Recovery by the Numbers

Jess Petitt is the Vice President of Analytics at Hilton and the founding leader of its global analytics center. Mr. Petitt has also spearheaded the hospitality company’s enterprise performance measurement process and business intelligence strategy and supported key strategic initiatives including Hilton’s IPO and spinoffs. Prior to Hilton, he spent five years at HEI Hotels & Resorts as the corporate director of marketing and sales. A second-generation hotelier, Mr. Petitt is a graduate of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration and earned his MBA from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.

Scott D. Berman is a Principal and the U.S. industry leader for the Hospitality & Leisure subsector at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), leading the firm’s industry program focused on client service, industry perspective, and research. In nearly 30 years at PwC, he has provided consulting services in over 40 countries across the firm’s network and in all 50 states. Mr. Berman has over 35 years of diversified experience advising on billions of dollars of hotel investment activity, from complex single-asset deals to some of the sector’s most recognized branded portfolio transactions. He is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board of the School of Hotel Administration, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business; a member of the Advisory Board of the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research; a member of the Executive Board of the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association; and a Trustee of the American Resort Development Association. Mr. Berman holds a degree in Hotel Administration from Cornell University.

Linda Canina is a professor of finance in the Finance, Accounting, and Real Estate group at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration (SHA). She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in corporate finance. Her research interests include asset valuation, corporate finance, and strategic management. Canina’s publications include: “The Relationship between New Venture Entry Mode and Firm Performance”; “Acquisition Premiums and Performance Improvements for Acquirers and Targets in the Lodging Industry”; “Business Cycle and Asset Valuation in the Gaming Industry”; “Strategic Price Positioning for Revenue Management: The Effects of Relative Price Position and Fluctuation on Performance”; and “Agglomeration Effects and Strategic Orientations: Evidence from the U.S. Lodging Industry,” published in the Academy of Management Journal. Canina’s other work has appeared in the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Financial Management Journal, the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Hospitality Finance, and the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. She holds a PhD from New York University.

Aran Ryan is the Director of Lodging Analytics at Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company. He is responsible for developing tools to help investors, operators, hotel brands, and destinations with strategic decisions. Mr. Ryan has over 20 years of consulting experience in lodging, casino gaming, vacation ownership, and destination development. Prior to joining Tourism Economics, he was a Director in the Hospitality & Leisure consulting practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). A graduate of Colby College, Mr. Ryan earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jan D. Freitag is a senior vice president for STR, a Costar company that provides clients from multiple market sectors with premium global data benchmarking, analytics, and marketplace insights. Mr. Freitag is a sought-after public speaker who is frequently quoted in trade publications and in general news media such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Associated Press, Reuters, and Forbes. He holds a Bachelor’s degree, with distinction, from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and received his Executive MBA, with honors, from Vanderbilt University. Mr. Freitag resides in Nashville, TN.