Laurence Geller

He was previously Chairman and CEO of Geller & Co, a gaming, tourism and lodging advisory company, which he founded in 1989. Prior to this, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Hyatt Development Corporation, Senior Vice President of Holiday Inns and Director of Grand Metropolitan Hotels in London. Geller is a former Vice Chairman of the Urban Land Institute's Commercial and Retail Council, Chairman of the Industry Real Estate Financing Advisory Council of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. He is on the boards of Children's Memorial Hospital, the American Jewish Committee and the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau. He is also a member of the President's Council of the Midwest Region of the US Fund for UNICEF. Geller acts as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Churchill Centre and serves on its Executive Committee. He is Ambassador for North America for the Hotel and Catering Institutional Management Association of the U.K. He is a graduate of Ealing Technical College's school of hotel management and catering. In May 2011, he was appointed Chancellor of West London University. In December 2011, HM Queen Elizabeth II awarded him his CBE. Geller has also collaborated on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of Gaylord Entertainment from 2002 until July 2006.