The Hospitality Business Fellows (HBF) program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business was launched on Aug. 29, 2016. The 15 students in Cohort 1 of the program welcomed to their first class five senior executives from Choice Hotels International, who spoke about the wide variety of career opportunities available in the hospitality industry. Visiting the class were Pat Pacious, President and COO; Janis Cannon, SVP of Ascend and Cambria; Patrick Cimerola, SVP of Human Resources and Administration; Scott Oaksmith, Controller; and Anne Hendrick, VP of Human Resources. In addition to careers, they discussed company strategy, including the role of franchising in how Choice "goes-to-market," the addition of upscale brands to the portfolio, the structure of the Choice Hotel business model, the influence of intensifying competition, and the growing power of metasearch.
The Hospitality Business Fellows program is sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Service (CES), in partnership with Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, and Marriott International. For more information on the HBF, please see www.rhsmith.umd.edu/programs/undergraduate-programs/academics/fellows-special-programs/hospitality-fellows.
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The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in business education and cutting-edge research. The school’s world-class faculty facilitate experiential learning opportunities rooted in the real world. Smith students learn to think like entrepreneurs, prepared to drive positive impact. The school offers undergraduate, online and on-campus business master's, full-time, part-time, online and executive MBA, plus PhD and DBA degree programs, and non-degree and executive education programs. Where Smith leads, the future follows.