SINGAPORE – From this Friday, through to the 8th of May, 2009, the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management will host a series of lectures presented by hospitality industry leaders. Open to the public, the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture series aims to promote excellence and dedication to success through the teachings of the hospitality industry’s most seasoned leaders and young rising stars. The distinguished speakers will share their views about successful management styles, possible career paths, critical industry-related issues, and qualities conducive to successful business leadership.

While the series is an integral part of the curriculum for CNI’s Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH) students, members of the public are welcome to attend any of the lectures they are interested in. This is an unparalleled opportunity to learn and to see how hospitality leaders view the current and future status of the industry.

Guest lecturers in 2009 include:

  • Mr. Dennis Melka, Director, East Pacific Capital Pte Ltd 13th March 2009
  • Mr. Peter Gowers, Chief Executive, Asia Pacific, InterContinental Hotel Group, 20th March 2009
  • Mr. Devin Kimble, Managing Director, Menu Pte Ltd (Brewerkz, Café Iguana), 27th March 2009
  • Ms. Chong Phit Lian, Chief Executive Officer, Jetstar Asia Airways Pte Ltd, 17th April 2009
  • Mr. Michael Dwyer, Executive Chairman, Oxley Capital Group, 24th April 2009
  • Mr. Andrew Chan, Chief Executive Officer, TMS Asia Pacific, 8th May 2009

The lectures will be held at the CNI campus at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, from 10am until 11am. To register, please visit www.cni.ntu.edu.sg.


SYNOPSIS OF THE DEAN’S DISTINGUISHED LECTURERS

13-March-2009
DENNIS NICHOLAS MELKA
Mr Melka is a private venture capitalist residing in Singapore. Since 2006, he has co-founded and launched companies in consumer finance, hotels, agriculture and sustainable forestry. Previously, Mr. Melka was an investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston from 1995 to 2005. Mr. Melka graduated magna cum laude from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University in Washington D.C. He is a US citizen and is married with two children (ages 2 and 6).

Lecture Topic: “Redefining Value and Challenging the Industry”

Mr. Melka will provide a case study of Tune Hotels.Com, a company which he co-founded in 2006. In just over two years, Tune Hotels redefined the “economy” hotel sector and created over US$150m of shareholder value through its innovative use of technology, marketing, distribution and product quality. He will discuss some of the hospitality trends in today’s marketplace and also the management and operating challenges of taking a start-up from incubation to pre-IPO funding.

20-March-2009
PETER GOWERS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE – ASIA PACIFIC, INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP
Peter Gowers is Chief Executive of IHG Asia Pacific. Based in Singapore, Peter oversees the enhancement and expansion of the Group’s network of approximately 200 hotels across IHG’s five key brands: InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express® and Hotel Indigo®. He is also a member of IHG’s group Executive Committee.

27-March-2009
DEVIN OTTO KIMBLE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MENU PTE LTD
Devin Otto Kimble is the founder and managing director of MENU Pte. Ltd. Food & Drinks Group, which owns and operates Brewerkz Restaurants & Microbreweries, Café Iguana, WineGarage and MENU Catering.

17-April-2009
CHONG PHIT LIAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, JETSTAR ASIA AIRWAYS PTE LTD
Ms. Chong Phit Lian is the Chief Executive Officer of Jetstar Asia Airways Pte Ltd. Prior to joining the airline industry in 2006, she was with the Singapore Technologies Group for 20 years and held an array of positions as operating chief and board member of leisure, lifestyle, manufacturing, retail and hospitality business of the ST Group. Her many past appointments include Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Mint, Singapore Precision Industries and Safe Enterprises Group; Executive Director of Safe & Mansfield Travel and SemHotel; Chairman of Tianjin Everbest Gear Company; President and Board Member of Pacfusion and Pacific Internet Ltd; Board Member of Avis Car Rental and Director of OK2Play.

24-April-2009
MR. MICHAEL DWYER, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, OXLEY CAPITAL GROUP
Mr. Dwyer was formerly the Country Head and Managing Director for Allco Finance Group’s Asia real estate operations headquartered in Singapore. Mr. Dwyer was also the CEO and Managing Director of Allco Commercial REIT, the eighth REIT to list on the SGX. Prior to that, he was the Principal and Managing Director of International Mezzanine Funds Management Group which was acquired by Allco in 2006. For over 15 years, Mr. Dwyer was intimately involved in the mortgage industry in Australia having held the position of Joint Managing Director of LM Management Limited, a leading mortgage funds management group. He also has strong involvement with the Australian securities industry regulators and financial service associations including The Asian Public Real Estate Association.

8-May-2009
ANDREW CHAN, CEO, TMS ASIA PACIFIC (TMS)
Andrew is responsible for overseeing all business operations and providing the strategic direction for the company. He joined TMS in 2005 and has previously served as Managing Director – Asia before being appointed to his current role. Andrew commenced his career in a travel agency in Australia. He subsequently joined the airline industry, working with Cathay Pacific Airways and Singapore Airlines in customer service and sales roles. His core responsibilities included boosting revenue growth from passenger sales and MICE activities. In 2001, Andrew furthered his career by entering the hospitality sector as Regional Business Development Manager for brands such as the Stamford Hotels and Resorts and the Carlton Hotel Group. He later joined Hospitality Marketing Concepts (HMC) as their Director of Business Development, where he oversaw all sales and marketing functions in Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

About Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management

The Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI) is jointly operated and governed by Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and Nanyang Technological University’s Business School. Located in Singapore, CNI is strategically positioned to develop leaders, managers and entrepreneurs for the Asian hospitality and tourism industry. CNI offers three hospitality education programs designed to alleviate the severe shortage of qualified talent that is currently plaguing the hospitality industry in Asia and the Middle East.

Equivalent to an MBA, the one year Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH) program prepares students to be theory-based, action-oriented leaders of executive management teams and entrepreneurial ventures in the hospitality and service industry. CNI MMH students spend six months at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and six months at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, thus taking advantage of educational and networking opportunities in both Asia and North America in a single year.

The Professional Development Program (PDP) offers three-day courses that cover different aspects of hotel management. PDP teaches cutting-edge management techniques, presented by internationally recognized faculty members and industry leaders. Participants can earn Cornell certifications in Financial Management, Food, Beverage, and Restaurant Management, General and Strategic Management, Human-Resource Management, Marketing, Operations Management and Property-Asset Management and Real Estate. CNI has hosted over 1000 PDP participants from nearly 40 countries in the last two years. The PDP will be held from July 23 to August 5, 2009 in Singapore.

The General Managers Program (GMP) is designed for hotel general managers of full service hotels and their immediate successors. Participants in this 10-day program concentrate on strategic hospitality management issues, work collaboratively to expand the foundation of their knowledge, and produce new solutions to the challenges they face. GMP 2009 in Singapore will be offered from July 20-30, 2009.

Please visit the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management website () for more information.