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(Boston, MA)\u00a0<\/span><\/b>February 12, 2024 <\/span><\/b>\u2013 Boston University School of Hospitality Administration <\/span>(BU SHA)<\/span><\/a> is proud to announce the annual <\/span>Hospitality Leadership Summit<\/span><\/b> on <\/span>Thursday, April 4, 2024<\/span><\/b> at <\/span>Boston University\u2019s Computing and Data Sciences Center, Boston\u2019s largest fossil fuel-free building.<\/span> The Summit brings together students, faculty, and industry colleagues for a day of inspiration and networking around a shared passion for creating memorable experiences. The featured speakers are luminaries l<\/span>auded for bringing to life exceptional events and experiences: <\/span>Bryan Rafanelli<\/span><\/b><\/a>,<\/span><\/b> Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Rafanelli Events, and <\/span>Bashar Wali<\/span><\/b><\/a>,<\/span><\/b> Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Practice Hospitality. To cap off this exhilarating day, the 2024 ICON Award will be bestowed upon the industry leader who has significantly transformed the paradigms of hospitality. <\/span>The ICON Awardee will be announced in the coming weeks.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Further highlighting \u201cExperience Innovation\u201d in hospitality, the Summit features the final round of the\u00a0 <\/span>$100K Poyiadjis Hospitality Innovation Competition.<\/span><\/b><\/a> Boston University student teams get their chance to reimagine the future of hospitality by pitching their ideas<\/span> for a chance to win a total of $100K in cash prizes across three tracks: Open Track, Social Impact, and Student Wellbeing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe 2024 Hospitality Leadership Summit is designed to spark ideas and catalyze the entrepreneurial spirit,\u201d said <\/span>Arun Upneja, Ph.D., Dean of Boston University School of Hospitality Administration<\/span><\/b><\/a>. \u201c<\/span><\/b>The Summit encapsulates our school\u2019s mission to inspire and equip our students through a robust and inspirational educational experience to feel empowered to become future industry trailblazers.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Summit gives stage to acclaimed hospitality leaders: <\/span>Bryan Rafanelli,<\/span><\/b><\/a> Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Rafanelli Events<\/span><\/b>, and <\/span>Bashar Wali,<\/span><\/b><\/a> Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Practice Hospitality. <\/span><\/b>Following each talk will be a Q&A with the audience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Produced by BU School of Hospitality Administration students along with faculty advisors, the Summit will immerse guests in a transformational experience that engages all the senses. In sync with the Computing & Data Sciences Center\u2019s LEED Platinum status, every element of the event’s design showcases planet-friendly choices such as an all-vegan menu, biophilic design elements, a digital swag bag, and even a name badge that can be repurposed as a luggage tag.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The 2024 ICON Awardee<\/span><\/b> will be announced in the coming weeks. Past awardees include <\/span>Niki Leondakis,<\/span><\/a> CEO of CorePower Yoga: <\/span>the co-founders of <\/span>Airbnb Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk, and\u202fJoe Gebbia;<\/span><\/a> restaurant pioneer <\/span>Danny Meyer<\/span><\/a>, Founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group and Shake Shack; and in 2020, <\/span>Richard L. Friedman,<\/span><\/a> President and CEO of Carpenter & Company Inc., credited, among a long list of accolades, for <\/span>reshaping the Boston skyline with The Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences at One Dalton. For a list of ICON awardees, visit: <\/span>ICON Award Winners.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Photos and interviews are available upon request.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ___________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n ___________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n About Boston University School of Hospitality Administration: <\/span><\/b>Established in 1981 and now celebrating 40 years of Innovating the Business of Hospitality, Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration (SHA) offers students a combination of rigorous academics, liberal arts curriculum, and international experiences for the pursuit of success in lodging, restaurants, food service, and other avenues of the hospitality industry. SHA has a unique relationship with the city of Boston, where the area\u2019s hotels and restaurants provide students with numerous opportunities for internships to satisfy work experience requirements for their degrees.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Information on graduate and undergraduate degrees at BU School of Hospitality Administration:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (Boston, MA)\u00a0February 12, 2024 \u2013 Boston University School of Hospitality Administration (BU SHA) is proud to announce the annual Hospitality Leadership Summit on Thursday, April 4, 2024 at Boston University\u2019s Computing and Data Sciences Center, Boston\u2019s largest fossil fuel-free building. The Summit brings together students, faculty, and industry colleagues for a day of inspiration and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22921,"featured_media":20028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[439,19,404,226,39,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20020"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22921"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20020"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20029,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20020\/revisions\/20029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/hospitality\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Summit Speakers\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Planet-Friendly Hospitality by Design<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n
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2024 Hospitality Leadership Summit Sponsors*\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n
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