Brad Wilson is President and co-Partner of Atelier Ace. His first jobs in hospitality were with Hilton International, Park Hyatt, and Westin. He was recruited to launch the first W Hotel and helped guide the fledgling Starwood brand’s early days, rising to Vice President of Operations for W Worldwide. From there, he helped build James Hotels from the ground up, serving as CEO. Wilson attended Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

David is the President and CEO of First Hospitality, based in Chicago. He has over 25 years of global operating experience in managing high performing teams and in executive roles in both private and publicly held organizations. He coordinated over $10 billion of real estate and capital market transactions across multiple geographies and currencies. His experience ranges from fee-simple equity transactions to mortgage and mezzanine lending and complex joint venture and structured transactions.

David began his career in public accounting, consulting, and financial institutions before he found his true passion in the hotel and travel space. He has been immersed in the lodging investment and operating space for more than 20 years now. He especially enjoys harmonizing the right capital structure with the right real estate, branding, and operational solutions to optimize investor returns in lodging, and related investments.

His formative institutional experience was with GE Capital Real Estate, Guggenheim Partners, and Ernst & Young, LLC [in Los Angeles, Boston, Stamford CT, and New York]. Before joining First Hospitality, David served in executive roles at JC Resorts in La Jolla, CA and Denihan Hospitality in New York City. David received his B.A. from Western Michigan University, located in his hometown of Kalamazoo, MI. He was an adjunct professor in the Carroll School of Management, Boston College.

Mr. Peruri has been involved in over $ 5 billion in transactions during his career and over $1 billion in transactions while at Oxford. He is involved in multiple facets of the business including investor relations, deal origination, acquisitions underwriting, due diligence, project financing, project design, entitlements/planning, construction, and property operations. He is responsible for investment opportunities across the real estate spectrum and also in the corporate private equity area. Prior to joining Oxford Capital Group, LLC, Mr. Peruri worked in acquisitions and asset management at Sam Zell’s Equity International, focused primarily on real estate related platform investments in South America and Asia. Mr. Peruri began his career working in the investment banking division of Morgan Stanley in New York City. Mr. Peruri graduated with an MBA in Finance and Real Estate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, was a recipient of the Pension Real Estate Association Scholarship and the Robert Toigo Fellowship, and served as teaching assistant to Professor Jeremy Siegel. He also holds a B.S. in Finance from the College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, graduating with Highest Honors and awarded the Bronze Tablet, and completed the yearlong General Course program at the London School of Economics.

Gene Kornota co-founded Chicago-based Rebel Hospitality (formerly Neighborhood

Development Corporation) in 1988 and has been leveraging his vision and development expertise

ever since. Gene has overseen the design of over 16 independent boutique and brand hotels,

restaurants, and entertainment venues in Chicago, Memphis and Phoenix.

As a Principal of Rebel Hospitality, Gene focuses much of his attention on the design, planning,

engineering, creative, and branding portions of the business. He is integrally involved in each and

every facet from conception, vision and branding. Gene has an ear to the ground and an astute

understanding of what consumers are looking for – combined with his knowledge of current

trends, Gene creates hotels full of imagination.

Gene speaks on many industry panels and at trade shows on the topic of boutique hotel

development, investment and design. Under Gene’s leadership, virtually every property and

outlet has received multiple industry, press and consumer awards and accolades for spectacular

design as well as innovative extra’s. Gene’s philosophy is all about surprising and delighting

guests.