trade secrets and other confidential or proprietary information, restrictive employment covenants, non-solicitation agreements, unfair competition, corporate raiding, and other predatory business practices. Mike’s litigation experience also includes a multitude of other areas of law such as intellectual property disputes, business torts, communications, general corporate and contract disputes, health care issues, state and municipal government, land use, professional liability, product liability, real estate, securities fraud and technology.
Mike’s practice also focuses on a number of industries, specifically, agribusiness, social media and technology, intellectual property, business torts, state and municipal government, directors/officers/professional liability, securities fraud, product liability, and others. |
