Check out our speaker database to explore the pros, innovators and big names who鈥檝e shared their stories.
In 2012, Ryan was voted American Culinary Foundation Chef of the Year. Currently, he is the Executive Chef at The Country Club in Pepper Pike. Ryan was chosen to speak at 麻豆传媒 because of his national and international successes in the field. In addition to his Chef of the Year award, he was also the first runner-up in Global Chefs Challenge held in Norway - the best an American chef has placed. Currently, he serves as the American Culinary Foundation Cleveland Chapter president. In 2018, he was inducted into Les Amis d Escoffier Society of Chicago, a fraternity dedicated to the propagation of the high standards and ethics of the culinary profession.
As Senior Vice President of Marriott Global Design Strategies, Karim leads a dynamic, multidisciplinary team on a mission to shape more meaningful and relevant travel experiences for Marriott guests through design. In 2012, Karim鈥檚 goal was to understand and address the new millennial generation for the Marriott Hotels brand. This deep dive approach was a perfect match for launching Marriott鈥檚 innovation lab (The Underground), an underground collaborative design space where guest driven research comes to life鈥攊ncluding the new award-winning design strategy for Marriott鈥檚 flagship Marriott Hotels brand. The same approach was leveraged to rapidly accelerate the launch of the new lifestyle budget brand Moxy for Europe, and now the US, as well as the import of the fashionable AC Hotel brand to the United States.
In 1992, Rick Doody, his brother Chris Doody and their executive chef Phil Yandolino opened their first restaurant 鈥 Bravo Cucina Italiana 鈥 in Columbus, Ohio. The BBRG has grown to include more than 115 Bravo and Brio Tuscan Grille restaurants throughout the United States, with over 11,000 employees and over 17 million guests per year. Doody is a member of the Young President鈥檚 Organization and the International Council of Shopping Center Owners and is a board member for the Cleveland Restaurant Association.
Jacob Tomsky is a hotel industry expert who has been in the business for over a decade. Global Gurus noted him as one of the 鈥淲orld鈥檚 Top 30 Hospitality Professionals for 2014.鈥 Tomsky鈥檚 vast experience in hotels has allowed him to work through all the ups and downs of the service industry. Pulling from his real-life experiences, Tomsky amuses readers with his tales of various positions from serving as front desk man, valet parker, sheet folder and more. Readers are presented to a full spectrum of hotel workings, from the inside and outside views.
Former "Fat Chef" Rocco Whalen is the owner and operator of Fahrenheit-Cleveland and Fahrenheit-Charlotte. He has also been busy showing off his culinary skills with Rosie & Rocco's Italian Eateries inside the Horseshoe Casino and First Energy Stadium, and Rocco's at the Q inside Quicken Loans Arena.
