NEWH - November 2008 - (Page 30)

service Honor Roll Two NEWH chapters award two prominent industry figures B Above, from left: Michelle Finn, Hospitality Design Group; Brad Friedmutter, Friedmutter Group. oth the Greater New York Chapter and the Las Vegas Chapter are honoring two leading figures in the hospitality design industry—Michelle Finn, vice president of the Hospitality Design Group (HD Group), and Brad Friedmutter, founder and CEO of the Friedmutter Group. The Greater New York Chapter will present Finn with the inaugural Industry Innovator honor at Light Up the City! a unique scholarship fundraiser being held November 7th at the Edison Ballroom in New York City. The award recognizes the accomplishments of a leader who has raised the bar to advance innovation in the practice of hospitality design. “Michelle has the true spirit of an innovator. It is only fitting that we honor her as the first recipient of the Industry Innovator,” says Ira Minkoff, Greater New York Chapter president. Finn oversees the HD Group, part of Nielsen Business Media, which has helped grow from a magazine to a global brand. It includes Hospitality Design (HD) magazine, the premier design magazine for the industry; Hospitality Design Exposition & Conference (HD Expo), the leading industry design tradeshow; Hospitality Design Boutique Exposition & Conference (HD Boutique), the boutique-styled design tradeshow; Hospitality Design Summit, the industry’s only executive thinktank and networking event; HD CitySCENE: Next Generation Networking, a series of events for the industry’s younger generation; and HD’s ground breaking all-green conference, Green Day. In addition, the HD Group produces its namesake creative achievement awards recognizing design excellence in 30 nove mber 2008 www.newh.org tel 800.593.NEWH the industry; the collaborative Radical Innovation in Hospitality Award to help chart the future of design; the Wave of the Future awards honoring young talent; the Platinum Circle awards recognizing lifetime achievement; the jointly offered IIDA/HD Product Design competition for product innovation; and the newly founded HD/American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Earth Minded Project and Product design competition which celebrates exceptional sustainable design. “I’m thrilled to receive this honor,” Finn says. “Innovation has been a cornerstone of our brand’s success and I am fortunate to lead a team who challenges the norm, thinks differently, adapts to changing market conditions, and finds ways to evolve and improve our brand...everyday!” Finn is also a big proponent of philanthropic endeavors. She started the Manfred Steinfeld Humanitarian Award to honor specifically those who have given extraordinarily in service and contribution. Additionally, under Finn’s direction, the HD Group partners with several trade groups and numerous charities in sponsorship events and donations, and she founded the New Design Professionals Program in conjunction with HD Expo to help foster the careers of young design professionals through increased education and industry awareness. As a result of her efforts, she took home NEWH’s Woman of the Year honor in 2001 and Nielsen’s Chairman’s Award in 2003, for her outstanding leadership and performance in business development. “What Michelle has done for the > http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - November 2008

NEWH - November 2008
Contents
News
Who’s Who
Conference Roundup
Have you Seen?
Product Know-How
On the Scene
Service
Scholarship
Sustainability: Point of View
Sustainability: Green Luncheon
Cover Story: A Stone’s Throw
Project: Ice Spa
Project: Gene Juarez
New Members
Save the Date
Partner Profiles

NEWH - November 2008