Managing Director of Real Hotels & Resorts, to Share Vision with Cornell
Fernando Poma
ITHACA, NY, March 17, 2008. Fernando Poma, managing director of Real Hotels & Resorts, will speak on Wednesday, April 2nd in the "Conversations with Entrepreneurs" series presented by the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. Poma will present from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. in 291 Statler Hall, Beck Center. Guests are welcome.
Managing director since 2000, Poma has grown Real Hotels and Resorts from four to 22 premier hotel brands including InterContinental, Marriott, Quality and Comfort Inn. His growth plans are focused on Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and Colombia and include a JW Marriott hotel, a JW Marriott Resort and five Courtyard by Marriott hotels. The company is also expanding its InterContinental hotel base.
Prior to joining Real Hotels and Resorts, Poma was assistant to the managing director of Choice Hotels Europe and worked in asset management and hotel acquisitions for the Westmont Hospitality Group. He graduated from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
"Fernando Poma's tremendous successes are testimony to his unique blend of talent, skill, and entrepreneurial drive. We are delighted he is returning to campus to share his entrepreneurial journey and innovation insights with our students and faculty," said Tom Ward, managing director of the institute.
The final speaker in the spring series will be Patrick Meyers, chief legal officer and managing director, owner of Cervantes Capital/Quiznos, on April 17 from 1:15-2:15 p.m. in the Statler Amphitheatre of the Statler Hotel.
The Conversations with Entrepreneurs series is sponsored by: Cornell Hospitality Advisors, eClips, Hotelie Entrepreneurs, and the National Society for Minorities in Hospitality.
Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is a global leading lodging company based in Bethesda,Maryland, USA, with more than 4,200 properties in 80 countries and territories. Marriott International reported revenues of nearly $14 billion in fiscal year 2014. The company operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts under 19 brands, including: The Ritz-Carlton®, BVlgari®, EDITION®, JW Marriott®, Autograph Collection® Hotels, Renaissance® Hotels, Marriott Hotels®, Delta Hotels and Resorts®, Marriott Executive Apartments®, Marriott Vacation Club®, Gaylord Hotels®, AC Hotels by Marriott®, Courtyard®, Residence Inn®, SpringHill Suites®, Fairfield Inn & Suites®, TownePlace Suites®, Protea Hotels® and MoxyHotels®. Marriott has been consistently recognized as a top employer and for its superior business ethics. The company also manages the award-winning guest loyalty program, Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® program, which together surpass 50 million members. For more information or reservations, please visit our website at 
