INDUSTRY DISCUSSION
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FRIDAY, JUNE 19 | 11 AM - 12 PM
Meet the Panel
Resiliency
Hospitality
FELICITY PROPERTY CO.
Patrick Schindler
PANELIST
MAISON DE LA LUZ
Brian Englehart
AOS INTERIOR ENVIRONMENTS
Rebecca Cooley
MODERATOR
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AN INDUSTRY DISCUSSION
Friday, June 19 | 11 AM - 12 PM
Join us for a free, virtual panel discussion, featuring five local industry leaders.
Hospitality is at the heart of the City of New Orleans. Residents and tourists alike flock to our storied streets for world renowned food, spirits and culture. But as we move into new phases of the pandemic, the future looks precarious for the hospitality sector.
Recent events have shed light on the fact that spaces should be resilient all the time, not just when responding to a crisis. How will the Hospitality Industry emerge smarter?
Steve Pettus
DICKIE BRENNAN & CO.
Michael Sawaya
NEW ORLEANS ERNEST N. MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER
Caroline Farouki
FAROUKI FAROUKI
Start the Conversation
The restaurant, travel and hotel industry will see a new reality, post COVID-19. What does that look like?
How will you seek to deliver the same customer experience with fewer tables, which could amount to less energy, and changed protocols?
How do you predict consumer behavior will change post-pandemic?
The hospitality industry is centered on bringing people together, what ideas do you have to continue this in a world with social distance requirements?
Watch the Discussion
READ BIO
For many of our beloved bars, restaurants and hotels it’s not just a question of when they will be able to open back up but if they will open at all. And for those that do, how will they look, feel, and adapt?
We'd love to have you be a part of our Industry Discussion! Join us for an in-depth conversation and insights from local leaders as we explore new consumer expectations.
We'd love to have you be a part of our Industry Discussion!
Join us for an in-depth conversation and insights from local leaders as we explore new consumer expectations.
PARTNER
Caroline is a graduate of the Masters of Fine Arts in Interior Design program at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where she earned the graduate school's top honor of Excelsus Laureate, as well as the Interior Design department's Faculty Award. Prior to SCAD, she studied Architecture and Environmental Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Caroline has been a guest lecturer for the SCAD Building Arts Lecture Series as well as industry mentor for the Interior Design department at SCAD. She has also been a guest lecturer at the New School's Parsons School of Design. Prior to founding Farouki Farouki, Caroline worked on a wide range of hospitality and retail projects at the renowned New York City studios AvroKO and Pompei A.D. As a designer at AvroKO, she led the design and construction of the in-house owned and operated design-build project, Genuine Superette. She also worked on restaurants for a new hotel in Moscow for Morgans Hotel Group, a new hotel in Los Angeles for Highgate Hotels, a new Yardbird location in Las Vegas for 50 Eggs, the Shanghai Club in New York for Foundations Group, and a new fitness club in New York for Equinox Fitness. As a Senior Project Manager at Pompei A.D., Caroline led the store re-design of Mikyajy, Dubai's most profitable teen makeup line. She also worked with the brands BareMinerals, Kelly Cutrone, and The Art of Shaving on new concept stores in various locations across the country. Caroline is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana and currently resides in New Orleans with her husband, Sabri, and their sons, Remy and Mazin.
Michael Siwaya
NEW ORLEANS ERNST N. MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER
PRESIDENT + GENERAL MANAGER
Michael J. Sawaya is President and General Manager of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. A 40-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Mike relocated to New Orleans from San Antonio, TX, where he served as Executive Director of the Convention and Sports Facilities Department for the City of San Antonio for 15 years. During his tenure in San Antonio, Mike led the 2016 expansion and transformation of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center – the largest single capital improvement project in the city’s history. Additionally, he served as Interim Aviation Department Director for the San Antonio International Airport from 2008-2009. Before joining the City of San Antonio, he served as General Manager of the Omni Severin Hotel in Indianapolis, IN, the Omni San Antonio Hotel, and 11 other hotels around the country over a 20 year career as a Hotel General Manager. Mike has been in his role as President of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center since February, 2018. Shortly after his arrival, Mike embarked on an ambitious visionary plan entitled “the Decade of Delivery”, that includes development of a new convention center headquarters hotel, a mixed-use entertainment, specialty retail, and residential development located in the area surrounding the new hotel, and a $558M five-year capital improvement plan – the largest in the facility’s 36-year history, that will transform and modernize the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to compete more effectively in the future. Mr. Sawaya is a Board Member of the Greater New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, and the Ernest N. Morial Exhibition Hall Authority and was selected in 2018 as one of Biz Magazine’s People of the Year.
MANAGING PARTNER
Steve Pettus has over 40 years’ experience in the restaurant industry. In 1990 he began work with the Brennan family as General Manager of Palace Café. In 1995, he graduated with honors from Loyola Law School and was appointed In-house Counsel for the Commander’s Palace Family of Restaurants. In 1997, Steve partnered with Dickie Brennan and Lauren Brennan Brower to form Dickie Brennan & Company (DBC), which was comprised of Palace Café and Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse. Since then, they have opened Bourbon House (2002), Tableau (2013), Acorn (2019) and The Commissary (2020). Along with his role at DBC, Steve remains an active member of the bar and currently serves as Treasurer/Former Chair of New Orleans and Company, Past President/Current Board Member of New Orleans City Park and Vice President of Christian Brothers’ Foundation. He has also served as an officer and/or board member of: The Morial Exhibition Hall Authority, French Quarter Business Association, French Quarter Management District and Louisiana Restaurant Association and its Self-Insurers’ Fund.
GENERAL MANAGER
A New Orleans native and LSU graduate, Brian Englehart has over 30 years in the hospitality industry with 20 years in the luxury segment. He has been an opening team member or trainer for 12 hotel openings, including Walt Disney World Dolphin, 4 Ritz-Carltons, the re-opening of The Roosevelt in 2009, and most recently, Maison de la Luz. Brian began working at Maison de la Luz in December 2018. The hotel opened in April 2019 and has been named to the Condé Nast 2020 Hot List, Travel and Leisure 2020 It List, and the AMEX Fine Hotels and Resorts before reaching its one year anniversary.
FELICITY + CO.
CO-FOUNDER
Patrick is co-founder of Felicity Property Co. and leads acquisition, financing, development and operations activities. He is particularly energized by historic redevelopment and urban infill projects that honor building history, while embracing design of today. Patrick's work history is in construction management, project finance and equity securities analysis. His interests include backpacking, skiing, yoga and running. Patrick is a board of trustee member with the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans. Patrick holds a B.A. in Finance from the University of Georgia and M.B.A from Emory.
VP MANUFACTURED INTERIOR CONSTRUCTION
Rebecca Cooley brings over 13 years of industry experience to her role as the Vice President of Manufactured Construction Division for AOS. In this role, Rebecca is disrupting the construction industry, using 21st century technology to bridge the gap between design and construction. She is a passionate advocate of clean, sustainable and rapid construction and collaborates with architects, interior designers, contractors and facility managers. Rebecca joined the DIRTT network in 2010 as a DIRTT Champion for the North Florida area. Prior to DIRTT, Rebecca earned a Bachelor Degree of Interior Design from Louisiana State University and immediately moved to London to work for a retail giant in their Store Development Department. She has been a licensed Interior Designer in Texas, Florida and Louisiana and worked for multiple architecture and design firms with projects ranging from public institutional facilities up to 430,000 square feet to luxury multi-family housing to corporate facilities. She transitioned from Designer to a Business Development role for DIRTT over seven years ago and leads AOS’ Interior Construction Team in Louisiana and Mississippi.
