ITHACA, NY—The School of Hotel Administration (SHA) at Cornell University has named Robert Mandelbaum as the new president of the Cornell Hotel Society (CHS) for 2016. Mandelbaum will lead the executive board of CHS, the 87-year-old alumni association that represents SHA graduates in more than 53 active chapters worldwide. Mandelbaum’s 12-month term as president began Jan. 1.
CHS this year will continue their fundraising efforts to support SHA student scholarships, as well as faculty visits to chapter events around the world. CHS will offer more professional and social networking events, and hopes to increase alumni engagement through the revival of chapters that have been dormant in recent years.
Mandelbaum is the director of research information services for CBRE Hotels Americas Research. He oversees production of the annual Trends in the Hotel Industry statistical report, along with customized financial and operational analyses for client projects. He helps produce five-year forecasts of performance for six national chain scales and 59 major U.S. cities using the firm’s proprietary Hotel Horizons econometric forecasting model.
An active member of CHS, Mandelbaum has served on the boards for the Northern California and Georgia chapters; as president of both the Georgia and Memphis chapters; as the Southeast regional VP; and on the executive board as second VP in 2014, and first VP in 2015. Additionally, Mandelbaum serves as the CHS liaison and on the board of directors of the Cornell Alumni Association of Atlanta.