Niki Leondakis

In a global hotel, hospitality and luxury travel industry increasingly defined by the need to intelligently and creatively differentiate lifestyle, design, and boutique hotel brands, Niki Leondakis stands out as a genuinely innovative CEO, thought leader and architect of cultural transformation.

From her keynote presentations on branding ... to her work with celebrity chefs on breakthrough Food & Beverage (F&B), bar and nightclub concepts at Kimpton ... to her ability to adeptly lead, strategize, and deploy a multi-brand platform of global hotels and resorts worldwide ... her efforts have shaped a wide array of customer-centric hospitality products and services.

She is especially skilled at understanding hotel customers and accommodating the needs of those ranging from tech-savvy millennial business travelers who want an intimate, fun hotel, to Boomers who crave unqualified luxury with a personal touch. She was the first hospitality CEO to implement an interactive text-based communications and check-in system for all guests, leading to high guest satisfaction.

Niki is also highly respected for her strong focus on workplace quality, diversity and cultural enrichment, consistently earning national accolades as one of Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Places to Work" and Bay Area's "Most Admired CEOs."

In addition to serving as an involved Chairman Emeritus and current Board member who chairs the Strategic Planning Committee and Finance Committees for the worldwide "Dress for Success" social service non-profit, she serves as Director Emeritus for the National Restaurant Association (NRA), where she Initiated and chaired the Environmental Task Force and launched an industry-leading environmental program.

As a conference keynoter, Niki speaks widely on addressing brand challenges in travel technology, hospitality and luxury goods, as well as on "Leadership and Building High-Performing Workplace Cultures."