Emerald Hospitality Associates, Inc.
Our TeamWe proudly introduce you to the team that makes up Emerald Hospitality Associates. Together we have over 200 years of hospitality service experience! Allow our team be your solution.
- President
- Accounting and Finance
- Operations
- Sales and Marketing
- Human Resources
- Legal Counsel, Asset Management, Development & Consulting
PRESIDENT
James R. Gerish, President
Jim formed Emerald Hospitality Associates in 1999, and has assembled an excellent management team with considerable depth. He is a graduate of Michigan State University, Bachelor of Business Administration with Honors. Jim has a diverse background of accomplishment in nearly all aspects of the Hotel and Restaurant industry. Jim's love of the Hospitality industry coupled with his strong business sense has helped him to achieve numerous awards and financial success stories in the hospitality field. As President of Snavely Hotel Group he played a key role in launching a new brand of twenty hotels called "The Skylight Inn" and its new concepts. He later put into place a new culture of "True Hospitality Spirit" which led to all four owned and managed Radisson Hotels to achieve the prestigious Presidents award for numerous consecutive years.
Jim also was instrumental in being awarded the Holiday Inns Quality of Excellence award. The Courtyard by Marriott received the distinction of being named the Regional Franchise of the Year under his leadership. The Hampton Inn Newcomerstown, Ohio received The Lighthouse Award for 5th place among over 1,300 total Hampton Inns. Jim's 30 years of experience includes the successful opening of 30 new hotels. His high energy level and revenue building techniques, along with expense control systems he has developed, have made him a leader in the hospitality field. Jim has served on the Radisson RMA Executive Board of Directors and on the Board of Directors for Wayne County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE
Arthur C. Borowski, Vice President of Finance & Business Development
Art offers more than 14 years in the hotel industry including positions as Director of Rooms and Revenue and General Manager in addition to his Bachelor's Degree in Finance. He served as a General Manager for the Hilton Garden Inn Cleveland Airport, Residence Inn Westlake, and the TownePlace Suites Middleburg Heights. Art's experience as Director of Rooms and Revenue was with the Sheraton Cleveland Airport. His other positions included Rooms Care Manager, Guest Care Manager, and Bench Manager for Courtyard and Fairfield Inn by Marriott. Art has opened six hotels and supervised complete renovations with two others.
Under his direction, his hotels have achieved Opening Hotel of the Year and Hotel of the Year for Courtyard by Marriott. He developed his abilities to help consult and mentor all the various positions in a hotel, both hourly and salaried as a traveling bench manager for Courtyard and Fairfield Inns. His unique background helps to provide Emerald Hospitality Associates strong operational support. In addition, Art's education and prior "hands on" experience allows for strong financial and accounting planning and support to all the Emerald managed hotels.
Jim Laudato, Certified Public Accountant
Jim concentrates his practice in the growth of small business through tax planning, objective communication and financial analysis. While his objective is to sustain the growth of the business, he is also obligated to individual growth of the principals. Developing relationships, communication and enthusiastic service is a part of every engagement. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) degree from Cleveland State University. In addition, he is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He is the president of Laudato & Company, Inc., Certified Public Accountants. His 15 years of public accounting experience and education has groomed him well to become a trusted and respected advisor. The ability to anticipate needs, offer competent advice and overall dedication to respecting clients' time and money has earned him the trust he strives for as a CPA.
Although an integral part of the Emerald Hospitality Associates team, Laudato & Company, Inc remains an objective independent third party CPA firm that issues statements in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles. He encourages growth through community involvement. He is Past-President of the Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce (MACC). He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA) professional organizations. Additionally, he has established a foundation for the Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce.
Brian McFadden, Assistant Controller
Brian comes to Emerald Hospitality Associates with a BBA in Accounting from Cleveland State University and a strong analytical and organizational background developed from over 6 years of experience as a Financial Analyst for National City and PNC Bank. During his time with National City/PNC Bank Brian oversaw the financial and commission accounting function of the Employee Benefits Agency consisting of 6 offices spread across 4 states within the bank's footprint. Brian has a great deal of experience in the analysis of financial statements and trends, budget and forecast preparation, pro-forma modeling, general ledger entries, balance sheet reconciliations and preparation of financial and strategic initiative presentations for senior management. His involvement in integrating the accounting functions of insurance agency acquisitions for National City is a great asset to Emerald as we continue to grow our portfolio in the future.
OPERATIONS
Scott Arra, Vice President of Operations
Scott has a Hospitality Management Degree from the University of Akron. Scott's 20+ years experience in the hotel industry includes eight years with Marriott International as Dual General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott and TownePlace Suites by Marriott Cleveland Airport South, General Manager Courtyard by Marriott Cleveland Independence, Event Coordination Manager for the Cleveland Marriott Managed Hotels, and Opening General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Cleveland Westlake. Under his direction his hotels achieved various quality awards including Hotel of the Year, Platinum and Gold awards for Guest Service, and Associate Leadership Awards.
Scott held positions as General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Beachwood and Front Office Manager, Radisson Beachwood both managed by Snavely Hotel Group. Scott's experience and training enables us to recruit and mentor enthusiastic management personnel. His passion for the hospitality industry and enthusiasm for associate development allows him to teach sound fundamentals balanced by Guest Service, Associate Appreciation, Sales, and Profitability.
Edward Pavente, Vice President of Operations
Ed has an 18 year background in Food and Beverage and Hospitality management. He has operational experience in many aspects of the hospitality industry including holding the position of Executive Chef for various country clubs and hotels/resorts spanning central and western New York and as far south as Florida. Ed grew up in the hospitality business as his family owned and operated a variety of restaurant and bar establishments. He has previously held positions as the Director of Food and Beverage for the prestigious Tarpon Woods Country Club in Tarpon Woods, Florida and Regional Director of Sales and Catering for Tramz Hotels, which owned and operated hotels throughout the East Coast.
Since joining Emerald Hospitality Associates, Ed has participated in the opening of the Hilton Garden Inn Syracuse, Hilton Garden Inn Ithaca, Kilpatrick's Pub, The Hope Lake Resort Hotel/Condo/Water Park and the Hilton Garden Inn Newburgh. He currently holds the position of Director of Operations and Sales in NY for Emerald Hospitality Associates and is responsible for the overall supervision of Emerald's six New York properties. Ed gives Emerald Hospitality Associates another diverse and unique hospitality professional by combining his extensive management and sales backgrounds. Under his supervision Emerald's New York managed hotels have consistently performed within the top 10 in the region for Hilton Garden Inn, and Ed provides the consistent and solid regional support that is so important to all of our New York and Maine Hotels.
Gary S. Bombik, Director of Food & Beverage
Gary is a graduate of Ohio University, with a Bachelor of Business Administration major in Marketing. Gary's 25 years in the hotel industry includes Regional Manager overseeing Radisson Inn properties in the Northeast Ohio area. He served as General Manager for a wide range of financially successful properties including Radisson Inns, Holiday Inns and Helmsley Hotels. Under his direction his hotels also achieved various quality awards including the Radisson Hotels President's Award for ten straight years and he was the recipient of Holiday Inn's Quality of Excellence Award. In addition to his many years as a General Manager his previous experience includes Chef, Food and Beverage Director, Front Office Manager and manager of a free standing restaurant.
The depth of experience Gary has developed enables him to be one of the hotel industries best mentors and teachers of young management personnel. His experience further endorses the Emerald Hospitality Associates unique and profitable approach to Food and Beverage services. Emerald's Food and Beverage expertise helps hotels to adhere to Brand Standards and provide a quality experience to our guests. Providing support to the properties helps produce high quality guest scores, in a cost effective manner. His patience and understanding of every facet of our business allows him to teach sound fundamentals yet still with a firm grasp on quality and an extreme eye for expense controls.
Donna Jakupca, Administrative Assistant
Donna began her career with Emerald Hospitality Associates in 2005. Prior to joining the team at Emerald she worked at the Hampton Inn Westlake as the Front Desk Supervisor. She also worked for three years at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cleveland as a Front Desk Associate. Prior to her hospitality career commencing, Donna spent 20 years in the retail business as a store manager where she developed a solid customer service foundation. In her current role, Donna provides support to Emerald Hospitality Associates corporate team as well as the operational teams on site at our hotels by handling all office administrative duties.
Currently, Donna is attending Lorain Community College, pursuing a degree in Liberal Arts. Donna's experience and energy provides an excellent resource for our daily corporate office and hotel operations.
SALES AND MARKETING
Lori Berhent, Regional Director of Sales & Marketing
- Florida, New York, Ohio and South Carolina
Lori earned her Bachelor of Science Degree from Bowling Green State University in Interpersonal and Public Communications specializing in Business Management. She joins Emerald with over 20 years of comprehensive hospitality experience with a career focus on hotel sales, revenue management and marketing. Prior to joining Emerald Hospitality Associates, Lori was with Marriott International where she served as the General Manager of a 154 room Courtyard by Marriott property preceded by 3 years as a Senior Market Sales Manager in Marriott Market Sales where she represented six Cleveland area Marriott properties. Her proactive sales efforts were awarded with an average 12% increase in room revenue and 6% increase in STAR RevPAR index.
Prior to joining Marriott International Lori served 10 years with Starwood / Sheraton Hotels. Over these 10 years Lori's intense commitment and sales & service accomplishments were recognized with ongoing promotions within this 470 room / downtown convention hotel. Her positions with Sheraton included Catering Sales Manager, Director of Catering and Convention Services, Senior Sales Manager and Director of Sales and Marketing. The Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau awarded Lori with a quarterly Sales Pro award on two occasions and with Sales Manager of the Year for the entire greater Cleveland area in 2001.
In her role as Regional Director of Sales and Marketing for Emerald Hospitality Associates, Lori is aligned with Scott Arra, Regional Director of Operations and Sales to provide each General Manager in their region with support in revenue management as well as direction and guidance of their respective sales teams. Lori teaches and mentors District Sales Managers to develop and maintain current accounts, and is a resource as she prospects and cultivates new clients for all of our properties.
Jeanne Carpentier, Regional Director of Sales & Marketing
- New York & Maine
Jeanne joined the Emerald Hospitality team in 2010, bringing with her almost 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Starting off as a breakfast hostess/administrative assistant at the Hampton Inn of South Portland, Maine during her college years, she knew this was the greatest industry out there. “They pay me to be nice to people!” she would exclaim to her friends and family. Upon receiving her BS in Business Administration from the University of Southern Maine in 1987, she worked as a General Manager at the same Hampton Inn, gaining valuable operations experience and then moved into the Sales arena. In 1998, she helped form a management company with two fellow associates and served as Regional Director of Sales, working closely with the Hampton Inn hotels of South Portland, Freeport and Waterville, Maine along with a Hampton Inn in St. Louis, Missouri and a Best Inn and Suites in Maryville, Missouri. In 2005, she chose to move back into operations and successfully opened the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport, Maine as the General Manager. Once again, her love of sales tempted her to look for a regional sales position which brought her to the Emerald team.
Over the years, Jeanne has worked diligently to acquire the knowledge necessary to balance the demands of multiple properties, management companies and owners in a productive fashion. Her passion for sales and her strengths in operations helps her to create effective and rewarding sales systems to satisfy all parties. This has resulted in successful and profitable hotels. She works to nurture a productive, profitable culture amongst the sales teams using the coaching and mentoring skills attained in her extensive hospitality career.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Jennifer DeLuca, Corporate Director of Human Resources
Jennifer has fifteen years experience in the hospitality industry. She began her career in the hospitality field working for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. During her employment on cruise ships, she held several positions, including guest services, human resources, accounting, and payroll. She was chosen to be a part of the team that opened the ‘Rhapsody of the Seas’ in 1997.
At the Double Tree Detroit Airport, Jennifer started as the Guest Services Manager. She was a part of the team during the hotel’s major renovation project and accepted a promotion as Director of Human Resources. Some of the professional successes that Jennifer attained include the implementation of Promus Corporation’s ‘100% Satisfaction’ training program. In addition, Jennifer also served as the Director of Human Resources at the Wyndham Toledo and the Wyndham Bonaventure Resort and Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Jennifer is a strong human resources generalist with a career focus on training and employee relations in addition to her strong operational background.
LEGAL COUNSEL, ASSET MANAGEMENT, DEVELOPMENT AND CONSULTING
Jeff Gerish, General Counsel
Jeff graduated from Michigan State University College of Law cum Laude in 2006. After being admitted to the Ohio Bar he practiced commercial litigation for several years before joining the Emerald team in 2010. His experience representing construction companies, real estate companies, banks and other business interests in resolving their legal disputes has given him insight into the legal needs of Emerald Hospitality Associates. Prior to law school, Jeff earned a Bachelor's degree (with honors) from the Ohio State University and spent a number of years working retail, restaurant, and other service/hospitality positions, giving him a background in the needs of the hospitality industry. Jeff advises Emerald on contractual and other business-related legal matters and coordinates work with outside counsel when needed.
Jeffrey Mahoney, Director of Facility Maintenance
Jeff attended Cuyahoga County Community College, with a focus in Business Management. He has over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry with an intense "hands on" approach to his management style. His experiences include Maintenance Engineer for the Courtyard by Marriott Cleveland, North Olmsted which prepared him to become the opening Chief Engineer of the Courtyard by Marriott Cleveland, Westlake. One year later Jeff was promoted to Dual Chief Engineer of the Courtyard by Marriott and TownePlace Suites by Marriott Cleveland Airport South. He is currently involved in several new development and renovation projects. His advanced purchasing skills provide Emerald Hospitality Associates a unique strength in helping to achieve consistent high quality scores and maintain the quality of the physical assets for our investors in the most cost effective manner possible.
Jeff brings new perspectives to our Facilities Maintenance Programs and improves purchasing by creating synergies throughout our portfolio of hotels. He also provides valuable assistance to the Regional Directors of Operations, each of our General Managers and their Chief Engineers with creative solutions to any on-site challenges. In December 2007, Jeff was promoted from Manager of Purchasing and Facility Maintenance to his current position as Director of Facility Maintenance for Emerald Hospitality Associates. He continues to oversee all engineering operations for the hotels. In addition, Jeff is in charge of coordinating the pre-opening engineering efforts and work in conjunction with the Manager of Purchasing to provide purchasing support to new projects and existing hotels.
Jennifer Gerish, Manager of Purchasing and Design
Jennifer comes to us from the Jacksonville, Florida Hampton Inn, where she served as the Assistant General Manager. Jennifer was a key contributor to the pre-opening efforts of the hotel. Previously she worked at the Hilton Garden Inn in Wooster, OH, where she also helped with the Opening process and served as the Food and Beverage Manager. In addition, she also worked as the Regional Sales Manager in Ohio. Jennifer graduated from the Ohio State University with a BS/ BA in Marketing and Transportation & Logistics.
Jennifer has a total of 10 years experience in the Hospitality industry having served in many line positions with several Restaurant Corporations as well as her experience with opening two hotels for Emerald Hospitality Associates. Her restaurant and hotel experience combined with her education in Logistics has prepared her for the responsibilities as the Manager of Purchasing. Jennifer compliments the efforts of the Director of Facility Maintenance in the selection and cost effectiveness of furniture, fixtures and equipment purchases.