Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®) is pleased to announce the addition of two high-level experts to present at the CIO Summit EMEA. Leading the Summit are Michael Tessler, managing partner for True North Advisory and Stuart Mason, SVP of Commercial, Revenue and Distribution for Belmond. The Summit offers an exclusive, non-sales environment, bringing together hospitality leaders for two days to engage in roundtable discussions on the technologies set to have the biggest industry impact in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. This inaugural event is expected to gather 30+ technology executives for insightful discussions.

“The CIO Summit EMEA is a senior-level event where the brightest minds behind the hotel technology strategies across the region are gathered,” said Carson Booth, CHTP, HFTP COO EMEA. “How do you inspire these top professionals? We are bringing in two well-respected experts who have successfully worked across multiple sectors to implement successful strategies for large and small enterprises.”

Opening the Summit is "Best Practices for AI Adoption in Enterprises," proudly sponsored by Fourteen IP, the event’s platinum sponsor and a leading provider of AI and cloud telephony solutions for the hospitality industry. True North Advisory managing partner, Michael Tessler, will discuss how enterprises can best adopt AI, including techniques and best practices, supported by several actual use case scenarios. Michael will draw from his advisory experience where he specializes in helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses in the customer experience domain, focusing on strategy, company positioning, and CEO mentoring.

Michael is a proven business leader and technology pioneer with a deep understanding of how technology can transform enterprise communications and customer experiences. As the co-founder and former CEO of BroadSoft, he led the company to become the global market leader in cloud communications, growing the organization to nearly 2,000 employees and serving customers in over 80 countries. He spearheaded the creation of a new industry by moving enterprise communications to the cloud, demonstrating his ability to anticipate and lead major technology shifts. After two years at Cisco integrating BroadSoft into the Webex portfolio, Michael co-founded True North Advisory.

Capping the first day’s program is “Bridging the Divide Between Commercial and Technology Teams,” presented by seasoned commercial leader, Stuart Mason. He will provide IT leaders with an inside look at what truly matters to their commercial counterparts and how to communicate in a way that fosters collaboration and strategic alignment.

Stuart has more than 30 years of hospitality experience which began with British Airways in London where he worked as an operational research analyst specializing in revenue management. His journey has since taken him to Dallas with American Airlines, Bahrain with Gulf Air, Italy with Meridiana and then back to the U.K. with Hilton, Thistle & Guoman Hotels and Clear Channel (which was a six-year period working in advertising). In 2017, he moved to Belmond in 2017, a luxury hospitality company within the LVMH Group with 45+ properties across 26 countries and over 6,000 employees, including hotels, safaris, trains, and cruises.

The CIO Summit EMEA is a branch of The CIO Summit from Hospitality Upgrade, a part of HFTP, which has been the most successful CIO-level networking event in North America for over 20 years. Hospitality technology executives in the EMEA region who are interested in being a part of this event as an attendee, are invited to fill out an interest form.