- Faculty
Jeanne Varney
- Teaching Professor
- Arthur Adler and Karen Newman Adler Director of the Center for Real Estate and Finance
- Deputy Area Chair of the Operations, Technology, and Information Management Area
Biography
Jeanne Varney is a teaching professor at the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration, part of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, where she teaches in the property development and management area. She oversees the curriculum in Hospitality Facilities Management, Hospitality Asset Management, Sustainable Development and Introduction to Sustainable Hospitality.
In Hospitality Facilities Management, Varney blends technical facilities knowledge with a practical management perspective. In Hospitality Asset Management, she guides students through the complex issues facing hotel ownership groups and the analyses required to meet ownership objectives. Her Sustainable Development course introduces the principles, methodology and strategic application of green hotel development, while Introduction to Sustainable Hospitality focuses on implementing tactical sustainability practices across hotel operations.
Outside Cornell, Varney is principal of Olive Hospitality Consulting, where she provides practical sustainability solutions to organizations seeking to strengthen their triple bottom line performance. She brings more than 20 years of real estate, operations and sustainable hospitality experience to her consulting work. Before founding Olive Hospitality Consulting, she served as vice president of asset management at Host Hotels & Resorts, overseeing operational and capital budgeting, performance reviews and long term strategic planning. Earlier in her career, she held roles at Marriott International Corporate Headquarters, Horwath Landauer Hospitality Consulting, the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Varney is an international past president of NEWH, Inc. and a founding member of the NEWH Sustainability Committee. She is also active in the U.S. Green Building Council, Sustainable Hospitality Council, Cornell Real Estate Council and Cornell Hotel Society.
She earned her MBA from The George Washington University and her B.S. in hotel administration from Cornell University.
Education
MBA School of Business & Public Management, George Washington University, 1993 BS Nolan School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University, 1985