Lan Elliott ’90, Hospitality Chief Investment Officer & Chief Development Officer

Company: Acacia Holdings LLC
Time: 11/6/26 at 1:25 PM
Where: Statler Auditorium

Lan Elliott’s career spans 25+ years as a hotel real estate & transactions executive, leading deals in the U.S. and abroad. In 2020, Lan rejoined Acacia Holdings, a hotel investment entity she co-founded in 2010, which owns interests in three urban convention hotels. Prior to Acacia, she spent 10+ years at Host Hotels & Resorts, and had roles at IHG, W Hotels, and KPMG.

Lan is an Interview Host for It’s Personal Stories, which has been recognized by IHI as a Top Hospitality Podcast. In 2025, she was recognized 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 to IHI’s 100 Most Inspirational Leaders in Hospitality and Travel and Top 50 Social Media Influencers in Global Hospitality. In 2024, Lan launched Acacia Leadership Academy, where she teaches Introduction to Hotel Ownership at university hospitality schools.

Lan previously served as Co-Chair of Castell@College, for which she was a recipient of the 2022 Industry Recognition Award from ICHRIE, and she led and launched the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance Speaker Directory. Lan is also a speaker and serves on conference and hospitality school advisory boards.

Selected for a 5-year joint degree program at Cornell University, Lan earned her Bachelor of Science from Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration and her M.B.A. from Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management.