HFTP Announces 2023 HITEC North America Advisory Council; Experts to Design Program Covering Crucial Topics in Hospitality Technology

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), producers of the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®) has put together an expert group of industry professionals to serve on the advisory council for its upcoming North American event. HITEC is the largest and oldest nonprofit event of its kind hosting 300+ exhibiting companies and a thoughtfully designed education program with over 50 education sessions. In its five plus decades, HITEC has become a respected, must-attend event for the industry. HITEC 2023 will take place from June 26–29 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario Canada.

Members of the HITEC Advisory Council are selected by HFTP leadership for their experience and expertise. The roster updates annually and the 2023 HITEC North America Advisory Council will determine the education program for Toronto. Leading the group are co-chairs: Shannon McCallum, Vice President of Hotel Operations for Resort World Las Vegas and Steve D'Erasmo, CHTP+, Director of Property Technology Services, Hotel Systems for Hilton Worldwide.

“HITEC has had a strong commitment to bettering the industry through education,” said D’Erasmo. “This year’s Advisory Council draws upon a diverse group of experts and practitioners. Our challenge is to look at the needs of our industry through each member’s unique perspective, consider the educational needs of all attendees; seasoned and less experienced, and to develop a comprehensive curriculum that fosters learning at all levels.”

"There has been an acceleration of innovation in hospitality that has changed the way we service our guests and supports the need for efficiency in our business,” said McCallum. “As we prepare for HITEC 2023, it is more important than ever to share these new trends and ensure that we explore perspectives of both operators and technology professionals to offer a pertinent and valuable curriculum at the conference. I feel strongly the unique perspectives of the knowledgeable individuals on 2023 HITEC Council will bring fresh ideas to the educational sessions and broaden the appeal for all HITEC attendees."

The Advisory Council will kick off its program planning with a topic-development meeting in January 2023. 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 the sessions and select expert speakers to present the information.

The 2023 HITEC North America Advisory Council includes:

Chair Shannon McCallum │ Vice President, Hotel Operations │ Resorts World Las Vegas

Chair Steve D'Erasmo, CHTP+ │ Director, Property Technology Services, Hotel Systems │ Hilton Worldwide

Ajay Aluri │ Founding Director, WVU HIT Lab and Associate Professor │ West Virginia University

Jonilda Bahja │ Ph.D. Student, Business IT │ Virginia Tech

James Barton │ Group Head of Business Transformation, Hotels │ Merlin Entertainments / LEGOLAND Resorts

Art Burger, CHAE+ │ Principal │ Art Burger Consulting

Andrew Buwalda, CHAE │ CFO │ Hotel Association of Canada

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

Danny Dang │ Director, Hospitality Technology │ Canucks Sports & Entertainment | Toptable Group

Hannah DeMaio │ Vice President, Brand Strategy │ Women Leading Travel & Hospitality and Women in Retail Leadership Circle NAPCO Media

Roger Franke │ VP and CIO │ Aramark Destination

Mark Gage, CHT │ Vice President and Executive Director, IT │ Enchantment Group

Nelson Garrido, CHTP │ Senior Vice President, IT │ Brookfield Properties

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

Amie Holm │ Director of Finance and Administration │ Atlanta Country Club

Michael Lederman │ Vice President, IT │ The Leading Hotels of the World

Sherry Marek │ Former Director │ HFTP Global Board

Keryn McNamara │ Senior Vice President, Hotel Technology │ Aimbridge Hospitality

Joshua Morgan, CHTP │ Director of Technology │ Horizon Hospitality

Mark Pate, CHAE, CHTP, MBA │ Assistant Controller and IT Director │ Highpointe Hotel Corporation

Mayur Patel │ Managing Partner │ Prosper Hospitality

Neal Patel, CHO, CHIA │ AAHOA Chair and Managing Partner │ Blue Chip Hotels

Henri Roelings │ Founder and CEO │ Hospitality Net

Matt Schwartz │ CTO │ Sage Hospitality Group

Prakash Shukla │ Managing Partner │ Wayfare VC

Rich Siegel │ President and Publisher │ Hospitalty Upgrade

Jason Smith │ Vice President, Marketing Communications │ HSMAI

Tariq Valani │ Senior Vice President, IT │ Middle East, Africa, India & Turkey │ ACCOR

Ira Vouk │ Author/Industry Consultant │ Hospitality 2.0

Lyle Worthington, CHTP │ CEO │ Worthington Tech

McLean Xavier, CHTP+ │ Vice President, Technology │ Innvest Hotels

HFTP Liaison Millicent Athanos │ Staff Vice President – Administration & USALI │ HFTP

HFTP Liaison Alison Lockett │ Education Coordinator │ HFTP

HFTP Liaison Frank Wolfe │ CEO │ HFTP

HFTP Liaison Bryan Wood │ Chief Learning and Events Officer │ HFTP

HITEC 2023 exhibit space is 83 percent reserved, with general sales open for the remaining space ([email protected]). Registration and hotel reservations will open in January 2023. For more information about HFTP's events, visit www.hftp.org or contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at [email protected].

About HFTP

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), established in 1952, is a hospitality nonprofit association headquartered in Austin, Texas USA with an offices in the EU. HFTP is recognized as a group supporting the finance and technology segments of the hospitality industry with an international network of members and stakeholders. HFTP offers expert networks, educational resources, career development programs, research, leadership opportunities and conferences and events. HFTP produces international events throughout the year, including the world's largest hospitality technology tradeshow and conference brand: HITEC. In addition, it oversees the hospitality-specific Pineapplesearch.com® and the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI), Hotel-Online and Hospitality Upgrade Magazine. For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org.

Eliza Selig
Staff VP, Marketing and Communications
+1 512 220 4026
HFTP