Where Innovation Meets Impact: The Nolan Hotel School Celebrates Industry Luminaries

On June 3, the Edison Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan buzzed with the kind of energy that only Hotelies can generate. Industry leaders and Cornell alumni gathered for the 16th annual Cornell Hospitality Icon & Innovator Awards, hosted by the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration.

This year’s celebration honored two figures in hospitality: Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO of Hyatt Hotels, named the 2025 Cornell Hospitality Icon of the Industry, and Cindy Estis Green ’79, cofounder and CEO of Kalibri Labs, named the 2025 Cornell Hospitality Innovator of the Industry.

A community built on connection

Angela Mwanza, MBA ’00, managing director and private advisor at Rockefeller Capital Management and chair of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business Leadership Council, opened the evening with warmth and humor. She welcomed attendees by sharing her pride in being part of the Cornell community and poked fun at the unique bond Hotelies share. “It’s the kind of connection that often starts with fine wine and ends with great stories,” she said.

Nolan School Dean Kate Walsh took the stage to underscore the purpose of the event: to reflect on what the entire hospitality industry aspires to become. “This is a very special evening for all of us—our signature event,” Walsh said. “It’s a time to recognize leaders who have not only transformed businesses, but also elevated what it means to serve with vision, with purpose, and with heart.”

Walsh emphasized that both Hoplamazian and Estis Green exemplify the Nolan School’s core values: innovation, service, and human connection. And she reminded the audience that great hospitality leadership is as much about people as it is about business performance. That spirit came to life as the evening turned to celebrate two industry leaders who have not only shaped the future of hospitality but also redefined what it means to lead with purpose.

Lee Pillsbury ’67, managing director of Thayer Ventures and benefactor for the Nolan School’s Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship, spoke of Cornell’s legacy of inclusion and merit as deeply intertwined values. “As we celebrate Mark and Cindy tonight, let us also celebrate the institution that has given so many people the opportunity to succeed—and recommit ourselves to the principle that has guided Cornell for over 150 years: that the doors of knowledge should be open to all who are ready to walk through them.”

A leader with purpose: Honoring Mark Hoplamazian

Hospitality Icon Hoplamazian has led Hyatt through a period of strategic growth and cultural transformation. Executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Tom Pritzker introduced Hoplamazian, praising him for his deep empathy and unshakable commitment to people. “He gives credit before taking it,” Pritzker said. “He sees people. He cares deeply.”

In a video about Hoplamazian and his impact on Hyatt, employees and industry colleagues alike emphasized how deeply his leadership is rooted in Hyatt’s purpose: “We care for people so they can be their best.” Through programs like RiseHY, Hyatt has opened career pathways for nearly 10,000 youth disconnected from education and employment. Hoplamazian announced an expanded goal to reach 5,000 more by 2028.

Hoplamazian also emphasized the mutual benefit of RiseHY’s mission: Empowering others ultimately strengthens the company and the communities it serves. “The impact goes both ways,” he said. “Our teams get stronger, our culture deepens, and our communities become more inclusive.”

Hoplamazian spoke with sincerity about the power of hospitality to uplift people. “We are not just here to run hotels,” he said. “We are here to create possibilities and pathways. That’s the kind of leadership this industry is capable of.”

He expressed deep gratitude to his team, his family, and the Cornell community. “Even though I didn’t go to [the Nolan] Hotel School, I have been schooled by so many Hotelies,” he joked. “Being in this industry is a privilege. It’s the privilege of being in service to others. And there is no higher calling than that.”

Innovation rooted in reality: Honoring Cindy Estis Green

Hospitality Innovator Estis Green is a pioneer in hotel analytics and the driving force behind Kalibri Labs, a hospitality SaaS firm specializing in advanced benchmarking and profit-focused analytics. She was lauded not only for her technical contributions, but for her relentless drive to reshape how the hospitality industry thinks about profitability.

Industry leaders who spoke via video tributes described Estis Green as a mentor, a truth-teller, and a builder. These included Danny Hughes, president of the Americas for Hilton, K.C. Gallagher, COO of Apple REIT, and Mark Carrier ’80, president of B.F. Saul Hospitality Group, who said, “She’s the savant in the area of distribution strategy and has developed a firm with a great team to provide tools, education and make a difference for our industry.”

Steven Nicholas ’92, managing principal at Noble Investment Group and a longtime friend and colleague, introduced Estis Green, calling out her “passion for distribution channels and breaking down the cost of customer acquisition.” He lauded her for taking a tangled web of fees, intermediaries, and digital disruption and breaking it down with data and clarity. “She tackled this daunting task head-on and was a champion for our industry.”

Upon accepting the award, Estis Green urged the audience to confront what she called “the red pill of reality.” Her message was clear: the traditional playbook no longer works. The hotel industry is facing a fundamental shift in economics, marked by rising customer acquisition costs, diverging owner-brand priorities, and outdated benchmarks that fail to reflect today’s complexities.

“Back in the day, marketing costs were about 5 percent of revenue,” she noted. “Today, for many hotels, they exceed 20 percent—sometimes even 30 percent.” In this new environment, she argued, hoteliers must shift their focus from volume to value, from top-line growth to bottom-line health.

At the core of her message was a call for systemic change: rethinking outdated KPIs like revenue per available room (RevPAR), investing in smarter commercial strategies, and embracing technology that supports profitability over vanity metrics. “The tools that worked in the 1990s and early 2000s won’t move the needle today,” she warned.

Estis Green closed with a call to action rooted in alignment and financial sustainability. “Let’s define success by what hotels keep, not just what guests pay,” she said. “Let’s align around a shared definition of winning. Join me in building a healthier, more sustainable hotel industry.”

A toast to the future of hospitality

As the program wound down, Walsh returned to the stage to offer a heartfelt toast. She shared stories about both honorees’ visits to campus to speak with students—Hoplamazian offering reassurance and empathy in a post-pandemic world and Estis Green empowering them with strategy and data.

“They didn’t just inspire us tonight,” she said. “They reminded us of what leadership looks like: bold, grounded in values, and deeply human.”

Walsh raised a glass to the power of education, human connection, and the leaders who continue to shape the future of hospitality. “Here’s to Cornell, to our community, and to the inspirational figures who lead with purpose.”

It was a night that affirmed what so many in the room already knew: Great leadership doesn’t just elevate business; it elevates people.

All photos are by Diane Bondareff.