Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Chris has enjoyed a diverse career in the hospitality industry. Chris began his hotel career on the Las Vegas strip, serving as a Sales Manager at MGM Grand’s Las Vegas hotel where he worked with clients whose conferences and events ranged from 20 to 15,000 people. Chris also served as Account Director of Visit Seattle, confirming city-wide conventions at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in downtown Seattle. Chris held executive leadership roles at the 1,258 room Sheraton Seattle Hotel, and served as the Regional Director of sales and marketing for RL Hotels, overseeing a hotel portfolio of 7 hotels and 15 food and beverage outlets throughout the northwest.

 

Beyond the hospitality industry, Chris honed his financial acuity as an accountant for the Boeing Company, his legal advisory knowledge as a law clerk, and served in various executive leadership roles at Providence, one of the largest non-profit healthcare organizations in the country.

 

An active volunteer, Chris serves on the board of Visit Walla Walla, where he is the immediate past Board Chair. Chris’ past board positions include service on regional executive committees for hotel industry associations MPI and PCMA, and as a member of the Walla Walla Public Schools’ facilities task force.

 

Chris graduated with distinction from Whitman College, holds an MBA from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, graduating with honors and earning entry into Beta Gamma Sigma, and has a post-graduate certificate in Mergers and Acquisitions from Columbia Business School.

 

Chris is married and has three kids. He enjoys coaching his kids in sports and traveling the world with his wife.  He can be found most weekends in the winter skiing with his kids and all other months playing golf or tennis. An amateur chef forever in training, Chris dreams of one day going to culinary school.