Executives reshaping hospitality to speak on campus

Many Nolan School alumni, now successful professionals, begin their Dean’s Distinguished Lecture by pointing out the Statler Auditorium seat they’d occupied as a student.

Every year, Hotelie alumni and other friends of the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration pass on insights to current students, a long-running tradition known as the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series (DDLS). It’s gone by many names over the past 98 years, fondly nicknamed “Hotelie Fridays” and originally titled “Lectures on Hotel Management” by Dean Howard Meek when he founded the class in 1928.

As the first collegiate hotel management program in the U.S., the Nolan School pioneered industry collaboration. The DDLS was the first executive lecture series of its kind in the country, forging bonds between campus and industry that remain strong to this day.

This semester, 14 speakers from a wide range of hospitality backgrounds were selected for the series. Dimond Family Dean Ceridwyn King kicked off the series on Aug. 28, and Dana Beninati ’15, an award-winning producer and coach to celebrity chefs, spoke on Sept. 4. Below are four highlighted upcoming lectures followed by the full lineup.

Patrick Nichols ’08, president and CEO of The Venetian Resort Las Vegas

Patrick Nichols is leading a $1.5 billion reinvestment project at one of Las Vegas’ most recognizable resorts: The Venetian. He began his career at the Venetian as a financial analyst and plans to share how he’ll use this homecoming to revitalize the iconic resort that jumpstarted his career.

“There are probably 30,000 – 40,000 people here at any given time; it’s like a little city, with the same infrastructure,” he shared with Cornellians. “Whether it’s facilities issues, burst pipes, fires, medical emergencies — things invariably happen. I’ll come into work with an agenda of what I want to accomplish, and someone will pop into my office in the morning and say ‘Hey, do you have a second?’ and my day is completely derailed. And I love that; there’s always a new and unexpected challenge.”

He’s gained renown in gaming and hospitality — having earned a spot on Global Gaming Business Magazine’s “40 Under 40,” recognized on the Vegas Inc “40 Under 40” list and named an “Emerging Leader of Gaming” by The Innovation Group — and is now bringing his leadership to The Venetian.

“It took me like 60 days to realize, ‘This is a ton of fun, and this is an industry I want to be in forever,’” he said. “I thought I’d be in Vegas for a year or two. And like most people who move to Vegas for ‘one or two years,’ it turned out to be a lifetime.”

Nichols will speak on Sept. 11 at 1:45 p.m. in Statler Auditorium.

Shannon Knapp, president and CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World

Previously serving as senior vice president and chief marketing officer of The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), Shannon Knapp stepped into her current role as president and CEO in 2019. Since then, she’s repositioned LHW as a strategic growth partner for independent luxury hotels and doubled revenue for member hotels within four years.

Knapp invests in hospitality technology, loyalty programs, distribution and commercial capabilities to keep LHW abreast of industry trends and enable member hotels to remain competitive in the contemporary market.

Knapp will speak on Sept. 25 at 1:25 p.m. in Statler Auditorium.

Harman Narula ’09, co-founder and CEO of Canary Technologies

Harman Narula started his entrepreneurship journey as a student at Cornell, founding The Shirt Guys, a custom apparel printing company. He went on to co-found and lead Canary Technologies, a leading hospitality tech company providing AI-enabled solutions for hotel workflows and guest touchpoints.

“All problems are solvable if you’re resourceful, persistent and determined enough,” Narula said. “At 20, it was figuring out how to get 300 shirts to a client by Saturday afternoon. Today, it might be leading a team to deploy technology across tens of thousands of hotels around the world for some of the industry’s largest brands. The scale is different, but the underlying mindset is the same: There won’t always be a playbook, so you have to be willing to find a way.”

More than 20,000 hotels in over 100 countries have chosen Canary, including Marriott International, Four Seasons and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. From 2025 to 2026, Canary raised successful funding rounds C and D, achieving nearly $200 million in venture capital since its founding.

“When we started Canary in 2018, the industry was in a very different place. Since then, we’ve seen hotels become far more ambitious about using technology to improve the guest experience, drive top- line growth and operate more efficiently.”

Narula will speak on Oct. 23 at 1:25 p.m. in Statler Auditorium.

Lan Elliott ’90, hospitality chief investment officer and chief development officer of Acacia Holdings LLC

A decade after co-founding Acacia Holdings LLC, Lan Elliott has returned to guide it through the next stage of its development as the hospitality chief investment officer and chief development officer.

Acacia Holdings is a hotel investment entity currently owning interests in urban convention hotels: the 644-room Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, the 917-room Marriott St. Louis Grand and the 955-room Hyatt Regency Houston, totaling over 2,500 keys.

Elliott has gained recognition in multiple prominent hospitality outlets, celebrated as one of Hotel Management’s 2025 Influential Women in Hospitality and featured in LODGING Magazine’s Women In Lodging issue. She has also been named one of IHI’s 100 Most Inspirational Leaders in Hospitality and Travel and Top 50 Social Media Influencers in Global Hospitality.

Elliott will speak on Nov. 6 at 1:25 p.m. in Statler Auditorium. Please see the full lineup on this page.