Education
B.S., M.S. in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Ph.D. in Education Administration, Purdue University.

Expertise & Research Interests

• Luxury Branding & China's Luxury Market
• Brand Value & Extension
• Cultural & Millennial Influence on Brands

Career Highlights
Twenty-year academic administrative career; co-founder of Global Hospitality Educators Network, the largest communication tool in the world for hospitality and tourism educators; owned and operated a revenue-management consulting company, 15 years of experience in hospitality operations, including line positions, management, and ownership of a bar and restaurant; founder of the Houston Spa Association, which is still operating today; named the first Clinton L. Rappole Endowed Chair at Hilton College in 2008; created the Tourism Center at the University of South Carolina with a Sloan Foundation Grant; consulted in Africa, Russia, Eastern Europe, Central America and Southeast Asia through ACDI/VOCA, the United Nations, and USAID and several foreign countries; published and consulted in tourism development and revenue management; worked as general manager and corporate trainer for PepsiCo Foodservice Division and General Foods; converted medical-spa facilities into destination spas in Bulgaria; along with his research team, created a guide for “culturally based spa modalities” that is being published by several leading spa-industry publications.