Lifetime Awards

The Albert E. Koehl Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Marketing and the Winthrop W. Grice Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Public Relations awards recognize individuals who have spent a major portion of their careers in the hospitality and travel profession and have contributed to the betterment of the industry in a significant and lasting way, over an extended period of time.

2019 honorees:

Leland “Lee” Pillsbury: Albert E. Koehl Award for Hospitality Marketing

Pillsbury is a managing director of Thayer Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in technology companies targeting the travel and hospitality industry. Lee was also a founder and chairman of Thayer Lodging Group and was CEO from its founding in 1991 until its sale to Brookfield Properties in 2014. In addition, he is also was the founder of TenX Healthcare, a corporation focused on transforming the patient journey through surgery. He began his career at Marriott, where he rose to become executive vice president and head of the strategy for lodging.

Lee has been involved in the purchase and sale of over 70 companies and played a major role in the launch of over 20 new companies. He now serves on the Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards of several companies Thayer Ventures has investments in.

In recent years, Lee was named Hospitality Executive of the year by Penn State University and Entrepreneur of the Year by Cornell University in 2016. He is a member of Cornell’s Board of Trustees and serves on its Executive Committee, Investment Committee, and chairs its Buildings and Properties Committee. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and an MBA from JL Kellogg Graduate School at Northwestern.

Bjorn Hanson. Ph.D.: Winthrop W. Grice Award for Public Relations

Hanson was the executive vice president of the entity that owns The Pierre hotel in New York and was a director of Summit Hotel Properties. He is the recipient of numerous notable awards, including, One of the 33 Most Influential People in the Travel Industry by Travel Weekly, One of the 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry by Meeting News, One of the Lodging Industry’s Innovators by Lodging, and more.

In addition to these accolades, Bjorn founded the Hospitality & Leisure practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he served as Global Industry Leader of Hospitality & Leisure. He was responsible for hospitality & leisure audit, tax, and advisory services, globally. Bjorn then retired from PwC in 2008 and joined the full-time faculty of New York University (NYU). In 2010 he was appointed dean of the New York University Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management. Bjorn was also appointed co-interim dean of one of New York University’s 18 schools and colleges. After 10 years he retired from New York University.

Today, Bjorn is a member of the Editorial Board of the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly and is a Reviewer for The Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, and serves an active researcher and consultant specializing in expert witness testimony for major hospitality industry matters.

ALBERT E. KOEHL & WINTHROP W. GRICE SELECTION COMMITTEE: