HITEC 2012

AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA (March 14, 2012) – Jared Cohen will demonstrate how technology is a part of every challenge in the world and should be a part of every solution during his Closing Keynote session at the 2012 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®). Cohen is director of Google Ideas, a"think/do" tank at Google that combines a new generation of thinkers with technology to tackle some of the world's most intractable problems. He will speak to HITEC 2012 attendees on Thursday, June 28 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Md.

Cohen - an expert on international security, global political dynamics and the impact of technology - will discuss how we must think about technology's longer term impact. He believes technology touches every challenge and that the solution for societies is to find ways to cut across different sectors and seek innovative ways to maximize the positive impact that these tools can have on the future of the world.

"The hospitality industry's international reach makes it important for all of us to understand the regional conditions across the globe," said HITEC Chair Allison Morris, CHTP, senior IT manager for Caesars Entertainment, Inc. "Jared Cohen's unique mix of foreign policy experience and technology insight will help attendees tie together their professional field – technology – and how it fits within our global society."

Cohen is politically transcendent and has served as a close adviser to both Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton. At the Department of State, he helped architect the vision of "21st century statecraft" and key foreign policy initiatives and strategies related to counter-terrorism, the Middle East and how to address a growing youth bulge around the world. In addition to being the youngest member of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff ever appointed, Cohen is also a two-time recipient of the Secretary of State's Meritorious Honor Award. He earned this distinguished honor in both the Bush and Obama administrations.

He was selected by the Huffington Post as one of its "Top 100 Game Changers," and by social enterprise Devex as one of its "40 Under 40." Recently, he was named by Vanity Fair as part of their 2011 The Next Establishment, which recognizes rising talent in technology, media, policy and business.

Cohen is an adjunct fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank and publisher. He is currently writing a book related to how technology transforms the distribution of power around the world and is the author of Children of Jihad: A Young American's Travels Among the Youth of the Middle East and One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide. He received his BA from Stanford University and his M.Phil in International Relations where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

HITEC 2012, a service of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), is the world's largest hospitality technology exposition and conference. The conference is June 25–28. HITEC offers attendees essential education, access to experts and hospitality technology vendors, the opportunity to network with top leaders in the industry and the resources to find cost-effective ways to improve company bottom lines.

Attendee registration and the Housing Bureau are now available on the web site. Visit HITEC.org for complete information about all conference and exhibition events, including the conference schedule, a list of exhibitors, a map of the exhibit hall and the most current HITEC news.

For more information about HITEC, contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at [email protected], (800) 646-4387 or +1 (512) 249-5333.

About HFTP

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), established in 1952, is a hospitality nonprofit association headquartered in Austin, Texas USA with offices in the EU and Middle East. HFTP is recognized as the spokes group for the finance and technology segments of the hospitality industry with an international network of members and stakeholders. HFTP uniquely understands the industry's pressing issues, and assists its stakeholders in finding solutions to their challenges more efficiently than any organization. HFTP offers expert networks, educational resources, career development programs, research, leadership opportunities and conferences and events. HFTP produces international events throughout the year, including the world's largest hospitality technology tradeshow and conference brand: HITEC. In addition, it oversees the hospitality-specific Pineapplesearch.com® and the Uniform System of Accounts for the Lodging Industry (USALI). For more information about HFTP, visit www.hftp.org. For the latest news, visit the HFTP News page at news.hftp.org and the HFTP Connect blog at blog.hftp.org.

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