Bob is responsible for the growth Wyndham's full service and lifestyle brands (Registry Collection, HQ Hotels & Residences, Wyndham Grand, Dolce, Sports Illustrated Resorts, Wyndham, Water Walk, Trademark, TRYP, Wyndham Garden & Ramada) in California & Hawaii.  He joined Wyndham’s Development team in 2022 after 21 years of acquisitions and development experience at Marriott Vacations Worldwide (Marriott’s vacation ownership division).  While at Marriott he helped secure over $2 billion of capital investment approvals for new build, conversion, adaptive reuse, and mixed-use properties located in Asia, the Caribbean, Mexico, and the United States.  Bob discovered his passion for lodging development while at Disney where he helped underwrite the development of Disney Vacation Club resorts.  Bob resides in Huntington Beach, CA and during his free time he loves to surf and travel with his wife and two daughters.

Patrick Baldwin is President and Principal of Burton Landscape Architecture Studio, a boutique firm based in Solana Beach, California. He partners with owners and developers to plan and shape resort and mixed use environments that strengthen identity, elevate the guest experience, and support long term value.

With more than 25 years of experience across the United States and internationally, Patrick focuses on site planning and the creation of outdoor environments that support operations, strengthen market position, and contribute to long term asset performance. In the Bay Area, his work includes Montage Healdsburg, where the design preserves the existing canyons and oak woodlands and immerses guests in an authentic wine country setting. His experience also includes City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon, a mixed-use destination built around active gathering spaces and community life.

Patrick is a Registered Landscape Architect in California, Nevada, Texas, and Florida. He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Urban Land Institute. His work is grounded in the belief that the strongest hospitality projects begin with thoughtful site planning and a clear understanding of how people gather, connect, and experience a place.

Rory Carroll, AIA, LEED AP, is a Principal at AXIS Architecture + Design, where he serves as Principal-in-Charge of the firm’s hospitality renovation work. Regarded as AXIS’ resident hotel renovation expert, Rory brings more than 20 years of architectural experience to the repositioning, reflagging, and transformation of existing hospitality properties.

Rory joined AXIS’ San Francisco studio in 2005 and became a firm Principal in 2015. His extensive Bay Area and Northern California hotel renovation portfolio includes The Jay Hotel (completed in collaboration with KHP Capital Partners and winner of two 2024 Gold Key Awards), the HD Award-finalist Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa, Bernardus Lodge & Spa, Gold Key Award finalist The Clancy, and the AXIOM Hotel, winner of Host Hotels & Resorts’ Renovation Transformation of the Year award. Throughout his career, Rory has developed a deep understanding of existing building systems and the technical, operational, and design challenges involved in repositioning complex hotel assets.

Recognized by AXIS’ client partners as a collaborative problem-solver, Rory excels at coordinating clients, consultants, contractors, and multidisciplinary design teams. His approach helps project stakeholders identify practical opportunities to improve guest experiences, address aging infrastructure, and unlock renewed value from existing properties.

Rory was a Chancellor's Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture.

Matthew Boone is an Associate and Head of Hospitality & Leisure at Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB), where he leads the firm’s hospitality strategy, client relationships, and project delivery across the U.S. With more than 20 years of experience in hospitality, Matthew brings an owner-focused perspective shaped by a background in architecture, design, development strategy, and project leadership. His work spans luxury and lifestyle hotels, resorts, branded residences, mixed-use developments, renovations, and complex repositioning projects, with a particular focus on aligning design, capital investment, guest experience, and execution.

Eli Sokol is a Vice President of Development & Investment, North America for citizenM hotels. In this role, Eli is responsible for leading the strategic growth of citizenM’s real estate footprint in the US & Canada, overseeing acquisitions and investment management across the brand’s focus markets.

Mike Jones is a Project Executive at Pankow Builders, where he leads the strategic direction and execution of complex developments across the San Francisco Bay Area. Since joining Pankow, Mike has served as a primary client representative, bridging preconstruction planning and operational excellence to ensure projects align with client goals. With a career spanning over three decades in the California construction and real estate markets, Mike’s leadership is defined by a strong focus on relationship-building and a "no-surprises" approach to constructability and cost oversight.

Mike has been instrumental in delivering some of the most recognizable luxury hospitality assets in California. He is currently leading the team for Pankow’s newest hospitality project, the Hyatt Centric Sonoma Wine Country, which is slated to get underway soon. His extensive portfolio also includes the iconic Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, the Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Beach, Cordevalle Resort in San Martin,  Capella Pedregal in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico,  The Clement Hotel in Palo Alto, and the InterContinental the Clement Monterey in Monterey, CA.

Mike holds a B.S. in City and Regional Planning and a minor in Construction Management from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and completed the Executive Education Entrepreneurship Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He is a licensed California Real Estate professional and an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), serving on both National and Local Product Councils.

Jamie co-founded LMNL Studio to bring workplace strategy to experiences and environments co-designed by architects, technologists, and brand thinkers. After an early career as a brand strategist and creative director, she shifted her focus to the built environment with the premise that compelling places are a combination of story, space, and technology. Tapping into hospitality, wellness, environmental design, wayfinding, and digital tools, the LMNL team creates activated workplaces, designed as destinations. Jamie has created immersive experiences and environments for clients including Google, Adobe, Disney, Nike and Chevron.

Julie Baccelli is a Bay Area native and construction industry veteran. Consulting to the industry for over a decade on new business development strategies and client management. At Build Group, San Francisco headquarters she is responsible for the tenant improvement projects for Bay Area hospitality, retail, and restaurants. Build Group has offices in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and Seattle.

Cass Calder Smith established the architectural firm that bears his name in 1990. Born

in 1961, Smith earned his Bachelor and Master of Architecture from the University of

California, Berkeley. A native of New York City, he has lived in California since 1972 and

now splits his time between both coasts. As the son of an Academy-Award winning

filmmaker and a California landscape painter and designer, his early years were

influenced by both Greenwich Village intellectuals and rural California artisans.

Smith is recognized internationally for his architectural and interior design projects.

Firmly based in the modernist idiom, Smith draws inspiration from history’s great

architects and cities as well as the epic filmmakers of the last century. Bold imagery and

intricate detail are characteristic of his designs balanced with experience and common

sense.

Smith teaches at UC Berkeley, chaired the Civic Design Review Committee on The San

Francisco Arts Commission for 8 years, and is a Trustee on the Board for the Djerassi

Residents Artists Program. He and his work have won numerous awards and have

been recognized in The New York Times, Architectural Record, Metropolitan Home,

Metropolis, Dwell, Interior Design and Abitare, among others.